January 25th 2009

Can you CanCan?

Before the holidays, I decided that I needed a pair of fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm.  I knew that I wanted to use sock yarn to make them, and after a quick scan of the patterns in Ravelry, nothing drew my interest.

So, I sat down and worked out what I was looking for in a pattern, and then write my own.  It had to have enough details to be interesting to knit.  I wanted the gloves longer than wrist length so I could wear them comfortably with my three-quarter length sleeve jacket.  I decided to incorporate some simple two-stitch cables because I enjoy knitting them.  I ended up with a fitted pair of fingerless gloves.

I love the final gloves, and I wear them all the time.  I wear them when I’m cold inside the house.  I wear them when it’s damp and chilly outside.  I’m wearing them now while writing this blog post.

I can’t take credit for the naming of the pattern.  The twisted stitch cables ended up resembling a faux lacing on the gloves.  Jim used this detail as inspiration for the pattern name, CanCans.

Pattern: CanCans
Designer: Erica Lomax
Source: TwistedLoops

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Socks that Rock Lightweight
Color: Corvid
Needles: 2.5mm

Started: November 25, 2008
Completed: December 8, 2008

It’s currently only available as a Ravelry download.  It can be downloaded here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 4:35 pm and is filed under Patterns, knitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Comments

  1. These are awesome. I am a new convert to the fingerless glove and have been briefly experiementing with an original crochet pattern, these are truly inspiring.

  2. I saw these on ravelry, they immediately caught my eye. I was amazed to discover that you offered the pattern for free, they’re beautiful :)

    PS: Ravelry also provides download links that can be used to download your pattern for non-members, in case you didn’t know.

  3. Very nice. Very you. And your nails look lovely to boot. I will definitely be adding them to my queue

  4. Erica, these are absolutely gorgeous. As soon as I get more comfortable knitting, I’m so making them!

  5. Great job : )

  6. Super cute!

  7. I want to make these ASAP! So beautiful!!

  8. Very very nice!! You did a beautiful job on them!

  9. Thank you so much for this pattern! I had been making fingerless gloves out of old store-bought socks, so as to have them be thin and fitted enough to wear with every day clothes. Your pattern was fun to knit and fits perfectly!

  10. [...] CanCans by Erica Lomax [...]

  11. I love these just what i am looking for many thanks for sharing x

  12. absolutely beautiful – I have been looking for a pattern for over a month for some very pretty moss green hand dyed cashmere. Given the $$ for the yarn, I wanted a special pattern – thank you so much for sharing.

  13. I love these gloves! Do you use double points or circular needles? Does anyone know?

  14. These are awesome, I have never used a chart though, how about doing something easier for the 14 stitch pattern?

  15. This is awesome, but quite complicated. I might settle for an easier project till I am a more experienced knitter! :) Great job!

  16. Quite lovely. Did anyone knit these on US needles? Since 2.5 mm doesn’t convert, did you use #1 (2.25) or #2 (2.75)? Thought I’d save myself the time and work of knitting a swatch, in case someone else has already done it. :=)

  17. I would also like the American size needle. These are “super” Thanx!!!!!!!!!

  18. I used US size 1 needles, double pointed and I had to slip a couple stiches from the second needle to the first. You need 5 needles.

  19. I used the 2.5mm all of the time. It’s my own favorite for knitting most fingering weight yarns and is available in the US in needle brands such as KnitPicks or Addi.

    I’m a fairly loose knitter. The US1 or US2 may not be the right the right needle for other knitters to get gauge. I’m always going to recommend a gauge swatch to make sure the mitts will fit. A quick browse through some of the finished projects on Ravelry seems to show more people used larger needles (#2 and #3) than smaller needles.

  20. how do u knit i the round using straight needles no where does it say to use circlular needles

  21. I think you have to use double points. 5 needles

  22. [...] some arm warmers for a co-worker who has always been so nice to me.  The pattern is called “CanCans” by Erica Lomax who blogs at Twisted Loops.  I am going to use my Malabrigo Sock in [...]

  23. I just finished making these using Crystal Palace Yarns’ “Panda Silk” (it’s a bamboo/merino wool/silk blend), and they are STUNNING! This is a sweet pattern — all the little decreases and increases make for a really elegant fit. I am starting another pair for my daughter today (she doesn’t understand why I won’t just give her this pair…).
    (BTW, I used 4 double pointed bamboo needles.)
    Thank you, Erica!!

  24. How can you use just 4 needles? I thought you needed 5. The no. of stitches doesn’t convert evenly. I’m confused! I’m still working on the first golve! How long do these take for other people? I took a long break, but am I just slow knitter?

  25. I’m assuming these are knitted from forearm down to hand? I’m wondering if you have the correct gauge what are the finished measurements around forearm and wrist?

  26. Melissa – The pattern is knit from the arm down to the hand. At gauge, the pattern is 7.5 inches around at the arm and 6.4 inches around at the hand. The mitts are designed with negative ease, so the measurements should be smaller than your actual arm or hand measurements.

    Connie & Anonymous – The pattern is written in the round. The pattern does not specify the needle type because you can use whatever your preferred technique for working in the round is: 4 or 5 double points, magic loop, two circulars, or one small circular.

  27. Thanks, I really enjoyed knitting these and they feel wonderful. The negative ease just keeps them snug enough. I knitting the longer (one more repeat version) great under a jacket or when typing on the computer. I’ve had a request from a friend, who has arthritis in her hands for a pair, which I’ll make out of superwash sock yarn. Good job.

  28. Any tips on knitting these with size 0 needles? I have some abstract fiber yarn that really looks best on 0’s, but I don’t want to botch up the pattern by adding stitches in the wrong place.
    Thanks!
    I can’t wait to get started!

  29. so we work in a circular way? connecting it the entire time??
    ’cause i searched and searched and didn’t see that mentioned at all in the download =(
    and now i have halfway done not circular gloves

  30. These are beautiful. My skill level is definitely not up to these yet but I’m practicing a lot so I’ll be able to tackle these beauties at some point.

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>