Madelinetosh Staghorn Mitts Gloves Knitting Pattern

Madelinetosh Staghorn Mitts: Knitted Fingerless Gloves with Cable Details

What Is Being Made

The Staghorn Mitts are lightweight, fingerless driving and biking mitts designed for everyday wear. These seamless knitted gloves feature a finished hand circumference of approximately 7½ inches (19 cm) around the knuckles, making them suitable for active pursuits where dexterity and warmth are both needed. The mitts combine functional design with decorative cable work, offering both style and practicality for walkers, cyclists, and drivers.

Techniques Used

Seamless Construction: The Staghorn Mitts are worked in the round using double-pointed needles, eliminating the need for seaming. This technique creates a continuous tube of fabric without interruption, resulting in a smooth, professional finish.

Cable Knitting: The signature design element features cable stitches that trail down the front of each mitt. The cable pattern uses both C4B (cable 4 back) and C4F (cable 4 front) techniques, where stitches are temporarily held on a cable needle while other stitches are worked, then the held stitches are knitted to create the twisted, rope-like texture characteristic of cables.

Reverse Stockinette Trim: Reverse stockinette stitch (purled stitches on the right side) is used to frame the cable pattern and create clean, simple edges that keep the overall design uncluttered while adding subtle visual interest.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K): The foundational stitch creating smooth fabric
• Purl (P): Used in reverse stockinette trim and ribbing sections
• Ribbing (k1, p1): Applied on the sides and cuffs to create elasticity and help keep the mitts snug on the hand
• Cable Stitches (C4B, C4F): Four-stitch cables worked on alternating rounds to create the decorative trailing pattern down the front
• Increases (KFB, M1L, M1R): Knit front and back, and make one left and right increases used for shaping the mitt to fit the hand properly
• Stockinette Stitch: The primary stitch used in the main body of the mitts, created by knitting on right-side rounds and purling on wrong-side rounds (though in seamless in-the-round construction, only knit rounds are worked for stockinette)

Materials and Tools

Yarn: The pattern calls for Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light, a 100% superwash merino wool yarn in the colorway Espadrilles. The yarn provides 420 yards (402 meters) of fingering weight yarn, which is fine enough to create the lightweight character of these mitts while offering warmth and durability. Merino wool is prized for its softness, breathability, and easy-care properties due to the superwash treatment.

Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm) double-pointed needles are used, or the size necessary to achieve the specified gauge. Double-pointed needles are essential for working seamlessly in the round on a small circumference like mitts.

Additional Notions: The project requires 3 stitch markers to track pattern repeats and shaping, a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends, and a cable needle for holding stitches during cable crossings.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 28 stitches and 48 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for proper fit, as these mitts are sized to a specific hand circumference. The finished mitts measure approximately 7½ inches around the knuckles, designed to fit average adult hands comfortably.