Valley Yarns Slip of the Wrist Hand Warmers Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Slip of the Wrist Hand Warmers

What is Being Made

The Slip of the Wrist Hand Warmers are a pair of knitted fingerless gloves designed by Vickie Howell. These hand warmers measure 8 inches in circumference and 9 inches in length, making them a practical accessory for keeping wrists and hands warm while maintaining finger mobility. The design features a two-color stranded knit pattern combined with cable details, creating visual interest while remaining accessible to beginner knitters.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs multiple knitting techniques to achieve its finished design. Stranded colorwork is used throughout the body, with two colors worked in alternating rounds to create a patterned fabric. Cable knitting is incorporated using cable stitches that twist the yarn for dimensional texture. The hand warmers are worked in the round using double pointed needles, which creates a seamless, tubular construction. The pattern also includes increases worked strategically to create a thumb gore—an opening that accommodates the thumb while maintaining the fitted wrist area. Waste yarn is used as a temporary holder for the thumb stitches during construction.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with specialty cable work. Core stitches include:

• Knit (k) and purl (p) stitches, which form the foundation of the ribbed cuff and stockinette sections
• Slip stitches (sl), worked with yarn in back to create floats in the stranded colorwork sections
• Cable stitches: c2b (cable 2 back) and c2f (cable 2 front), which involve slipping stitches to a cable needle, holding them to the back or front of the work, then knitting across to create twisted cable details
• Make 1 (M1) increases, worked by knitting into the strand running between stitches to add stitches for the thumb gore shaping

Materials and Tools

The hand warmers are knitted using Valley Yarns Valley Superwash, a yarn composed of 100% Extra Fine Merino wool. The pattern calls for 1 ball each of two colors: Blue Mood (color A) and Daiquiri Ice (color B), with each ball containing 98 yards of yarn per 50 grams. Knitting needles required include US size 8 (5.00mm) double pointed needles for the main body and US size 7 (4.50mm) double pointed needles for the ribbed cuff. Additional materials include 2 stitch markers to track pattern repeats and shaping, a cable needle for working cable stitches, waste yarn for temporarily holding thumb stitches, and a tapestry needle for finishing. The recommended gauge is 15 stitches and 27 rounds over 4 inches when worked in the pattern stitch with the larger needles.