Homemade knits and crafts

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Yoga Gauntlets

I've been having problems doing various yoga poses because my hands keep slipping. Trying to maintain Downward Facing Dog was becoming quite comical as my hands slid further down the mat. Being the resourceful knitter I decided to make some modified gauntlets to stop the skidding. Cotton seemed like it would be best for my yoga gauntlets so I picked up some Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Summer Splash and began knitting. Here is the pattern I devised.

  1. Cast on 30 stitches using size 8 needles.
  2. Work in Knit 1, Purl 1 ribbing for 8 rows.
  3. Work in Stockinette for 8 rows.
  4. Work in Knit 1, Purl 1 ribbing for 8 rows.
  5. Bind off
  6. Weave the seam together leaving a 1.5 inch opening for your thumb.


yoga cuffs or yoga gauntlets


I wore the gauntlets to my yoga class this week and they worked ... no more sliding!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Handmade Baby Mitts

I saw some baby mitts on a friend's baby registry a few months ago and thought - I could make nicer ones than those. So I started experimenting. I picked up some Bernat Satin yarn in blue. It is super soft and nicer than some of the "baby" yarns I've seen.

The first knitting pattern I made went as follows:


  • Using size 8 needles, cast on 18 stitches.
  • Work in Knit 1 Purl 1 ribbing for 4 rows.
  • Work in stockinette for 10 rows.
  • Decrease by 2 stitches at begin and end of row. (16 stitches)
  • Purl the next row.
  • Knit, K2tog* repeat to end of row. (11 stitches)
  • Purl the next row.
  • K2tog* repeat to end of row. (6 stitches)
  • P2tog* repeat to end of row. (3 stitches)
  • Pull yarn through the remaining stitches and weave seam together.

Here is what baby mitt pattern #1 looks like when finished: Baby Mitts
They measure about 4 inches by 2 inches.

The second baby mitt pattern went as follows:

  • With size 8 needles cast on 22 stitches.
  • Work in Knit 1 Purl 1 ribbing for 5 rows.
  • Work in stockinette for 8 rows.
  • Decrease - K2tog* repeat
  • Purl
  • Decrease - K2tog* repeat
  • Purl
  • Decrease - K2tog* repeat
  • Pull yarn through the remaining stitches and weave seam together.

Here is what baby mitt pattern #2 looks like when finished:
Baby Mitts Too
These are slightly wider than the first pattern (2.5 inches instead of 2 inches) and seem easier to slide on baby hands.

Both patterns seem to fit tiny hands well.

Crafty gals

We are two sisters who love to craft. Join us as we explore knitting and other crafts.