Knucks for me

John and I now have matching pairs of Knucks (although mine doesn't say LOVE and HATE).


Here's an almost-done in-progress shot:


Originally I tried the textured cuff suggested in the pattern, but I didn't like the way it came out, and it wasn't stretchy at all. (I did it in the car at night so it's possible I just messed it up.) I ripped out the cuff and re-knitted it in K2P2 ribbing. So much better!

They fit me better than any gloves have ever fit me. I love having my fingers free to operate my iPod or fish my Metrocard out of my pocket. My hands are still surprisingly warm due to the alpaca, especially with the unseasonably warm weather we've been having.

I learned a few lessons from John's Knucks that I was able to apply to mine. The pattern says "less is more" when it comes to stitching up the holes between the fingers. I followed that advice on John's, but the holes next to the thumbs opened up after some time and I had to mend them. On mine, I was extra careful in closing up the holes. So far, so good.

I also made the fingers much tighter on mine, since the alpaca has a tendency to stretch out, and John's Knucks are no longer snug on his fingers. Making the fingers tighter may have also helped prevent curling. Only one thumb on mine is starting to curl. I haven't tried blocking them yet -- maybe that could also help keep the curling in check.

The cuffs on John's Knucks ended up being too short to go under his coat sleeves. I made my cuffs just under 2" long, which is proving to be a perfect length.

Knucks for me
Started: Oct. 24, 2006
Finished: Dec. 30, 2006
Pattern: Knucks from Knitty
Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Sport, color #0010, 1 skein (130 yds.)
Needles: US 2 dpns

Three Knucks

I finished John's Knucks the night before Rhinebeck, so he was able to wear them at the fiber festival. The gauge issue was fixed by ripping back to the fingers and reknitting with US 2 dpns. I used K2P2 ribbing for the cuffs. One of the fingers is curling a bit -- maybe the cast on wasn't tight enough. After John had worn them a bit, he mentioned the cuffs are kind of an awkward length. It wouldn't be hard to take out the bindoff and make the cuffs longer, but John won't let me! He's wearing them a lot, so that's good.

John's Knucks used up almost exactly one ball of the Frog Tree Alpaca -- less than a yard is left over! Since I had bought two, I started a pair for myself. I just about finished one Knuck, but I tried the "textured cuff" and I'm really not crazy about it. It's not very stretchy, and it doesn't look so great. Maybe I messed it up since I was knitting with a headlamp in the car on the way to Rochester. Or maybe it's just that alpaca doesn't lend itself well to textured stitches. At any rate, I'm thinking I will rip back and redo the cuff in ribbing.


John's Knucks
Started: Oct. 7
Finished: Oct. 20
Pattern: Knucks from Knitty
Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Sport, color #0010, 1 skein (130 yds.)
Needles: Fingers: US 4 dpns; rest of gloves: US 2 dpns

Knucks yarn

Emily and I went to Knitty City and I picked up some sport weight alpaca for Knucks I'm knitting for John. I started one but ended up having serious gauge issues and it's coming out way too big. I'm not sure yet what I'll do, but maybe I can get away with ripping back just to where the thumb is joined and switching to smaller needles. For now I've set it aside.