Aya's Fingerless Mitts knitting pattern

In Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 6: Martyr, Aya lends Keriah a pair of fingerless gloves since the room is so cold.

I had a stitch pattern in mind, but not a yarn to use, so it took me a little while to knit this. I eventually decided to use a yarn that isn’t anything like the yarns available in the Regency, but it’s such a pretty yarn I didn’t care!

The yarn is a Knit Picks Special Reserve yarn called Japanese Color Twist. I know that the colors were dyed by Japanese artisan dyers. It looks like they dyed the wool roving, and then the roving was spun into the yarn creating this wild colorway. The name of the colorway is Harajuku, which made me laugh since it’s exactly what I’d expect from the Land of Cosplay.

The lace pattern is named “#79 Kind of Wave Running Across (very pretty for a purse),” originally published on pages 171-172 in The Lady's Assistant, volume 2 by Mrs. Jane Gaugain, published in 1842. (You can download a scanned .pdf of the 5th edition of the book, published in 1857, from Archive.org.) I altered the stitch pattern slightly by changing some of the decreases to have directionality.

(My mom modeled the mitts for me since it was either she took the photos or I did.)

I also made this pattern into a PDF, which you can download here.

View this pattern on Ravelry

Finished measurements: Approximately 8" around wrist (unstretched) and 7.5" long

To adjust the circumference of the mitts, add or subtract stitches in multiples of 8.

Yarn: Knit Picks Japanese Color Twist (100% wool, 109 yards/40 grams, worsted weight) Harajuku colorway, 1 ball

Needles: US 6 (4 mm)

Gauge: 5 stitches and 6.5 rows per inch in stockinette stitch

k = knit

p = purl

ssk = slip, slip, knit

k2tog = knit 2 stitches together

A = slip 1 stitch, knit 2 stitches together, pass the slipped stitch over the k2tog stitch

YO = yarn over

Instructions:

Cast on 40 stitches and join in the round. I used tubular cast-on.

Work k1p1 ribbing for 1”.

Set-up round: (p1, k7) around

Lace pattern (8 stitches per repeat):

Round 1: p1, YO, ssk, k3, k2tog, YO

Round 2: p1, k7

Round 3: p1, k1, YO, ssk, k1, k2tog, YO, k1

Round 4: p1, k7

Round 5: p1, k2, YO, A, YO, k2

Round 6: knit

Work lace pattern through 5 times or however long you’d like the cuff to be. End after round 6 of lace pattern.

Increase for thumb gusset:

Round 1: (p1, make 1 purl, YO, ssk, k3, k2tog, YO) twice, then continue round 1 of lace pattern.

Round 2: p2, k7, p2, k7, then (p1, k7) to the end of round.

Round 3: (p1, make 1 purl, p1, k1, YO, ssk, k1, k2tog, YO, k1) twice, then continue round 3 of lace pattern.

Round 4: p3, k7, p3, k7, then (p1, k7) to the end of round.

Round 5: place the first 12 stitches of the round on waste yarn (p3, k7, p2), then work round 5 of lace pattern on remaining stitches, joining the round and leaving out the 12 stitches on waste yarn.

Round 6: work round 6 of lace pattern.

Work the 6 rounds of the lace pattern once more.

Work p1k1 ribbing for 1”.

Bind off loosely. I used a US 8 needle.

Take the 12 stitches from waste yarn and put on double pointed needles. Reattach yarn and work k1p1 ribbing, picking up two extra stitches in the gap. In the next round, knit the two picked up stitches with the stitches next to them, decreasing 2 stitches.

Work k1p1 ribbing in the round for 1”. Bind off loosely.