Schematics please?

I always say I’m going to knit gloves so over Christmas break I decided to give Ringwood Gloves a try.

Here is what I learned: IF IT IS NOT A BASIC GEOMETRIC SHAPE, IT NEEDS A SCHEMATIC.

rg1

This thing doesn’t fit AT ALL. A schematic would have helped me realize that before knitting the majority of a glove. I do have the skills to make a schematic for myself to look at, but it would be nice if there was one to start with so I didn’t have to draw schematics for every glove pattern that I consider making. Seriously. Glove patterns don’t ever seem to come with schematics or detailed measurements. This particular pattern gives you the knuckles measurements and that is it. I can find the other measurements by using the stitch counts and gauge but that can be obnoxious.

rg2

I probably could have guessed that my gloves wouldn’t fit because store bought gloves never seem to fit me for the following reasons:

1. I have really wide knuckles and it’s hard to find store bought gloves that fit them. My Ringwood Gloves fit my knuckles with a little negative ease. That was why I picked the size I did. My finger width matches my knuckles so that fit too.

2. My palms aren’t very tall. I thought I could adjust for it in the Ringwood pattern by working fewer rows after the thumb gusset where it said to adjust the length, but…

3. My palms are short above and below my thumbs. The gusset was too long.

4. My thumbs are really really narrow. They’re the same size as my index fingers. The gusset was too big as well.

5. I knew that I was going to have to work more rows for the fingers because I have long fingers. I anticipated that. Store bought gloves are always too short in the fingers on me.

6. I also wear my finger nails really long which means the fingers on my gloves have to be even longer. I had just cut my nails the day I took these pictures.

7. My wrist is really narrow. The cuffs and the rows before the gusset were too big.

Anyways, now that my glove rage has subsided, I realize that I could probably rework the pattern to fit my hands. The fact that the gusset is too big in all directions means that it won’t be too hard to adjust and I could change change the cuff to ribbing to fix the size problems. I just don’t want to look at the pattern for awhile. I’m still angry with it.


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10 responses to “Schematics please?”

  1. that’s so interesting- you’re right, and there are so seldom schematics for gloves!

  2. These are very interesting – and timely – comments as I’m working on a convertible glove pattern right now! I should put a schematic in there…

  3. Uck. It sucks to put so much work into something that doesn’t fit! Gloves in particular seem like a difficult project to fit correctly. I once tried to knit gloves for a friend who had skinny wrists and palms that were the exact size as mine, and made the mistake of ignoring that his hands were way wider than mine front-to-back, but by the time I figured it out I had already finished the first glove. I still haven’t had the heart to rip them out or finish the second one.

  4. I agree gloves seem particularly tricky – I’m just working on some (very simple ones) for my other half who has long fingers, wide palms and skinny wrists. They do look awfully wrong, but seem to fit pretty well.

  5. Your nails are so perfect!
    And I have trouble with gloves too, my wrists are child-sized. I can never use a pre-written pattern, I always have to design for myself.

  6. This is great! I love that “7 reasons” picture. Good luck with the gloves… I’m still too scared to tackle them!

  7. The best fitting pair of gloves I’ve ever knit were from Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Patterns. I measured my fingers for length, but otherwise I followed the patter to the letter. She’s a gusset genius! You can’t fail with these, especially if you’re not a ‘standard size’ (which I honestly don’t think anyone is).

  8. It is awesome that you understand your hand so well. It will make for a better glove in the future.

  9. Haaaaa I love that. Was not expecting a detailed figure with your 7 reasons. BTW I love your mustard-colored sweater a few posts back. I meant to mention it earlier, but I forgot. It is so so pretty.

  10. Hey, narrow thumb/long fingers/wide knuckles sounds like my hand! That doesn’t sound too weird to me 🙂 Whenever I make gloves, I basically ignore the instructions once I hit the thumb; I just try it on as I go. (If it’s not an in-the-round glove, I don’t make it.) But then I think hands are probably the most variable body part between people, maybe because they’re so small that any ill-fitting spot on a glove is immediately noticeable?

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