Knitting a Glove without a Pattern

I had a commenter ask how to make my Fingerless Gloves for smaller hands. I was going to just size down the pattern, but I think you would benefit more from me showing you how I usually do gloves. You see, unless it's something unusual, I won't use a pattern. Same with socks, but that's a different post for another time. That's the beauty of knitting; once you see how you can construct something and the formula for it, you can pretty much do anything. Patterns are nice, but what makes a strong knitter isn't always the ability to follow a pattern, but to be able to improvise!

The basic things you see in the videos still are relevant; you still cast on and knit the cuff the same way. You still do the thumb increase the same way and still stop knitting in the round at the top of the hand the same way. This is just to show how I do all these things without using a pattern.

1. First step is figuring out gauge. Knit out a swatch about 2 inches wide and measure how many stitches per inch you're getting with that yarn and needle combo. This step is important on any garment where fit is an issue. Even if you frog the swatch to reuse the yarn for your project, don't underestimate the power of the gauge swatch.
2. Once you know how many stitches per inch, measure around your hand with a soft tape measure.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   If you look at the illustration, roughly where the red line is, but going all the way around your hand. Multiply how many inches around your hand is with how many stitches per inch you figured out in step one. Round up or down (whichever is closest) to a number divisible by 4 and cast on that number. For example, if you have 5 stitches per inch and you have a 5-inch hand circumference, you'd have 25. The closest divisible-by-4 number is 24, so you'd cast on 24 stitches. Of course, you also divide the stitches evenly on DPNs and use a marker to mark the beginning of the row. This will make for a very form-fitting glove. If you want something looser, cast on an additional 4-8 stitches.
3. To knit a glove like the original pattern, start knitting in a 2x2 rib (2k2p) until you've reached a cuff length that you'd like. I usually go with 2-3 inches as I'm a larger-framed person, but you can make it as long or as short as you'd like. 
4. Once you've gotten your cuff finished, knit 2 rows of stockinette (all knit). Then, at the beginning of the next row, you're going to start your thumb increase. This does not vary from the video save for the amount of stitches used.
   
   
     
   
   
5. Basically, the way to do the gloves doesn't vary from the videos at this point. You do everything the same way, but with different stitches. The only thing that will change is the fingers in that you probably won't use the same number of stitches as I did if you have a smaller hand.
6. If you're not inclined to visually estimate the circumference of each finger, measure as you did before with your soft tape measure around the thickest part of each finger to figure out how many stitches each one needs.

I am fully aware that this is a very short tutorial. I will happily answer any questions you have about this, but don't be afraid of this! If you're used to riding a bike with training wheels, it's only scary when you first take them off but then it's like you were born for it. :)

Here are the other videos in the series for reference:

Could it be?

A new project?? Say it ain't so!