Yard Duty Mitts are a versatile fingerless glove/mitten combination: perfect for parents out with their young kids (and able to tie up shoe laces), teachers out in the playground doing yard duty, teens out with their ipods and smart phones, or commuters getting out their train tickets. No more cold hands when you need to do something, just flip the tops!

The pattern is written from the cuff upwards, with provisional cast-on and picking up and knitting stitches – so it’s not really a beginner pattern. The delicate picots make a lovely edge, and the thickness of the hem holds the mitt tops in place. There are options for using ribbing at the hems instead, for a sleeker fit.

This pattern is also made for handpainted yarns – the sample was knit in yarn that my daughter painted one school holidays, and the gloves were her teacher’s Christmas present. The mitts will also work beautifully in solid or tonal yarns, but this pattern is a good opportunity to use that skein of yarn that looked so tempting in the shop but that you can’t work out what to do with when you get it home.

Gauge is worked in larger needles, while the smaller needles are used for the facings or ribbing.

Also required:
2 small buttons and matching sewing thread.
Very minimal crochet skills - just to create a chain long enough to use as a button loop.