Free Pattern for Rainbow Fingerless Gloves in Tunisian Crochet Mesh Stitch

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Are you in need of a bright, cheerful and colorful new pattern for crocheting fingerless gloves, also known as texting gloves? Would you like to try making your fingerless gloves using the Tunisian crochet technique? If so, I invite you to check out this lovely, FREE crochet pattern for rainbow fingerless gloves made using the Tunisian crochet mesh stitch.

Skill Level: Easy

Materials:

You’ll need 6 different colors of Cascade 220 worsted weight wool yarn to make this project as shown above:

• Color A = Purple — I used Lilac Mist, color #8912
• Color B = Blue — I used Robin’s Egg Blue, color #8905
• Color C = Green — I used Primavera, color #8903
• Color D = Yellow — I used Goldenrod, color #7827, but I think a deeper yellow like #9669, Gold Fusion, would also work nicely here
• Color E = Orange — I used Burnt Orange, color #7824
• Color F (Main Color) = Red — To make the sample gloves pictured above, I used a red yarn that has now been discontinued, but Cascade 220 comes in bunches of other reds and bright pinks that would work just as well in this position.

Please do not feel obligated to buy new yarn for this project! This is an excellent scrap yarn pattern. If you have 6 different odds and ends of the same brand and fiber of coordinating medium-weight yarn hanging around in your yarn stash, try using those and see what happens. Keep in mind that 2 rows of the pattern requires about 4 1/3 yards (about 4 meters) of yarn. They don’t have to form a perfect rainbow to make cool-looking fingerless gloves. They just have to be colors that all work well together when viewed next to each other. Just substitute the brightest and/or most prominent color where the red is in the original colorway (rows 11-13) and you’re likely to end up with a really cool pair of texting gloves.

Crochet Hook: You’ll need a size J / 10 / 6.0 mm Afghan hook that measures at least 10 inches (25 cm) long.

Other: You’ll need 2 stitch markers or safety pins for marking the thumb openings on each fingerless glove. You’ll also need a tapestry needle for sewing the side seams on the fingerless gloves, and for weaving in all your loose ends. You’ll also need a ruler for checking your gauge and a pair of scissors.

Gauge:

Before blocking, 15 sts = about 4″; 1″ = a bit less than 4 sts (about 3.75 sts)

Finished Size:

Before blocking, the sample gloves measure about 6 inches square. I blocked them to finished dimensions of 7 inches wide by 6.5 inches.

You want each rectangle to be wide enough to wrap all the way around your hand, but not significantly wider, after blocking. If you need your fingerless gloves to be a different size than my sample, you can add stitches to your starting chain for a larger pair, or subtract stitches from your starting chain for a smaller pair. In any case, the starting chain should be an odd number of stitches for the pattern to work out right.

Special Stitches You Will Need for Crocheting These Fingerless Gloves

You’ll work these fingerless gloves in Tunisian crochet mesh stitch, which is an easy variation of afghan stitch. If you haven’t yet learned the afghan stitch, you can click here for free, step-by-step afghan stitch instructions.

Crochet Abbreviations List

• ch = chain
• ea = each
• rep = repeat
• sl st = slip stitch
• st = stitch
• YO = Yarnover: Wrap your yarn over and around your hook from back to front and then under your hook so it ends up in back again.

Pattern Notes After you’re finished with each color, cut it, leaving a long tail of yarn. This long tail will be used for both sewing the side seams and securely weaving in, so you should ensure there are at least 6 inches of each color to work with.

How to Crochet the Fingerless Gloves:

Using color A (purple, or the color of your choice), ch 23.

Work in Tunisian crochet mesh stitch as follows:

Row 1: Work a row of standard afghan stitch by pulling up a loop in ea vertical bar across the row. Then ch 1 and complete the standard return pass as follows: *Wrap the yarn over your hook and pull it through 2 loops.* Rep the sequence between *s, consolidating loops 2 at a time until you have only 1 loop remaining on your hook.

Row 2: The active loop on your hook counts as the first st; skip the first vertical bar, which is directly below your active loop. Work 1 afghan st in the next vertical bar. [YO, skip next vertical bar, work 1 afghan st in next vertical bar.] Rep the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. The last st in the row will be an afghan st worked in the last vertical bar.

Ch 1 and work the standard Tunisian crochet return pass, consolidating loops 2 at a time until only 2 loops remain on your hook. At that point, change colors to color B (blue, or the color of your choice) by dropping color A and wrapping color B around your hook and then pulling a loop of it through to consolidate those final 2 loops into one active loop.

To complete the rest of the project, you’ll simply rep row 2, with color changes where they’re needed to achieve the correct color pattern. You’ll work 2 rows of every color in your sequence except for the main color, in which case, you work 3 rows. At the end of every other row, you change colors to the next color in the sequence.

Rows 3-4 Work in color B (blue, or the color of your choice)

Rows 5-6 Work in color C (green, or the color of your choice)

Rows 7-8 Work in color D (yellow, or the color of your choice)

Rows 9-10 Work in color color E (orange, or the color of your choice)

Rows 11-13 Work in color F (Main Color – red, or the color of your choice)

Rows 14-15 Work in color E (orange, or the color of your choice)

Rows 16-17 Work in color color D (yellow, or the color of your choice)

Last Row: Continue working in color D as follows: Work 1 sl st in ea st across, including both the afghan sts and the YOs.

End off, leaving a long tail of yarn for sewing the side seams and weaving in.

Make 2 identical pieces using these instructions.

How to Finish the Fingerless Gloves

Block your 2 rectangular pieces to identical dimensions before proceeding.

To finish these gloves, you’ll first use your loose ends to sew the side seams, taking care to leave a 2-inch thumb opening on each glove (you can adjust the size of the thumb opening to your own preferences, making it larger or smaller if you prefer). I suggest marking each side of your thumb opening with a stitch marker or safety pin to remind yourself not to stitch beyond that spot.

I suggest using color A to stitch the side seam closed on the 2 rows you crocheted in color A; then using color B to stitch the side seam closed on the 2 rows you crocheted in color B; and so on. I also suggest adding extra reinforcement (stitching more than once — perhaps 3 or 4 times) on the areas closest to your thumb openings on either side — because those areas will be subjected to a lot of stress when you wear your gloves.

After you’re satisfied that your side seams are totally secure, turn your gloves inside out. Use a crochet hook to pull all the remaining loose ends through and weave them securely into the wrong sides of the gloves.

When you’re finished with weaving in the ends, you can turn your gloves right side out. They are now ready for wearing or gifting. Enjoy!

Alternate Colorways

Feel free to move the colors around when you create alternate colorways. For example, I made an alternate colorway that includes pink, teal and tan yarn, but doesn’t include orange, blue or purple yarn. I thought it would be nicer to have tan yarn at both the tops and the bottoms of the gloves. So my color sequence for the new colorway is different than the original, as follows:

• 2 rows tan yarn (I used Cascade 220 color #8622, Camel)
• 2 rows teal yarn ( I used 9639 Fanfare, which has now been discontinued. You have bunches of other options for possible substitutes, including Ultramarine Green, color #9672, Deep Blue Grass, color #9687, and others.)
• 2 rows green yarn (I used Primavera, color #8903)
• 2 rows yellow yarn (I used color #9463B, Gold)
• 2 rows pink yarn (I used Hot Pink, Cascade 220 color #9469)
• 3 rows red yarn (I used Ruby, Cascade 220 color #9404)
• 2 rows pink yarn
• 2 rows tan yarn in Tunisian crochet mesh stitch, plus the final row in slip stitch.

So there you have it: That’s how you make rainbow crochet fingerless gloves. I hope you’ll enjoy making and wearing this project.

Check Out More Rainbow Crochet Patterns

• Learn How to Crochet a Granny Square — You Can Use a Rainbow of Colors for Crocheting Your Grannies!
• Find a Free Pattern for a Rainbow Tapestry Crochet Scarf

Find More Excellent Tunisian Crochet Patterns

• Free Pattern for a Tunisian Crochet Mesh Dishcloth
• Free Pattern for a Two-Color Tunisian Crochet Mesh Baby Headband
• Tunisian Crochet for Baby
• Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet

Learn More About Tunisian Crochet

• How to Increase in Afghan Stitch
• How to Decrease in Afghan Stitch
• Find More Tunisian Crochet Tutorials and Patterns

 

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This page was last updated on 1-21-2020.