08 February, 2009

Coraline Gloves

On Friday, ManCandy and I went to see Coraline. It was... amazing. A beautiful and scary and clever film that touches on all the secret fears of kids around Coraline's age. I'd highly recommend reading the book first; this is one of the rare movies that expands on the story without losing its heart and soul.

Coraline also gives good knit. There's a lovely starry sweater that's just adorable, but there's also a pair of gloves that Coraline - and I - desperately want. And there is as yet no pattern. Well, there was no pattern until yesterday, when I made one.

So here in all its glory is a pattern for the Coraline gloves. The stripe sequence inside the pattern itself is as true to the itty bitty original gloves (by the amazing Althea Crome) as I can make it.

Also, welcome to everyone from Craft and Lime and Violet's Daily Chum, and especially those from Mr. Gaiman's blog! I'm thrilled that you guys like the gloves. And (ahem) Hi, Mr. Gaiman! I can die happy now.


EDIT: Changes were made on 2/9. They appear in red.

Size: Women's small (Hand circumference 7.5")
Materials: Cascade Yarns Cash Vero [55% merino, 33% acrylic, 12% cashmere] Color #006 - pumpkin (MC), #032 - Olive (CC1), #002 - black (CC2), : One ball each
Stitch markers, darning needle, scrap yarn for holding stitches.
Note: One ball of each will most likely give you two pairs of gloves, if not three depending on the size of your hands.
Needles: Size 6 or whatever size needed to get gauge
Gauge: 5 sts/inch

Pattern notes:
*Because of the many color changes, it is easiest to carry extra strands up the inside edge of the glove.

PM - place marker
M1 - make one by picking up from the round beneath and knitting through the back loop
A short video for the cable cast-on can be found here.

Directions:

CO 34 sts in MC
Arrange on needles so that the beginning of the round is NOT at the edge of a needle. This will make it easier to carry the extra colors up the inside edge and snug up the joins from one color to the next. PM to mark beginning of round and join for knitting in the round.

Work K1P1 rib for 2"
Knit 3 rounds plain
Drop MC but do not cut.
Join CC1, knit 2 rounds
Drop CC1 but do not cut.
Join CC2, knit 3 rounds.

Thumb Gusset:
Pick up MC and knit 17 sts. PM, M1, K1, M1, PM. Knit rest of stitches in round.
K 1 round
K to marker, slip marker, M1, k3, M1, slip marker, K rest of sts in round.
K1 round
Drop MC and pick up CC1.
K to marker, slip marker, M1, k5, M1, slip marker, K rest of stitches in round.
Drop CC1 and pick up MC
K 1 round
K to marker, slip to marker, M1, k7, M1, slip marker, K rest of stitches in round.
Drop MC and pick up CC2
K 1 round
K to marker, slip marker, M1, k9, M1, slip marker, K rest of stitches in round.
Drop CC2 and pick up CC1
K 1 round
K to marker, slip marker, M1, k11, M1, slip marker, K rest of stitches in round.
K 1 round
K to marker, slip marker, M1, k13, slip marker, K rest of stitches in round. 14 stitches between markers.
Drop CC1 and pick up CC2
K 2 rounds
Drop CC2, cut and weave in ends. Pick up MC
K to marker. Place 14 gusset stitches on a holder or piece of scrap yarn.

Glove Top:
Using cable cast-on, CO 2 sts with MC and continue knitting round. Total sts: 36
K 5 rounds in MC
Drop MC and pick up CC1
K 2 rounds plus 4 stitches in CC1
Drop CC1 and pick up MC, beginning at 4 stitches after beginning of round (directly after dropping CC1)
K to 5 sts before end of round.
Drop MC and join CC2 4 stitches before end of round.
K to 4 sts before end of round.
Drop CC2 and pick up CC1. Trim CC2 and MC and weave in ends BEFORE moving on to fingers.
(Note: All this fussing will give you a pumpkin stripe around the first 3 fingers of your hand but not around your littlest finger, as in the original bitty gloves. If you don't care that much, simply k 1 round of MC then 1 round of CC2 and continue as written for Fingers, below.)

Fingers:
Little finger:
Join CC1 at 4 sts before beginning of round. Knit 8 sts in CC1. Using cable cast-on, CO 2 sts. Total sts for little finger: 10
Place remaining 28 sts on holder. The stitches on your needle will create the littlest finger for your glove.
K in the round until you reach the tip of your little finger.
Final round: *k2tog, k1* 3 times, K1.
(This is a good time to try on your glove to see if the little finger is long enough. The knitting should be about 1 stitch's height longer than your finger.)
Cut yarn and, using a darning needle, run through all stitches. Pull tight to close.

Very important step! Count the rounds from the bottom of your finger to the top. Write it down. For example, my gloves are 16 rounds from the base of my finger to the final round.

Ring finger:
Pick up 4 sts from each side of the glove. With the completed little finger on your right, join CC1 and k 4 sts. Using cable cast-on, CO 1 st, then k 4 sts from other side of glove. Using cable cast-on, CO 2 sts. Total sts for ring finger: 11
K the number of rounds from your little finger in CC1. (For mine, 16 rounds.)
Cut CC1 and join MC
K in the round until you reach the tip of your ring finger.
Final round: *k2tog, k1* 3 times, k2tog.
(This is a good time to try on your glove to see if the ring finger is long enough. Don't worry about the gaping holes between the fingers; we'll close those up later.)
Cut yarn and, using a darning needle, run through all stitches. Pull tight to close.

Middle finger:
Pick up 5 sts from each side of the glove.
With the completed fingers on your right, join CC1 and k 5 sts. Using cable cast-on, CO 2 sts, then k 5 sts from other side of glove. Using cable cast-on, CO 1 st. Total sts for middle finger: 12
K the number of rounds from your little finger in CC1. (For mine, 16 rounds.)
Cut CC1 and join MC
K in the round until you reach the tip of your middle finger.
Final round: *k2tog, k1* 4 times.
(This is a good time to try on your glove to see if the middle finger is long enough.)
Cut yarn and, using a darning needle, run through all stitches. Pull tight to close.

Pointer finger:
Pick up remaining 10 sts.
With the completed fingers on your right, join CC1 and k 10 sts. Using cable cast-on, CO 2 sts. Total sts for pointer finger: 12
K the number of rounds from your little finger in CC1. (For mine, 16 rounds.)
Cut CC1 and join MC
K in the round until you reach the tip of your ring finger.
Final round: *k2tog, k1* 4 times.
(This is a good time to try on your glove to see if all the fingers are long enough.)
Cut yarn and, using a darning needle, run through all stitches. Pull tight to close.

Thumb:
Pick up 14 thumb sts. Join MC, k 14 sts. Using cable cast-on, CO 2 sts to bridge gap. Total thumb sts: 16.
K 5 rounds MC
Drop MC and join CC1
K 4 rounds CC1
Cut CC1 and pick up MC
K in the round until you reach the tip of your thumb.
*k2tog, k2* 4 times. 12 sts remain.
Final round: *k2tog* all sts; 6 sts remain.
Cut yarn and, using a darning needle, run through all stitches. Pull tight to close.

Closing the gaps:
Using a darning needle and CC1, weave gaps in fingers together. Do the same for the thumb using CC2.
Weave in all ends. Repeat for glove #2.


I hope you enjoy your Coraline gloves!

33 comments:

  1. Thank you for the pattern!
    I love when my geeky worlds overlap like this :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great pattern. I came here from Lime & Violet. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. No way! This is fabulous! I just headed over from Lime and Violet as well and I'm SOOO excited about this project. I'll be linking to this tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I blogged about these gloves, might be a venture into knitted gloves for ME. Beautiful job! Thank you also for sharing the pattern with us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I agree! I read the book first before I saw the movie and I love, love, love the movie. I want EVERYTHING Coraline!
    Thanks for sharing the pattern

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very cute! How long did this project take?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for the pattern, I found you via Craft.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very cute - I came here via Neil Gaiman's blog, are you aware he's linked to this? :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi there!

    I wanted to let you know that you did an excellent job re-creating the gloves for full scale. Visually, they are very close to my design. Coraline's gloves actually have three different shades of green which, in the movie, is hard to see, but I think your version "reads" just as well with only two shades. Your colors are excellent and match the original very closely. Bravo on a job well done.
    Althea Crome

    ReplyDelete
  10. OMG. i COVET! regular gloves do not fit me, as i've a hand injury that...um...truncated my digits. i'm not a knitter, so i'm going to attempt converting this to crochet (tunisian)...as a relative novice, this will tax my brain considerably.

    i've only seen previews of Coraline, and i ADORE Mr. Gaiman's work (he's not bad either ;) ). props on the nod from him!

    sincerely,
    alixinwunderland

    ReplyDelete
  11. These are so awesome! Thanks so much for posting the pattern. I appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Props for the kudos from Althea Crome herself - congrats on a great interpretation!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the pattern. Though I've only begun knitting a few months ago, and it will be a while before I do gloves. Still Coraline. And you got them so close! They are wonderful.
    And I friended you in Ravelry - I'm AuntieM42
    Happy Knitting!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am a HUGE fan of the book and the movie. I think you did a wonderful job. I have no idea how to knit and i was wondering if i could buy a pair from you. please let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Could you PLEASE give step by step instructions on how to knit the Coraline sweater?
    I'm a beginning knitter and I've made a hat and some scarves but need a lot of help on how to do this.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for sharing your coraline glove pattern.I am also a big fan of the movie I saw it 2 on 3D. And also I made myself of course a pair of the coraline gloves.They came out ok. Know I am all ready set to be coraline for holloween.Hopefully.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love the gloves wondering if made with worsted wt or dk wt.
    any one know

    ReplyDelete
  18. First off, you have amazing talent. Those gloves are simply gorgeous. I've been gathering the pieces necessary for a Coraline gift box. I've made a key, seeing stone, button eye box (the one from other mother), but those gloves would be the perfect finishing touch. Unfortunetly I have 0 knitting ability and have been unable to find someone I know who does. I was wondering if your gloves are for sale. Or if not, if I might hire you to make another pair.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Is there any way I could hire someone to make a couple of pairs of these gloves for me? I would totally appreciate it! My grandmother was the only one that used to knit and crochet, but she passed away and no one in my family knows how to knit or crochet...I would gladly pay anyone to make them...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ill make the gloves for you...If it is ok with the designer.

    lissaplus2@yahoo.com

    contact me and we can work out details.

    ReplyDelete
  21. It's perfectly fine with me! The pattern is meant to be shared, after all. However, please make sure that you don't sell yourself short in terms of payment. You worked hard to earn your knitting skills and deserve to be compensated accordingly!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh thank you so much! I sent you an email :) And thank you Tikabelle! I wish to learn how to knit myself, but with the way I work I have no time to learn...hopefully I can start making the time because this looks like a really cool craft!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Those gloves are so awesome. My 6 year old daughter absolutely loves the movie and would give her two front teeth for a pair of "Coraline gloves". As of now she wears striped mittens around the house and pretends they are the real thing.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great gloves! I was wondering if you used regular straight needles or round ones? I ask because you refer to a row as a "round". Thank you! I would very much like to begin my quest to knit the perfect coraline gloves. :]

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh, and in addition, i noticed that your instructions tell readers to knit the rounds, but your picture looks like more of a stockinette stitch to me?
    Sincerely---an avid teen knitter.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Excellent questions! Yes, I knitted these on double-pointed needles instead of straights, so they are knitted "in the round" instead of "flat," and rows are referred to as rounds instead. Could it GET more confusing?!?

    And you're absolutely right about knitting the rounds. One of the beauties of in-the-round knitting is that the outside (the right side) is all knitted and the inside (wrong side) is all purled, creating an automatic stockinette. There's no purling work to be done!

    Good luck and send me a picture of your finished gloves!
    Cheers!
    T

    ReplyDelete
  27. Is there any way possible to get my hands on a pair of these gloves ? I would never in a million years have the ability to sew these nor do I know anyone that would be able to. I've searched high and low and tried myself to make them and no luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  28. So cute! I love these!
    I have to make me a pair.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Aww I would love to get a pair of these for my friend. Unfortunately I have no idea how to do this.

    If anybody could help me find a way to get a pair email me at cbaytala@gmail.com.

    Thanks so much.
    These are awesome. :D

    ReplyDelete
  30. This may sound like a silly question, but what do you mean by 'for 2"' when you say Work K1P1 rib for 2"? For two rounds? For two stitches? I tried looking it up, but I couldn't find anything on it. Sorry if I don't make sense!

    ReplyDelete
  31. No problem! It means that your cuff should be 2 inches (about 6 cm) long. Good luck with your gloves!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Good luck and send me a picture of your finished gloves.

    ReplyDelete
  33. thanks for the informations!

    ReplyDelete