How Big Are Hands?
So…..today I got a rower friend with big hands to try on the pogies I knit (using this pattern but maybe I didn’t follow it to the letter since they are not quite right). Now….these are not just knit, these are fully finished, which is what is making me a little mad with myself for not trying them on man-hands earlier.
There is a certain frustration in the “knit first, try on later” kind of attitude, specially when you try things on a non-knitter and ask for their opinion on sizing. I always hold my breath as they consider how things should really fit. I hold my breath, hoping that if there is something that needs fixing, it is an easy fix. For instance, making a mitten cuff longer is easy, but making it wider is not so easy.
It was decided that these pogies will fit oars fine-the opening might be a tad big but that can be adjusted. The width of the pogie is fine, but it might not be long enough to fit a man’s hand as it goes through the rowing motions. Hopefully I can rip out the cast-on edge and extend the cuff a few inches, and that will clear up most of the issue. The ribbing on the oar hole should also be extended a bit too so pinky fingers don’t end up getting exposed and cold. I think I’ll do these cuff extensions in white because I don’t have enough blue left.
A few hours and several inches of ribbing later, and–I hesitate to say–that these pogies are done! I hope they are up to the rowing standard.
For those curious, I ripped back the cast off edge at the oar hole and knit one more inch in white. I didn’t rip out the cast on edge at the cuff because the last time I did that it was a very tedious process. My work around was to cast on 48 sts and knit several inches of ribbing then use a darning needle and a long tail of white yarn to graft the live ribbing stitches to the cast on edge–it is lumpier than if I had re-knit it, but it’s not too bad.
