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Protect Your Hands
Protecting Your Hands
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Protecting Your Hands
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While out and about, I notice people conscientiously using sun protection - wearing hats, with neck, arms, legs and feet covered, but their hands are naked, uncovered, waving in the sunshine. Pictures of our predecessors show them wearing lace mitts, muffatees or very long sleeves. The articles on the website, Cancer Supportive and Survivorship Care (www.cancersupportivecare.com) - stress shielding your skin against the sun's ultraviolet rays is vital.
Sunshine
(http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/sunshine.html)
Sun damage causes cosmetic skin changes associated with aging - wrinkles, leathery appearance, irregular pigmentation, age spots -- and may lead to skin cancer. Ultraviolet rays - UVA and UVB - penetrate the epidermis causing sunburn and skin cancer. Prevention of skin aging and cancer can make your life healthier and longer.
Skin cancer ranks as the most widespread cancer among Americans, but, fortunately, 90 to 95 percent of people with the disorder can be cured. Skin cancer can occur in all races and skin colors.
Sun Exposure: The Prevention of Skin Cancer
(http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/Survivorship/sun.html)
Cancer survivors should take extra care to protect their skin from sun exposure. Skin cancers are common second cancers, especially for those treated with radiation therapy. The best cure remains early detection, prompt treatment, and follow-up preventive care measures.
Lymphedema
(http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/Survivor/lymphissue.html)
Managing lymphedema can be a lifelong process. The following precaution will help survivors avoid infections and support their lymphedema program: Protect skin from excessive sunlight (use sun screens and insect repellents).
Hats, clothing and shade are still the only completely reliable sun protection. A new rating system by the FDA wants sunscreen labels to advise consumers that using a sunscreen is just one way they can protect themselves against the sun. Limit time in the sun and wear protective clothing as part of a comprehensive sun protection regimen. The FDA warning is intended to increase awareness that sunscreens are only one part of a sun protection program.1
But what about your hands? Of course, you want your hands covered when gardening. You can choose gloves from cotton to leather, short to long. However, who wants to wear heavy woolen gloves when the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius)?
The Hand Covers Project - Patterns To Crochet And Knit
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- When making mitts, muffattees or gloves, you must take into account:
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1. Hands and arms swell during hot weather -- make your hand and arm covers loose.
2. Peripheral neuropathy or nerve damage with symptoms such as numbness, tingling and pain in the extremities. Neuropathy may be caused by disease, injury, infections, side-effects of systemic illness such as chemotherapy, diabetes, etc2. Peripheral neuropathy may be a problem when driving or in air conditioned rooms and may be helped by wearing gloves or fingerless mitts. I have found wearing mitts very helpful for my hand neuropathy.
3. Lymphedema is a problem for many cancer survivors. Lymphedema is a chronic health problem that may cause pain, fatigue, loss of function, disfigurement (with self-image problems), distress, and anxiety. Lymphedema involves the chronic swelling of a limb and is caused by the build-up of fluid (lymph) in the soft tissues. Lymphedema occurs when the lymphatic vessels are no longer able to drain lymph fluid efficiently from an extremity, resulting in a swollen limb. (http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/Survivorship/lymphsurvive.html)
- Questions to Ask Before Creating Your Project
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1. Can these mitts be washed? When you sweat into the mitts will they need to be thrown away? What is the point of making something that needs dry cleaning?
2. Is the material used soft and comfortable? Scratchy is out!
3. Will the finished product breathe? Fine yarn is better than using clunky polar weight.
4. Does your project allow for easy movement of the hands and fingers? 5. Will you wear it?
6. Does it allow for swelling?
7. Natural vegetable fibers such as: cotton, silk, hemp, linen, rayon, etc. are good choices. Plant based yarn has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily. Linen from the flax (bast fiber) plant is absorbent and a good conductor of heat and feels cool to the touch. Linen is among the strongest of the vegetable fibers, with two to three times the strength of cotton. It is smooth and gets softer the more it is washed.
8. A beautiful elaborate crochet or knitted mitt design being created on knitting needles or crochet hooks will not protect the hands. Follow the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle. The fancier project can follow after you have a simple hand covering. - I have found by using a larger hook you can create a more pliable crochet item. Crocheted fabric uses 1/3 more yarn than knitted fabric. When choosing a hook multiply the recommended knit needle size by 1/3.
The following are simple patterns I have designed.
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The sample pair of Summer Linen Crocheted Mitts is using Louet Euroflax Sport Wt. Approximately 200 yards on a F-5 (3.75mm) hook. Gauge=4 sc per inch.
Chain number of stitches to go around your wrist comfortably including 1/2 (1.27cm) -- 1 inch (2.54 cm) extra. -
- Foundation Chain 38
- Row 1. Sc (single crochet)
- Chain one at the end of the row for the turning chain.
- Row 2. Insert hook into the second chain from the hook. Sc into each stitch across, ch 1, turn.
- Row 3-10. Repeat (or more rows if you want a longer covering for the wrist/forearm).
- Row 11. Join the stitches and start to work in the round. You no longer need a turning chain.
- Row 12.. Repeat row 11. - Row 13-16. Into each sc, crochet hdc (half double crochet) stitch. This row begins the flair to cover the area between wrist and upper hand.
- Row 17. Do an hdc increase every 3 stitches (two hdc stitches in every third hdc stitch). If the number of stitches will not divide equally add an extra double hdc increase.
- Row 18. Continue to crochet in Hdc until the mitt reaches the knuckles or the length you want.
- Row 19. End with a single crochet row
- Row 20. Crab stitch. (reverse single crochet stitch) - To Thumb or Not to Thumb
- - Chain 38
- Row 1. Sc (single crochet) 1 row.
Chain one at the end of the row for the turning chain.
- Row 2. Insert hook into the second chain from the hook. Sc into each stitch across, ch 1, turn.
- Row 3-12. Repeat (or more rows if you want a longer covering for the wrist/forearm). - Row 13. Into each sc, crochet hdc (half double crochet) stitch, hdc in each st across, ch 2, turn. This row begins the flair to cover the area between wrist and upper hand.
- Row 14-15. Repeat Row 13 for pat st.
- Row 16. Do an hdc increase every 3 stitches (two hdc stitches in every third hdc stitch). If the stitches will not divide equally, add an extra increase.
- Row 17. Hdc in ea st across, ch 2, turn. Repeat Row 17 until long enough to cover (or more) knuckles.
- Row 18. End with a sc row.
- Row 19. Crab stitch. (reverse single crochet stitch).
- Seam the sides together with the mattress stitch or crochet slip stitch from the bottom up together until reaching ½ inch (1.27cm) below thumb.
- Leave a 2" (5.08cm) gap and continue to join the sides until you reach where the single crochet wrist border begins.
- Sc around the wrist opening and top of mitt turning chain one.
- Finish with a crab stitch. (reverse single crochet stitch) - Thumb area
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- Pick up stitches around the thumb opening.
- Sc each stitch.
- Join.
- Using hdc make a covering for your thumb.
- End with a sc row both sides of the thumb opening.
- Crab stitch. (reverse single crochet stitch) - Wrist closing
Ideas to close the wrist area: - - Use button or toggles
- Lace up and tie
- Leave open
- What ever your imagination inspires you.
- Elastic is dubious. Do you want a red mark around your wrist because your circulation is compromised?
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- The sample pair of Summer Linen Knitted Mitts is using Louet Euroflax Sport Wt. Gauge: 6sts=1" US 3 (3mm) needle. Approximately 150 yards
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- Row 1. Cast on number of stitches to fit your wrist including 1/2 (1.27cm) -- 1 inch (2.54 cm) extra. I used the knitted cast on method with a size 3 knitting needle for 38 stitches
- Row 2. Garter stitch
- Repeat this border for 2 inches (or longer) to cover wrist area.
- Start flair for upper hand.
- Row 3. Last garter stitch border row, every third stitch make 1. Total 49 stitches (if you want a wider hand section increase 1 every other stitch. If the stitches do not divide equally by 3, round up adding an extra stitch.
- Row 4. Start the stockinette stitch
- Repeat Row 4 until appropriate length to knuckles. - Finishing
- The hand covering section is sewn into a tube using the mattress stitch or slip stitch crochet to the edge of the garter wrist border.
- Pick up stitches.
- Sc around the the wrist opening and top of mitt, ch 1, turn.
- Finish with a crab stitch. - To Thumb or Not to Thumb
- Seam the sides together by the mattress stitch or crochet slip stitch from the bottom up together until reaching ½ inch (1.27cm) below thumb. Leave a 2" (5.08cm) gap and continue to join the sides until you reach where the garter stitch border begins.
- Thumb area
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- Pick up the stitches with a crochet hook.
- Do a garter stitch border to cover the upper part of your thumb.
- Bind off.
- Sc around the thumb opening with chain one at the end of the row for the turning chain.
- Finish with the crab stitch. - Another Possibility for Joining the Edges
- You may want to weave the edges together from bottom to top with a ribbon to allow the hand covering to adjust depending on hand swelling.
- Wrist closing
Ideas to close the wrist area: - - Use button or toggles
- Lace up and tie
- Leave open
- What ever your imagination inspires you.
- Elastic is dubious. Do you want a red mark around your wrist because your circulation is compromised?
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- Starting the Summer Shells with Louet Euroflax Sport Wt. on a F-5 (3.75mm) hook Gauge 4 sc per inch, and Gauge size H-8 (5.0mm) hook for shells approximately 1 inch (2.54cm) by 1 inch (2.54cm)
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- Foundation Chain 36
- Row 1. Sc (single crochet)
- Chain one at the end of the row for the turning chain.
- Row 2. Insert hook into the second chain from the hook. Sc into each stitch across, ch 1, turn.
- Row 3-10. Repeat Row 2. - Wrist Edging rotate the sc piece 90 degrees
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- Chain 2
- Sc into the space between the first and second row
- Skip 2 rows
- Make shell [2dc,ch1,2dc] all in the next space between rows four and five
- Skip 2 rows
- Sc into the space between rows six and seven
- Skip 2 rows
- Make shell [2dc,ch1,2dc] all in the next space on row 9
Rotate the sc piece 90 degrees
- Sc into the space between the second and third stitch
- Skip 2 stitches between four and five.
- Make shell [2dc,ch1,2dc] all in the next space between stitches six and seven.
- Skip 2 stitches
Repeat to the end of the row.
- Turn the piece 90 degrees again.
- Make shell [2dc,ch1,2dc] in row eight
- Skip 2 rows
- Sc into the space between the rows six and five.
- Make shell [2dc,ch1,2dc] between rows four and three
- Sc into the space between the rows two and one.
End of shell wrist edging.
Rotate piece 90 degrees
- Row 11. Ch 1 and continue to sc the wrist piece with one increase stitch on each end. Total stitches 38
- Row 12. Ch 1 sc to end of row
- Row 13 Change to a size H-8 (5.0mm) hook Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) then do the shell stitch. Dc at end of row.
Row 14 Ch 3 (counts as first dc stitch) then do the shell stitch. Dc at end of row.
- Repeat Row 14 until the piece is the length you want. - Finishing
Join Summer Shells together with the mattress stitch or slip stitch crochet using the dc edge border stitches.
To Thumb or Not to Thumb - Seam the sides together by the mattress stitch or crochet slip stitch from the bottom up together until reaching ½ inch (1.27cm) below thumb. Leave a 2" (5.08cm) gap and continue to join the sides until you reach where the garter stitch border begins.
- To Thumb or Not to Thumb
- Seam the sides together by the mattress stitch or crochet slip stitch from the bottom up together until reaching ½ inch (1.27cm) below thumb. Leave a 2" (5.08cm) gap and continue to join the sides until you reach where the garter stitch border begins.
- Thumb area
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- Pick up the stitches with a crochet hook.
- Do a garter stitch border to cover the upper part of your thumb.
- Bind off.
- Sc around the thumb opening with chain one at the end of the row for the turning chain.
- Finish with the crab stitch. - Preparing To Wear
- - Using your favorite method, wash and block the crochet/knitted items.
- Washing and then blocking will smooth uneven stitches and seams. - Last But Not Least
- Wear your mitts knowing your hands are protected.
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Thank you Berkeley Public Library Knitters Group for your input.
References:
1 - U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Aims to Upgrade Sunscreen Labeling (http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm049091.htm)
- 2
- Peripheral Neuropathy Fact Sheet: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)(www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/detail_peripheralneuropathy.htm)
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