Sheep Sanquhar Gloves Pattern

Sanquhar gloves (pronounced “sanker”) have captivated the Scottish, and non-Scottish like since the 1850s.  These gloves have a static architecture, meaning one cannot adjust the size by adding or subtracting a stitch here or there without disrupting the pattern and layout.  Therefore, the thickness of the yarn and the size of needles used determines the size of the gloves.  However, within those confines, I find it such fun to come up with new motifs to insert in the little squares.

These gloves traditionally consist of corrugated ribbing (where the purl ribs are a different color form the knit ribs), a section above the ribbing made os Salt and Pepper motif (alternating stitches of color) where a date and/or initials may be included.  Then the hand is worked, consisting of the motifs and the thumb gusset. The fingers are all three-sided, with tiny gussets between some of them, called fourchettes.  The fingers and thumb end in pyramids.