Slanties are a super quick and easy pair of mitts that you can whip up in a day or two.

Techniques required: Knitting flat, knitting in the round, knit, purl, ktbl/ptbl, increasing, decreasing. Experience with double pointed needles would be helpful.

“HOW MANY BALLS OF CHONK SHOULD I BUY?”

If you’re making the small size, with no added length: 1 ball will be enough. My small sample gloves weighed 37 grams each.

If you’re making a larger size, or if you plan to add length: The honest answer is I don’t know. You might be able to get away with 1 ball. You might run out and need 2 balls. My large sample gloves weighed 53 grams each.

The original idea for this pattern was an easy, one-skein project that you could knit quickly for holiday gifts. But I wanted to be size inclusive, in addition to giving you options for adding length. And that has put me in the weird position of not knowing how much yarn to require. Your results will depend on several things—your gauge and the small, inevitable variations from skein to skein and knitter to knitter. Would you rather buy extra yarn and not need it, or need extra yarn and not have it? It’s the knitter’s eternal conundrum.

HOW DO I SUBSTITUTE A DIFFERENT YARN?

The short answer: anything that gets gauge. 3 sts and 5 rows per inch in stockinette stitch using 10.5 needles.

The longer answer is: look for something similar to Chonk—single ply wool yarn with 75 yards per 100 grams.

For example (since I know you’re going to ask), Malabrigo Rasta has 90 yards to 150 grams, which converts to 60 yards to 100 grams. Since this yarn is a little thicker than Chonk, your glove may turn out a bit larger if you use it.