two-tone fingerless gloves

My friend Max has apparently stolen his girlfriend's fingerless gloves, so I thought I'd make her a pair -- cables and all -- for her birthday. I doubt he'll be getting his mitts on these gloves (Knitty's "Fetching" pattern). Knitting up Cashmarino Aran (by Debbie Bliss) on smaller-than-recommended needles makes for extreme softness and warmth.

A few of the nitty gritty details...

After I had finished the cabled wrist, I decided I wanted to try two colours for the main part - knitting four sts in my main colour and purling 1 st with the other colour. But even though four sts isn't far to carry a second colour on other types of pieces, I figured for a glove -- with hurried hands, nails, and rings -- I wouldn't want any loops in the inside. So, I needed to learn how to "float" the other colour.

I searched the internet high and low for how to carry the second colour and didn't really find any easy, straightforward instructions or tutorials. I found lots of wordy explanations and no pictures! So I took matters into my own hands. If you ever needed to know how to float a second colour, I hope these picts make your life a little easier...

Try to keep the float yarn below the main yarn. For my span of 4 sts, I knit two sts normally (letting the float yarn hang), then knit/float the third stitch. (I suppose if you're really worried about having no loops, you could knit/float every stitch.)

For the knit/float stitch, your needle will do a sort of figure 8 between the two strands. First, take the needle in front and under the float yarn. Then, take it over and behind the main yarn, thereby knitting a stitch with the main yarn...

The float yarn is simply along for the ride, at this stage it is being carried on the needle...

But as you pull the stitch through, the float yarn gets twisted with the main yarn and is no longer on the needle.

As you transfer the stitch to your right needle, you'll see that the float yarn has been attached to the stitch on the wrong side of the work, but isn't visible on the right side. Success!

And here's the finished glove, just waiting for a thumb. Turns out, picking up the live stitches above the waste yarn is not as straightforward when you're dealing with more than one colour. But, it is possible, even if a little messy. Good luck!