ArtFire

These intricately handknit wool mittens feature a design on the hand called "Old Goose Eye" recorded in 1925 by Hermanna Stengard from the Swedish island of Gotland. The design on the wrist,also a Gotland design, is called "Vine Stripe." These are very old traditional patterns. Stengard's book, Gotlandsk Sticksom , was translated into English by Inger and Ingrid Gottfridson as The Mitten Book and published by Lark Books in 1987 and 1991.

The black yarn in these mittens is a baby alpaca and the red is a wool blend,both American sourced. As you can see in the first picture these mittens fit an average adult hand and measure 3.5 in. across and 8" in length. They stretch slightly but are tightly knit because of the use of both colors in almost every row., which requires the unused color to be carried. They would probably not fit a large male hand. They are soft and warm.

Because of the delicate wool yarn they should be handwashed with a mild soap (i like to use baby shampoo) and air dried. They should not need to be blocked again (that is,steamed) but might require some shaping. I don't know of a mitten frame to use for drying (like the sock dryers) but you could make one out of heavy cardboard. This really should not be necessary,however.

I cannot offer these in custom sizing as they take a great deal of time to construct. My price is relative to time.

I am very fond of traditional Scandanavian pattern in knitting, as I am of ethnic design in general, because the shapes are often symbolic representations of natural phenomenon in the enviroment.. This suggests these patterns have mythic value. I am immersed in the consideration of the circle of life.

alpaca and wool yarns

traditonal Scandanavian design
mittens
strong color contrast of black and red
suggestion of family crests