Folk Mittens

I love this book! The patterns are done from charts, which is great practice. I'm delighted to see how intricate and skilled the patterns are. I'm including a description of the mittens involved, it was fun to read over the patterns and stories as I wrote this up for you. Enjoy! This book includes the following patterns: Basic Mittens section: Basic Mittens - sizing for men's/women's/children's mittens. Lined Mittens - two mittens joined together at the cuff for extra warmth. Double-Knit Mittens - two layers knit simultaneously Houndstooth Double-Knit Mittens - Scottish tweed houndstooth pattern. Mittens from Europe: Denmark: Danish Hotpad, knit in Denmark's damask knitting. Danish Fisherman's Mittens - mittens with two thumbs, to last longer! I've never seen anything like these in my life, fascinating! Mitten pattern done in brown-and-white checkerboard with brown ribbed wrists. When one thumb wore out, they flipped the mitten around and wore out the other thumb. Sweden: Gotland Island Mittens - pattern illustrating the islanders' close ties to nature, with wildflowers, vines, and ivies of local meadows. Red and white diamonds for the hands with pretty green vines on white background for the wrist. Just lovely. Lovikka Mittens - thick felted mittens in cream colored wool, with embroidered colors for the cuffs. Mittens from Halland - From the heavily forsted Halland area of Sweden, tightly knit, red and black patterned in small diagonals with cuffs in ribbing with a block for initials. Bohus Stickning - this famous knitting style is known for its combination of color with fabric texture, and these mittens do not disappoint! Lovely color changes with combinations of knit and purl stitches. Norway: Setesdal Mittens - pretty flecked pattern of worsted weight wool of white on black at a tight gauge, with a pretty star pattern for the wrists. Selbu Mittens - Norway's oldest knitting tradition is two-stranded knitting with both strands from the same strand of yarn. These pretty mittens are blue & white with the eight-petaled rose, known as the Norwegian star. Fana Mittens - pretty blue and white flecked stripes edged with a checkerboard pattern, lined with wool in a technique called "tufting." Finland: Finnish Mittens - pretty stars and diamonds and squres, a collection of Finnish patterns from mittens knit in Tjock. Lapland: Mittens from Lapland - these are just pretty! Beautiful white, red, and light blue patterned colorful mittens. Baltics: No book on folk knitting could be complete without a mention of Latvian (Baltic area) knitted mittens and the courtship and marriage traditions of mitten-giving. A little Latvian song, or daina, is included: Good evening, maiden's mother, As you see my hands are freezing; All the while my mitten knitter Snugly in your room is sitting. Baltic Mittens - These are simply lovely color-patterned mittens of blue, white, green, and red, you just have to see them, I can't describe

I gave this book 5 stars because the mitten patterns and the history behind each mitten is awesome but....frankly her explaination on how to knit them, especially the thumbs is rather pathetic! I have been knitting for quite a few years and have knit many pairs of mittens, and knitting these mittens, or at least just the thumbs were rather difficult to figure out. At least I think so. If her explaination on how to knit the thumb gussets where better explained, I don't believe the mittens would be very difficult to knit. The graphs in the book are very good. Very easy and not confusing. Even with the thumbs being confusing...I think it's definately a book worth buying. You can always go to a local yarn store to get help on the thumbs if you need to. The finished mittens are beautiful and I know I'm glad I took the time to figure out the thumb gussets.

I love this book! This book is the best (only?) mitten book I have ever seen. The patterns were clear and easy to read, the color charts were easy to follow, and the stories behind every mitten were interesting to read. I read the book cover to cover before I knit a single pattern. The book is also laid out well, with great photos and diagrams for each mitten. This is not a book for inexperienced knitters, however. Some prior knitting knowledge is required, because many patterns have color-work techniques that are difficult to master, and some patterns' charts could be very complicated if a beginner were to attempt them. Over all, I thought the book was fantastic. It is also a good reference source for charted designs to include in other knitting projects. It is a must-have for the well rounded knitting library.

This is the book that made me want to knit again, after years of doing needlepoint and quilting. I have problems with my shoulders, which makes sweing hard these days, but knitting small projects does not require a large range of sholder motion, so I bought this book and I was hooked. Wonderful information about other cultures and exceptionally beautiful, unusual patterns. I have worked my way through half of the book and have made mittens as gifts and for sale. The patterns are very easy to follow and the text is very easy to follow. This is a wonderful teaching book.

OK, so I haven't really found that many mitten patterns at all, but I looked almost everywhere before I discovered this book. This book gave me a multitude of patterns ranging from the very complex to the very easy...I ended up knitting Halland mittens for myself and am going to make the Norwegian Selbu mittens too. The charts are easy to read but I was slightly confused by the description of thumb gussets (gores) and how to knit them. It seems that she slightly glossed over their descriptions, although you can extrapolate (to a degree) what she means. The patterns are nevertheless gorgeous and generally straightforward. Aesthetically, the photography is beautiful too. I like the fact that this is a collection of mittens from around the world, & doesn't just focus on one particular region so the selection is large.