Echoes in Indigo: From Twelfth-Century Socks to Modern Mitts

Continuing our deep dive into the world of blue and white, we’re sharing the fabulous Echoes in Indigo Fingerless Mitts pattern by Elaine Anderson. She told us that she’s always loved playing with motifs and color combinations, usually going for a large range of colors. Aware that she may have overlooked the possibilities of a two-color palette, Elaine began looking for historical examples with this color limitation. The twelfth-century socks and textile fragments she discovered amazed her. The more she learned about them, the more compelled she felt to recreate the patterns. —PieceWork editors

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Echoes in Indigo Fingerless Mitts

These fingerless mitts were inspired by surviving colorwork sock fragments dating from circa 1100–1400 AD and originating in North Africa. I have recreated the intricate blue and white patterns from photographs of an extant piece in the George Washington Textile Museum. The original socks were likely plant-dyed using either indigo or woad. I chose Earth, a natural indigo-dyed fingering weight yarn from Glasgow dyer Woollenflower, for this pattern to keep the historic link.

Click on the photos below to get a closer look.

Materials
• Jamieson & Smith 2-ply Jumper Weight (100% Shetland wool), fingering weight, 114 yd (105 m)/0.88 oz (25 g): 1 (1, 1, 2) ball(s) of Shade 1A Natural White (MC)
• Woollenflower Earth (100% wool blend of Exmoor Blueface and Zwartbles), fingering-weight, 473 yd (400 m)/3.5 oz (100 g): 1 skein of Deep Night (indigo, CC)
• Needles: size 1 (2.25 mm) set of double-pointed needles (dpns); and size 2 (2.75 mm) set of dpns, or size needed to obtain gauge in colorwork pattern
• Small stitch holder for thumb
• 3 markers (1 for beginning of rnd and 2 in a contrasting color to mark gusset)
• Tapestry needle