Discover Sami Knitting and Knit Your Own Reindeer Herders’ Mittens

In PieceWork's eBook, Discover the Wonderful World of Sámi Knitting: 5 Mitten Patterns from Finland, Norway & Sweden to Knit, you will learn from Laura Ricketts, who has spent years studying the Sámi, the Indigenous people of Scandinavia, about their unique knitting traditions. You will also learn about Jouni, a North Sámi reindeer herder from nineteenth-century Finland, and his mittens.

Laura Ricketts re-created the mittens that originally belonged to Jouni Aikio (1875 –1956), a North Sámi man from near Inari, Finland.

Laura, in her introduction to the eBook, explains the different spellings for the name “Sami.” As for the mittens themselves, she says: “These five pairs of knitted mittens come from different areas of Sámi traditional homeland, called Sápmi in the North Sami language. I used different yarns for the projects based on each set of mittens as a way to introduce knitters to the wide range of yarns with which one can knit these traditional mittens. Do not be afraid to use a “sticky” wool to do the colorwork; in fact, a softer, puffier yarn will not work well. With “woolly” or “sticky” yarn, each strand will tend to grip the strand next to it. As a result, the stranded interior self-felts and becomes a cohesive fabric. The wearer's fingers are much less likely to snag and pull the fabric out of shape. Stranded mittens are also thicker and trap more air, so they are inherently warmer than mittens made from one layer of yarn, even if that yarn is thick. One exception might be a single layer of Swedish tvåändsstickning (two-end knitting).”

Laura Ricketts re-created mittens that are patterned on the cuff only, traditionally intended for a man.

Laura re-created each of the mittens from ones now in the collections of various museums in Scandinavia: Jouni's Red Mittens, Inari Sami Mittens, Skolt Saami Mittens, North Sámi Mittens, and Ájtte Treasure Mittens. In addition to the patterns, she shares instructions for working cupped mitten tips, braids, tassels, colorwork, and so much more. This was definitely a labor of love for Laura Ricketts, and we are so grateful that she shares that love with us.

You can find Discover the Wonderful World of Sami Knitting: 5 Mitten Patterns from Finland, Norway & Sweden to Knit in the PieceWork library. Have fun with these five beautiful patterns and be sure to share your creations with us.

Originally published December 4, 2018; updated November 17, 2025.