Knit a Pair of Medieval Mittens!

Get ready for winter with an adorable mitten pattern from Susan Strawn. Based on a mitten from the sixteenth century, the pattern uses a finger-to-cuff technique. PieceWork subscribers can log in and instantly download the pattern below.

A pair of wooly handknitted mittens with decorative bands of contrasting wool, rows of purled stitches at the cuffs, and knit-two-together shaping once protected the hands of a small child from the harsh chill of North Atlantic winters. The fate of one of the mittens is unknown; the other lay buried for four centuries until discovered during twentieth-century excavations in the City of London. Today, the Medieval Gallery of the Museum of London exhibits the solitary mitten as a rare survivor of late medieval handknitted textiles.

Replicating the pattern, I have chosen knitting techniques known from the sixteenth century, such as the early German fingertip (or Emily Ocker) cast-on and the haphazard placement of knit-two-together decreases. The fragment of remaining cuff edge suggests the use of a standard bind-off.

Susan Strawn’s child-size knitted mittens.