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Spice Up a Basic Knitted Hand Covering with Norwegian Embroidery
Inspired by Norwegian needlework, these handstitched gloves will warm your hands and your heart.
Spice up a basic knitted hand covering with Norwegian embroidery from Kate Larson. Photos by Joe Coca
Knitting is wonderful, and embroidery is wonderful, but a knitted piece with lavish embroidery is simply sublime. Master crafters, the Norwegians know how to make utilitarian necessities into wearable art. In this companion article, Spin Off magazine editor Kate Larson gave us a fascinating glimpse into the history and evolution of Norwegian embroidered hand coverings and needlework.
In it, we learned that embellishments were not only decorative, but they also made use of small scraps of fiber and added just a little more warmth—valuable ideas for us to add to our gloves and mittens today. Now you can utilize these decorative and functional elements as you make your own pair of embroidered gloves. Current PieceWork magazine subscribers can log in to access more information and the downloadable pattern PDF at the bottom of this post.
Since mittens are likely to be subject to wear and tear, I suggest working with a relatively sturdy knitting yarn with a size of 14 WPI (wraps per inch). Yarns ranging from a heavy fingering yarn to a light DK (double knitting) weight, are suggested to get the recommended gauge.
Knitting is wonderful, and embroidery is wonderful, but a knitted piece with lavish embroidery is simply sublime. Master crafters, the Norwegians know how to make utilitarian necessities into wearable art. In this companion article, Spin Off magazine editor Kate Larson gave us a fascinating glimpse into the history and evolution of Norwegian embroidered hand coverings and needlework.
In it, we learned that embellishments were not only decorative, but they also made use of small scraps of fiber and added just a little more warmth—valuable ideas for us to add to our gloves and mittens today. Now you can utilize these decorative and functional elements as you make your own pair of embroidered gloves. Current PieceWork magazine subscribers can log in to access more information and the downloadable pattern PDF at the bottom of this post.
Since mittens are likely to be subject to wear and tear, I suggest working with a relatively sturdy knitting yarn with a size of 14 WPI (wraps per inch). Yarns ranging from a heavy fingering yarn to a light DK (double knitting) weight, are suggested to get the recommended gauge.
[PAYWALL]
Wool is not only warm and insulating, it is also the traditional choice for this style of northern hand warmers. It is my personal favorite for replicating traditional pieces.
Make your own pair of embroidered gloves with the subscriber exclusive pattern available for download below.
It is recommended to plan ahead when choosing embroidery yarn. You will probably need to launder your mittens relatively frequently, so the embellishment yarn should match the mitten yarn in terms of washability. The lush Scandinavian embroidery is traditionally done in wool, which can be replicated using knitting yarn or tapestry wool. Three-ply tapestry wool is divisible and comes in small skeins with a multitude of colors, making it easy to select a palette to enhance your mittens. This is also a great way to use up stash scraps and personalize the pattern to suit your wardrobe!
We hope you enjoy Kate’s exploration of Norwegian embroidery.
“Telemark Rose Gloves” PDF Download
Enjoy this subscriber exclusive pattern courtesy of PieceWork and Spin Off magazines. Click here to get the PDF download of “Telemark Rose Gloves.”
