{"id":11317,"date":"2024-10-19T07:25:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T05:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=11317"},"modified":"2024-10-19T07:25:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-19T05:25:04","slug":"embroidered-tweed-mittens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/embroidered-tweed-mittens\/","title":{"rendered":"Embroidered tweed mittens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A few weeks ago I bought Lina Odell’s book “Broderade vantar” (Embroidered mittens) mainly for the scrumptious photography. I figured I would get lots of inspiration from the excellent folkcostume garment and Lina’s neverending creativity with traditional, modern and and take-what-you have, use what you want solutions. I was not disappointed and found myself making a pair of embroidered tweed mittens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My original plan was to just look at the photos and be inspired by materials, designs and details. And while I was, I also wanted to make some of the mittens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embroidered mittens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In her book \u201dBroderade vantar\u201d, Lina has studied old mittens from areas in Sweden with a rich folk costume heritage. Many of the saved or documented mittens are bridal mittens and part of a geographical folk costume tradition. Lina has interpreted old mittens and composed new designs inspired by details and techniques in regional folk costumes and offered as patterns in the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201dBroderade vantar\u201d (Embroidered mittens) by Lina Odell is a beautiful book with lots of patterns for embroidered mittens. I made the Kattis half-mitts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The book is written in Swedish and although I hope it will be translated into English, I honestly think people who don\u2019t read Swedish can understand the patterns. The images are clear and the templates straightforward. A while ago I actually bought a book with sewing patterns in Japanese. The many illustrations are very clear and with the Google Translate app I can easily translate the text into English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kattis half-mitts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have no heritage from any area in Sweden with a folk costume tradition and I am not interested in making a folk costume for myself. I just want to investigate techniques and materials for my own pleasure and make things that work with a modern wardrobe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Embroidered tweed mittens with cashmere details. The pocket comes from the same Harris Tweed jacket. You can see the difference between the fulled sleeves I used for the mittens and the original fabric in the pocket.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For my first project I chose the Kattis half-mitts. They are inspired by patterns typical for Dala-Floda in country Dalarna and sewn in dyed leather, but I chose other materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tweed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I like to use material I already have, and my mind went to an eBayed Harris Tweed jacket I had butchered two years ago to sew a tie-on pocket<\/a> (which you can also see in the image above). I had used the side pocket of the jacket for the opening of my tie-on pocket. Just to make it a little bit more interesting, I had cut it on the bias, placing the pocket at a diagonal. To make the most of the sleeves I used for my mittens, I cut the pieces for the mittens lengthwise. I giggled at the mischief of cutting the fabric in unconventional ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cashmere<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ten years ago or so, my mother got a bright red cashmere sweater from my father. Her joy didn\u2019t last long, though, since the sweater was washed too warm and shrunk to the size of my daughter’s who was then around 9. My mother gave it to her, but as the felted material was too dense and warm, she never wore it. It was stuffed into the back of her closet and later into my fabric cabinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Second-hand butchered and fulled Harris Tweed + accidentally felted cashmere + fleamarket silk thread = perfect mitten love. The cashmere is the end of the sleeves, including the cuff. The sweater cuffs are just folded over the tweed cuffs (and sewn in place over the thumb and finger openings). The tweed comes from the lengths of the jacket sleeves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I planned the mittens I realized the fabric would be perfect for the inner mittens. Originally I had planned to cut the fabric from the torso, but when I looked at the sleeves I realized how perfect it would be to use them, with the sleeve cuffs as mitten cuffs folded over the tweed as a design detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embroidery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I like to hunt on Swedish eBay (Tradera) for old haberdashery boxes with needles and notions in it. I bought one a few years ago and still see it as my treasure box. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my son, who recently moved to his own apartment<\/a>, had saved the same eBay ad as I had \u2013 a haberdashery box with lots of needles, buttons and sewing silk. We decided to bid for the auction and share the content.. And so I have an assortment of silk thread, perfect for mitten embroidery. None of us wanted the box, though, it was hideous \u2013 although with a charming touch \u2013 and in plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Old haberdashery boxes can reveal true gold. I mean, nylon mending thread, isn\u2019t that to die for?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Embroidery with silk thread was a bit tricky, though, especially since I held the thread double. I had marked the pattern by basting it onto the mittens, which wasn\u2019t the best choice. And hearts are really, really difficult to embroider! I don\u2019t know why, but I struggled a lot with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wonky<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lots of the details in this project are wonky. The hearts as I mentioned, but also seams and fit. The herringbone stitches over the thumb seams is not a pretty sight and there is a colour change in the chain stitch. But overall, it\u2019s a beautiful pair of mittens, wonkiness included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Colour changes and wonky hearts. Lilac and blue\/teal are my handspun silk dyed with my homegrown fresh indigo leaves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lina writes about this in the introduction to the book \u2013 none of the old mittens she made her interpretations of were symmetrical or complete. All had their peculiarities like sudden changes of colours, assymetries, a missed mirroring in a pattern. She says that it is the wonkiness that shows the person behind the craft. The mittens are really just reflections of our own wonkiness. I embrace the beauty of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find me in several social media:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n