I’ve been wandering around the house for the past 3 days trying to figure out a knitting project to take on the plane. Every now and then I just gave up and did more book swatching. I’ll share those with you further down the page, but first will share what I finally settled upon. The criteria are: small, wooden needles, easy.
This is an authentic Lovikka mitten. You can tell by the patent seal that is attached.
The original mitten design came from Erika Aittamaa (1966-1952) from Pajala municipality in northern Sweden. She invented this particular design in 1892 for cart drivers to wear and keep their hands warm and dry in the sub-freezing temperatures of the region you might know as Lappland.
Anna Öhlund/imagebank.sweden.se
The mittens are knit with thick almost untwisted yarn (you could use roving), and hanks of this yarn in multiple colors can be found in yarn shops all over Sweden with the name “Lovikka Yarn.” In fact, this type of mitten often is one of the first projects for children learning knitting in grammar school (all children learn to knit in school). Some of the knitters I know scoff at the use of prepared yarn, choosing instead to use several strands of unspun yarn (sometimes described as “pre-yarn”), saying that the final product is easier to felt and create that wind-proof finish. The other important factor is using really small needles to get stitches that are tight and hard. Even before the mittens are felted, they are nearly windproof.
Erika Aittamaa was able to make a living selling her mittens, and in 1962 the knitters in the Norrbotten Housewife Association applied for a received a patent for the genuine Lovikka mitten. Their purpose was to insure that only mittens made of hand spun wool yarn, well made, and appropriately finished and embroidered, would be sold under the Lovikka name. The brand is a sign and guarantee that the mitten is made according to tradition.
Jörgen Wiklund/imagebank.sweden.se
I found several patterns for this mitten online, and none looked exactly like the original mitten, so I kept hunting until I found a book (in Swedish) whose author claimed that the pattern was an authentic version of the Lovikka mitten. Translating knitting isn’t the easiest thing to do when all you have at hand is Google’s translator. Needless to say, my first mitten bore no resemblance to the picture you see. I’m working to improve it, but in the meanwhile will use one that at least looks similar to the picture and see how it turns out (more to come!)
Swatches
The upper left swatch is from the Rya sheep. You can’t believe the length of their fleece, and in addition, it is incredibly shiny and tough as nails. My initial reaction to the skein Josefin Waltin sent to me was, “I want to make a hat out of this.” I’m sure she got a good laugh out of that. The yarn is hard to manage on knitting needles — it is extremely springy, and is hard on the hands. It didn’t take me long to understand why this particular fleece is often blended with other types to lend its durability, and at the same time improve its “hand.” Wearing a hat of Rya would be like a knit from steel wool!
The two swatches on the upper right are products of the Solkustens Spinnverkstad. The white is singles of Jämtlalnd and the grey is a Gotland/finull mix. Unless you have a real reason to do so, I don’t generally recommend knitting with singles that are this thin. It is really difficult to get a uniform fabric, and if made into a garment, wouldn’t wear that well. That being said, the Jämtlalnd yarn remains one of my favorite for its softness and drape, and the Gotland/finull mix retains the sturdy crispness that characterizes the Gotland wool.
Finally, the lower swatch is a Swedish Leicester yarn spun by Josefin. This breed makes a lovely yarn for sweaters, hats, gloves, etc. In other words, just about anything. Josefin and I have discussed the idea that this breed really is no longer Leicester as it was imported (possibly as early as the 16th century), but is now fully a product of Sweden. After so many years of being bred and maintained on the land, its diet and environment have put it into the category of Swedish landrace animals.
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation from other populations of the species.
So this is the update. I’m on my way to the wool festival in Kil, Sweden this weekend, and am really excited to dip my hands into wooly goodness. I will try to post from the road.
Enjoy 😉!