Karesuando Mittens to Knit

This mitten pattern is based on a pair of Sami mittens I saw in Lulea, Sweden, at the Norrbottens Museum. It is a typical mitten from Karesuando, which is at the farthest northern tip of Sweden. These mittens were originally meant for men. Both Per and Dagny Kuhmunen come from this area.

Unlike many of the other Sami mittens I have seen, these Karesuando mittens have a staggered mitten-tip decrease. That is, instead of decreasing at the edges of the mitten, which creates flat mitten fronts, the knitter staggers decreases evenly across the rounds up to the red tips. At that point, regular decreases create a slightly swirled tip.

The Karesuando mittens I observed at the museum had patterned thumbs, but Per Kuhmunen’s Karesuando mittens have a thumb in solid blue. This is not only easier, but eliminates the constriction that can occur much more readily in small-circumference stranded work.

Materials Rauma Finullgarn, 100% wool yarn, fingering weight, 191 yards (174.7 m)/50 gram (1.8 oz) ball, 1 ball each of #437 Bright Royal Blue (MC), #418 Red (CC1), #4405 Bright Lemon Yellow (CC2), and #401 Off White (CC3); www.theyarnguys.com Needles, size 1 (2.25 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge Waste yarn, smooth Marker Tapestry needle Cardboard, 3½ inches (8.9 cm), 1 piece for making tassels Finished size: 8 inches (20.3 cm) hand circumference and 10 inches (25.4 cm) long, excluding braid and tassel Gauge: 32 sts and 43 rnds = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in stranded patt