Latvian Mittens

Lizbeth Upitis is truly a master knitter, and Schoolhouse Press is proud to publish this book of extraordinarily beautiful traditional Latvian mittens, with color photographs of 92 mittens and 125 charts. Lizbeth includes instructions for five specific mittens. Her detailed technical instructions and drawings enable us to duplicate the esoteric fringe-cast-on, scalloped cuffs, Latvian braid, and other techniques that are specific to these classic designs. Instructions are provided for the following mittens: - A child's-sized mitten from Latgale, with a fringe cast on. - A woman's medium-sized mitten with a scalloped lower edge, from Kurzeme (the only district knitting this type of cuff). - A medium-sized mitten from Latgale with many bands of braid around the cuff. - A man's mitten from Vidzeme with a fringed lower edge. - And a women's fully-lined mitten from Zemgale. The significance of mittens in the Latvian culture is profound, and the historical details of the importance of mittens in marriage rites, plus the knitting songs (daina) provided by the author, are both fascinating and touching. Softcover. In both Latvian and English.