Knitted Mittens

early 19th century

These mittens were knitted of blue and white homespun wools in the early 19th century. The shag knit used at the wrists is recorded in an American diary of 1803 as the "new Mode of Knitting." The knitted pattern throughout the mittens is a poem that starts at the wrist of one mitten, spirals to the top, and continues from the wrist to the top of the second. The "Xs" are part of the design and are used as line delimiters. The poem reads, "One thing you must not borrow nor never give awayXFor he who borrows trouble will have it every dayXBut if you have a plenty and more then you can bearXIt will not lighten yoursXXif others have a shareXYou must learn to be contented then will your trouble ceaseXAnd then you may be certain that you will live in peaceXFor a contented mind is a continual feast."