Do you know why films are so loved by people all around the world? It’s because of how beautifully they talk about stories and finding them! The world is filled with these magical tales and enchanting stories that can be found just by paying attention to the little things around us. But why are we at Cotton Monk talking about stories out of nowhere?
Simple! Everything about fashion has a story to it. Often so interesting, that it’ll change the way you look at these pieces of fabrics everytime you wear them. With the winter still dazzling around us, we’d decided to pick a product that was long due it’s recognition until a recent picture brought it to attention! Bernie Sanders and his cute little pair of Mittens. It took a meme for the world to talk about this beautiful product, but hey…We’ve always believed in these heavenly pairs of hand warmers!
Now coming back to our little story, Mittens have had the most interesting origin of all the ones that we’ve heard so far. Although they began to come into use to protect working hands, gloves eventually went on to become a symbol of power and wealth. The richer and more powerful used to wear gloves while mittens were only worn by the common people. So what’s the difference? Mittens are a variety of these very gloves that covers the entire hand but does not have separate openings for the fingers. These mittens also known as winter gloves are more efficient as compared to normal gloves as they give better thermal protection by keeping the fingers together.
Winter Mittens aren’t as complicated to make. It’s all about the woolen fabric being used. The hand pattern or the master pattern is traced and cut onto the fabric, before it’s pinned together and stitched into the respective shape. But what is fascinating is how this simple procedure can lead to a million different permutations and combinations of colours, patterns, styles and designs. Be it embroidery or bead embellishments, there is no stopping when it comes to getting creative with these mittens. The Latvian women knew this the best! Mittens have a very important role to play in the Latvian traditions as for many centuries the women there were given a “hope chest” during their wedding as a gift. This hope chest was basically a collection of mittens with unique different patterns that was used to bless the new bride and her marriage
But it doesn’t stop there. These stories behind Mittens and their journeys just keep getting more interesting. We are sure the word that you’d associate with boiled would usually be eggs, vegetables and meat as opposed to mittens. But they do exist! Often used by fishermen in the winters, Boiled Wool Mittens were dipped in warm water from the engine, wrung and worn wet before clapping their hands until their fingers were red. This ensured that they could work all day long in the salty water, holding half frozen baits and their hands would still be warm.
Even more exciting is the story of how Mittens played an important role in earlier feminism. In the 19th century, a Norwegian girl set off a revolution in local mitten tradition by daring to knit her mittens with two wool colors and a star or rose pattern, as opposed to the single coloured ones. Although the girl didn’t commercially gain anything from this move, the Selbu rose to date is an important symbol in Norwegian’s history.
American women also had a particular liking towards Mittens and embraced it both as art as well as a means of empowerment. One of the earliest mittens that is preserved at The American Museum Of Natural History dates back to 1803. It is said to be made by a woman and has a poem knitted into the wool. One of America’s first female entrepreneurs started her business by selling Mittens. She utilised the skills of homemakers all over the country to knit these mittens for her that were then bought for the soldiers who fought in the American Civil War. She was an innovator and had made a very successful business module by selling these mittens.
As the lovely Mittens are finally getting the recognition they deserve, we at Cotton Monk can’t wait to manufacture our designs of Mittens based on our client’s request and imagination. From baby hand mittens to winter mittens that help keep our hands warm and protected while spicing up our look, we can’t stop thinking about this soft, warm, beautiful and efficient innovation. We’d like to end it by thanking Bernie Sanders, the internet and this beauty of a product, for warming our hearts and making us smile!
