Knitting historian Penelope Hemingway reviews this in-depth guide to glove knitting traditions
by Angharad Thomas
A KNITTER’S GUIDE TO GLOVES
ANGHARAD THOMAS is a volunteer textile archivist for The Knitting and Crochet Guild, so there is no one better to write about the history and how-tos of knitted gloves.
As a knitter with a great interest in Britain’s regional knitting traditions, I was delighted to see that the UK’s two great colour glove knitting styles - Dales and Sanquhar - are finally explored in the same book as each other, which on its own makes this book an outstanding resource.
There is also a fascinating section on the lesser-known one-colour, purl stitch relief pattern, known as ‘Ringwood’ gloves, which previously were only covered in- depth in obscure online resources.
The book has five chapters, and walks us through everything from the history of glove knitting, to the anatomy of a glove, and the tools, yarn and equipment needed. There’s something here for knitters of all experience levels, from novices to those with years of experience. It’s a great resource for knitters who want to design their own gloves, but also provides five complete glove patterns for readers who would rather follow written instructions.
These projects include a plain glove which would serve as a gentle and practical introduction to the art of glove knitting; and a silk glove with a purl relief-patterned welt. Then there’s a pattern inspired by the famous two-colour glove knitting tradition
