The story of how Sunny learns to knit her first pair of mittens accompanied by instructions for the reader to knit their own pair.

In this humorous picture book, a girl's desire to knit mittens leads to something even better: the warmth of friendship. How do you knit a pair of mittens? The first step is to get a sheep of course! In this playful story, a girl follows 18 steps to knit mittens--from bringing home a sheep to carding, spinning, and dyeing the wool to knitting the mittens. But along the way, her mischievous sheep creates chaos and wins her heart. By wintertime, the girl has sunny-yellow mittens, the sheep has a sunny-yellow hat, and together they're ready for adventure. This tale of patience, creativity, and friendship is knitted from skeins of humor and love.

Filled with a wide array of classic knitting patterns, this book is, in essence, the ultimate mitten book. The patterns are organized from simple to difficult and their origins range from traditional Scandinavian and Canadian Maritime patterns to more contemporary sewn and windblock patterns from right here in Maine. Rounding out the patterns is useful information on caring for and repairing woolens; tips for adding details such as buttons, straps, or leather palms to mittens; and a list of yarn suppliers.

The ultimate compendium for any Norwegian mitten enthusiast, this gorgeous and inspiring resource was produced in conjunction with a one-of-a-kind exhibition of gloves and mittens from Selbu at the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folkemuseum. A thoroughly researched and illustrated account of the rich history of Selbu patterning—instantly recognizable for its dramatic contrasts and intricate motifs—covers the development of the designs themselves, and the essential role these knitted accessories have played in the cultural and economic development of the Selbu region. Then, dive into pages upon pages of over 500 colorwork charts, organized according to the source of their inspiration, from classic stars, snowflakes, and flowers to elk, spiders, and coffee beans. Complete patterns are included for 35 mittens and gloves from the original museum collection, accompanied by short biographies of the original designers—or choose from an overflowing selection of motifs for palms, thumbs, cuffs, and even patterned edging techniques for joining around the hand, to create endlessly fascinating combinations.

Robin Hansen can justifiably claim to be the person who started the groundswell of interest in roots knitting patterns for mittens. When Fox & Geese & Fences: A Collection of Traditional Maine Mittens was published a generation ago, it was an instant success, and nary a knitter above the age of thirty has not heard of it. It was followed by a second, equally inspiring collection: Flying Geese & Partridge Feet: More Mittens from Up North & Down East. Favorite Mittens is a compilation of some of the most popular traditional designs from Robin's groundbreaking first two books, presenting these tried-and-true patterns in a new format, with step-by-step directions revised and updated for ease of knitting, thanks to the helpful feedback Robin has gotten from the knitters who flock to her workshops all around the country.

Clothing for the fingers receives special treatment in this collection of 48 mitten patterns from all over the world. In fact, Lewandowski attempted to find at least one representative pattern for every cold-weather region--and has, for the most part, succeeded (except for the Far East and northern Africa). Geography and history lessons are also in evidence; we learn about Scandinavian and northern islanders' occupations, hobbies, and peculiar knitting habits (the process of felting wool for additional warmth and the technique of tufting, among others). Plus, each of the four dozen designs, though not labeled by level of difficulty, includes graphs or charts and adequate text to follow and is accompanied by good color photographs. A handoff for intermediate and advanced knitters. - Barbara Jacobs; 120p-

You won't find mittens like these in the big clothing chains or fancy dress shops or even in sporting goods stores.