This pattern has been test knit by more than 20 knitters and is a translation of the pairs of mittens my great-grandmother Horton knit for all the children she knew. The two pairs in our family were knit for me more than 40 years ago and are still worn and loved by my teen daughters. They are the perfect intersection of function and beauty.

We decided to dissect the mittens to analyze what has made them so enduring not just emotionally, but physically-- they are strong and as good as if not better-than-new after 40 winters.

As a result we’ve drawn some conclusions regarding the benefits of certain old-fashioned techniques and wrote a pattern for Nana’s Mittens (as no pattern for her mittens can be found). Surely a pattern must have existed at some point in history but she just knew it in her head…

The pattern offers two options: One for a perfect cold climate snow mitten, with beauty. The second for milder climates and drapier yarns, just as beautiful. Bulky mittens are lovely but as one of our test knitters said, “you can’t grab things with them.” Nana Horton’s Mittens are form AND function.

Our contemporary modifications to Nana’s original include in-the-round construction, an extra long cuff with 1x1 ribbing for a snow-tight fit, and refinement of the cables to add symmetry.

We feel they are the perfect intersection of beauty and total mitten utility: tightly knit wool like all successful cold weather mitten patterns, producing a close wind-defying fit, especially at the cuffs, keeping snow and cold out--yet beautiful to look at.

We’ve set up a thread in our Ravelry Group just for Nana’s Mittens. http://www.ravelry.com/groups/susquehanna-knitting-company

In the vintage photo to the left, Nana the Knitter is the youngest child, circa 1905. Nana was a flinty New Englander of Mayflower stock and was a cold hard person who did not openly display affection by conventional means--the warmth she provided was through her mittens and I’m sure even she would never have guessed they’d be as enduring as they are.

Nana knit other mittens too…those patterns are coming ;) We are working on a collection of pattern reconstructions so stay tuned for more!

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Look at all the places Nana Horton’s Mittens are taking shape!

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