I was inspired by the Robert Frost Mittens to create my own poetry mittens! Poetry mittens were popular for a short time around the turn of the 19th century in New England among young women who used this form to show their skill at crafts and literacy. As my language is German, I chose a German poem by Theodor Fontane. I love the Selbu mitten tradition, too, and so I combined the two traditions to make these lovely Selbu Poetry Mittens.

This is my translation of the poem:

All is calm! Quiet dancing
Rays of moonlight in the woods,
And enthroned above the silence
And the silent winter sky.

The cuffs of my mittens show the quiet woods, the tip displays the winter sky with moon and stars and on the palm the snow is quietly falling. The two women dancers on the thumbs stand for the brave and creative women who invented and inspired the poetry mitten and Selbu mitten traditions.

I have now included a plain chart that allows you to design your own Poetry mittens easily! The back of the mitten chart is left plain, with light grey background lines showing where the verses of your poem could be placed. The cuff and thumb patterns are also left plain so you can illustrate the message of your poem on the cuff and thumb! Included is an alphabet to help you with the letters for your poem. I’d be excited to see your favorite poems come to life on these mittens!

• Gauge is critical for this project, so check carefully and go down a needle size if the mittens turn out too big.

• Instructions are given in English and German, but if you’re familiar with knitting stranded mittens or Selbu mittens in particular, all you will really need is the charts which are clear and easy to follow!