Kennebunk Wooly Bear mittens, wool, 10.5" l,
Brick Store Museum Collection, 1965.0312. Gift of Evelyn Smith in honor of Alice (Durell) Smith and Fannie Durell.

These handknit mittens are extra soft and insulated due to a process called "shagging" whereby an extra cushion of yarn is sewn in after the mittens are knit.

Contemporary author, folklorist, knitter and mitten expert Robin Hansen of Maine is the first researcher to document traditional knitting in New England. Hansen created a modern-day pattern based upon this pair, which was then pictured in the 1987 book Homespun Handknit. A reprint of Hansen's design appears in the February 2011 special "Knitting Traditions" issue of PieceWork magazine.

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