Knitting, Buff mittens and slippers

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Knitting, Buff mittens and slippers

Cross, Katie

Buff mittens were made with a special type of knitting done in the Adirondack North Country. The mittens were very thick, made by knitting an extra loop on the outside, that was then clipped to produce a shaggy outer layer. They were very warm and often used by men driving teams of horses in sub-zero weather. Knitting was more than a hobby years ago. Girls learned to knit so the family would have socks for the men, long stockings for the women and children, and mittens, gloves, scarves and caps for everyone. Girls were taught to knit as soon as their hands could hold the knitting needles, sometimes when they were only four years old. Artist: Katie Cross remembers her mother knitting buff mittens at the family farm in Thurman (Warren County), New York. A man by the name of Joe Blair used to come around and buy mittens, socks and other woolen from local women, load them into his pack basket, and walk from Warrensburg to the lumbercamps in Speculator (Hamilton County). “Oh, yes. She was knitting all the time. Lots of the time during the day, you know, if we weren’t making quilts or something like that. We didn’t have the pleasures that we have now. We’d knit or sewed something. I guess I was always satisfied to take that as my pleasure because it was fun. I enjoyed doing it.” Katie is an active member of the Johnsburg United Methodist Women, making and selling tied quilts to raise money for her church. She also makes and sells buff mittens, and has modified the tradition by designing buff slippers. Traditionally, her mother used wool for her buff knitting; but Katie often uses acrylic yarns, believing her mother would have approved of the bright colors. Katie Cross participated in the Folklife Center’s early festivals, children’s workshops and other events in the 1980s and 1990s.

Knitting

Gloves

Slipper industry

Empire State Digital Network

http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/crandall/id/1076

Empire State Digital Network

Knitting

Gloves

Slipper industry