13th-Century Quilted Mittens

The mitten is one of the most important elements of the equipment set. Experience has shown that the hand is the part most frequently injured in tournaments, and—though less often—more severely injured in melees (*buhurts*). Therefore, impact resistance is a mandatory requirement for the mitten. On the other hand, the mitten must be as comfortable as possible. Let us try to combine these qualities and create a good quilted mitten. By the way, I strongly recommend making the left and right mittens identical in thickness. Firstly, mismatched mittens look unattractive; secondly, if you decide to fight with a two-handed weapon, you will need protection for both hands.

Let us examine the manuscript illuminations: all the depicted mittens are sewn directly to the padded garment (*gambeson*). Even in the second and fourth illustrations, what is shown is not a separate mitten but an edging—a seam. Judge for yourself: would a common foot soldier bother to match the color of his mittens to his padded garment? Since the mittens are the same color—and this holds true for all 13th-century depictions—it implies they are sewn on.
The miniatures also reveal the direction of the quilting.

To make a quilted mitten, we will need heavy fabric (the same type used for a gambeson), batting, thick leather (sole leather/stiff hide), and thick linen thread. In my opinion, the optimal thickness for the upper part of the mitten is 10–12 layers of batting and a layer of sole leather. A mitten constructed this way (with a mail covering) will withstand a blow from a two-handed weapon without injury to the hand.
It is best to start with the left mitten (if you are right-handed); only after fully assembling it should you proceed to the right one— this way, you have a chance to make the right mitten more comfortable by correcting any errors made during the initial sewing process.

Construction steps:
1) Rinse the fabric (linen or cotton) in warm water and let it dry.
2) Cut out the paper patterns. You can either print them at the correct scale or draw them yourself. To make tracing easier, the patterns feature a fine dotted grid with 5 cm spacing. 3) Cut the material according to the patterns: leave a 5 cm seam allowance on the fabric, but cut the batting exactly to the pattern outline.
Required number of pattern pieces for one mitten:

• Pattern 1 – fabric pieces: 3 total; the two intended for the outer layer should be extended by an additional 10 cm toward the wrist (to allow for attachment to the quilted section later). Also, 5–6 layers of batting are required.
  
• Pattern 2 – 5–6 layers of batting.
  
• Pattern 3 – thick leather (sole leather/butt leather).
  
• Pattern 4 – fabric pieces: 3 total. Two of these should be extended by an additional 10 cm toward the wrist. Also, 5–6 layers of batting are required.
  
• Patterns 5 & 6 – one fabric piece each (for the palm).
  

4) Baste together the batting pieces for patterns 1, 2, and 4. This will result in three thick batting assemblies, each consisting of 5–6 layers.
5) Sew the batting pieces for patterns 1 and 2 together at the ends so that pattern 2 forms an arc while pattern 1 remains straight (see Figure 4a). Naturally, the curves of the pattern pieces must align (note that the pieces are slightly curved downwards). The curve is designed to allow the thumb to rest comfortably when the fist is clenched (Figure 1 shows which side of pattern piece 1 accommodates the thumb—indicated by the red dashed line).
6) Using a standard pencil, mark the quilting lines on the fabric for pattern piece 1 (the elongated one). Judging by the images, the correct method is to quilt along the length of the mitten (see the Maciejowski Bible images above), although yours truly—for some reason—quilted across the width.
7) Place the marked fabric against pattern piece 3 and use a large drill bit to make holes in the leather at the intended quilting points. In principle, this step can be skipped—piercing the leather during the actual quilting process is an option—but doing so is difficult.
8) Insert pattern piece 5 in an arc between pattern pieces 1 and 2 (see Figure 1b). Pattern piece 3 is narrower than pattern piece 2; it must be shifted toward the thumb side and positioned 5 mm from the edge (see the figure: the blue dashed line represents pattern pieces 1 and 2). This results in pattern piece 3 lying 5 mm from one edge while being spaced about 2–3 cm away from the other.
9) Bend the workpiece and quilt it along the "arc" so that it retains the bent shape (see Figure 1c). Shape the workpiece into a boat-like curve (fold the edges along the length of the piece toward the hand area) and stitch around the perimeter, drawing the edges together as you go.
10) Place the fabric pattern pieces labeled "1" onto the workpiece (two elongated pieces on top, one on the bottom) and baste them in place.
11) Quilt the workpiece following the marked lines.
12) Fold the fabric edges on the inner side of the workpiece and stitch them down.
13) Sew the fabric palm piece to the workpiece. Note that palm pattern piece "6" is narrower than pattern piece "1"; this causes the mitten to curve slightly into a boat shape. Since it is not possible to turn the workpiece inside out, the palm must be sewn on directly, folding the fabric edge inward (see Figure 5).
Workpiece 1 is assembled. Now proceed to workpiece 2.
14) Baste the batting pattern pieces labeled "4" together. Curve the thumb pieces into a slight boat shape (though this is not strictly necessary) and stitch the edges.
15) Assemble a "sandwich" using the pieces labeled "4": place one fabric piece at the bottom, followed by 5–6 layers of batting, and top with the two elongated fabric pieces. Baste together.
16) Mark the quilting lines with a regular pencil, quilt the layers, and fold the fabric edges inward.
17) Sew piece 5 to assembly 2, following the same method used for piece 6.
Assembly 2 is now complete.
18) Now, sew assemblies 1 and 2 together. The spacing between these pieces is determined through trial and error. First, baste the assemblies together based on your intuition. Then, try on the item to see where it feels tight or pinches (e.g., at the thumb or other fingers). Adjust the placement accordingly by shifting the piece that is causing the tightness forward relative to the other one, and baste again. Repeat this process until you find the optimal fit, then go ahead and sew the mitten together.

19) The final step is to sew the mittens to the padded sleeve (99% of 13th-century mittens were sewn on). Keep in mind that when attaching the mitten, the hand must be able to move freely, even when the arm is raised. If the padded sleeve is too short, you need to extend it; if it is too long, shorten it accordingly. It is also advisable to use only 3 layers of padding at the wrist to ensure greater wrist mobility (if you are extending the sleeve, make the extension 3 layers thick; otherwise, trim the excess padding at the mitten's wrist). Once you have found the right position through trial and error, sew the mitten on and cover the seam with a strip of fabric, quilting it onto the sleeve.

If the work is done well, this type of mitten does not hinder movement at all and withstands heavy blows. The hand slips out through a slit in the palm (or rather, an area we simply left unsewn). For extra protection, we create a mail sleeve with an integrated mitten.
Good luck with the project! )))

Author © Enton, 2009