Mitten Thumb Styles: Side vs Palm?
Q: I’ve been looking through your mitten patterns, and see that you use a variety of thumb designs. I am wondering, what are your thoughts on the English vs the Scandinavian thumb placement? and do you have a preference between the two?
When initially asked this question, I actually had to clarify what the person meant, as I was not aware that this design element had such concrete ethnic associations.
So to rephrase it for anybody else wondering: The question is asking to compare the style of mittens where the thumb is placed at the side, vs the style of mittens where the thumb is placed along the palm.
If we are talking about ergonomics, in my opinion both thumb locations are equally valid representations of the human hand. The side-placement represents the location of the thumb when the hand is open. The palm-placement represents the location of the thumb when the hand is grasping. And how comfortable the mitten feels in action, depends not so much on whether the thumb is at the side vs on the palm, but on whether there is an adequate gusset.
pattern: Fas Mittens
yarn: Honer och Eir
For example: The simplest mitten construction features the ‘peasant thumb’ (sometimes called ‘afterthought thumb’) - which simply sticks out from the palm of the mitten, with no gusset. Although the easiest to knit for beginners, this style of thumb is the least anatomically accurate and therefore the least ergonomic. But this is not because it is located on the palm vs on the side. It is because there is no gusset.
pattern: Bachlog Mittens
yarn: Woolly Mammoth Fibre Co.
Compare this, to the ‘tear-drop’ thumb construction in the Bachlog Mittens design. The placement is in the same location along the palm as the peasant thumb. But there is a distinct gusset both building up to the thumb and after the thumb, which makes these mittens exceptionally ergonomic.
pattern: Harvest Season Mittens
yarn: Honer och Eir
With the side location, the difference between gusset and no gusset is more difficult to illustrate, because most such designs de-facto include a gusset.
But in instances where they do not, or where feature some modified/ reduced version of a gusset to accommodate lace or colourwork integration (such as the Harvest Season Mittens shown here), the difference in ergonomics between having a gusset and not, can be felt.
pattern: Opera Mittens
yarn: Ewe Momma
In summary, I do not have a preference between side vs palm thumb placement in mitten design. Both can look nice, both can be comfy, and I enjoy switching it up between them.
But I do have a strong preference for integrating a gusset into the design, regardless of thumb location, as this is what makes a difference to ergonomics.
That said, a gusset-less thumb design can be useful for colourwork patterns, lace motif patterns, and patterns aimed at beginners. As always, there is no such thing as ‘best’ here, and it’s great to have a variety of options!
