I designed these gloves for the TKGA 2020 Design Contest—Honoring our Hands. The inspiration for my Bobbles and Brambles Cuffed Gloves came from the first knitted gloves that originated during the early Middle Ages. According to the book, A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt, one of the first names for gloves was manica, which derives from mediaeval Latin and signifies a wristlet or cuff. Elaborately decorated cuffs and stranded colorwork made these mediaeval gloves special, particularly liturgical gloves worn by bishops. These liturgical gloves became the catalyst for my own glove design.

The decorative white-and-black-bobbled cuff with a dropped-stitch pattern was incorporated into the project to give extra focus to the wrist portion of the glove. A stranded trellis pattern, also knit in black and white, makes up the hand and thumb sections. The four fingers are knit individually in the round using the main color black yarn, and both gloves are knit the same to be worn interchangeably on either hand. Knit in sport weight wool, these are my updated version of some of the original cuff designs.