1862 Cloth Trigger Finger Mittens
This variation of a cloth trigger finger mitten was printed by the widely-circulated northern publication: American Agriculturalist. As the United States government did not typically issue mittens to soldiers, this pattern provided an opportunity for volunteer sewists on the home front to manufacture mittens at almost no cost by recycling old woolen civilian clothing such as coats and trousers. The result were mittens that lacked a military appearance, but kept soldiers' hands warm while allowing them to immediately operate firearms while serving on picket duty or standing guard.
Our mittens pattern is drafted from the original engraving and construction notes published in the January 1862 issue of the American Agriculturalist. To learn more about this pattern variation, please visit this blog post on the Civil War Patterns website.
Sizing:
The size of the American Agriculturalist cloth mittens is comparable to modern-day size large gloves and is considered "one size fits most."
Fabric and Thread Required:
- With the exposed seams, a woolen fabric is required that when cut, has a raw edge that does not unravel easily. The original pattern called for fabrics being recycled from the skirts of coats (the part below the waist) and the wider parts of trousers. As these would have been cut from old civilian garments, there is a wide range of color options for these mittens. Examples based on original garments and colored tailoring plates could include (but are not limited to) black, blue, brown, green, gray and even checked fabrics.
- When purchasing woolen fabric for these mittens, because of the overall length and width of the mitten body, a half yard is encouraged. Although if utilizing the piecing option, a quarter of a yard could work if the pattern piece is placed horizontal, rather than vertical.
- One spool of linen or cotton hand sewing thread, although a partial spool may easily provide enough thread for sewing these mittens. The amount of hand sewing thread needed will depend on how the mittens are constructed--obviously more if completely hand sewn, but if planning to machine stitch you will still need to hand sew the thumb piece to the mitten body.
- One spool of machine sewing thread, if you are planning to machine sew the seams that can be stitched in this manner.
Recommended Sewing Notions:
- Tailors Chalk
- Sewing Pins
- Scissors for fabric and a small-pointed pair for work such as cutting thread
- Small cake of beeswax for waxing hand sewing thread
- Seam ripper (just in case something would look a little better if it was re-sewn)
- Basic steam iron
Highlighted Sources for Fabric, Thread, and Supplies
Fabric:
Kochen and Philips:
https://historicaltextiles.com/
Needle and Thread:
A mail order company based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with a variety of historically accurate fabrics, but they lack a website. Connect by phone at: (717) 334-4011
Tartex Textiles:
https://www.tartextextiles.com/
Hand Sewing Thread:
Tartex Textiles:
https://www.tartextextiles.com/
Sewing Supplies:
Wawak (over a century old, this company is a favorite for quality tailors chalk, hand sewing needles, machine sewing thread, and difficul to find supplies)