Note: the instructions in the Symbols in Stithches ebook are recipes. The example shown is only one variation of what you can make.

The Symbols: The realistic rose motif was particularly popular, but only for a short time, in Lithuania Minor on the Baltic Sea. Just as in America, the rose was seen as a symbol of love and luck, and the design was popular for gifts given at weddings and births. Roses probably fell out of fashion as mass-produced garments became more available and women had less time to spend on complicated knitting projects. As the intricate rose motif became less evident, there was a resurgence in the popularity of geometric patterns with easily memorized repeats.

The Stitches: To adjust size, CO the desired number of sts based on your gauge and desired circumference. This pattern is written for 60 sts. If you are working an all-over pattern around the entire hand, you can CO a few more or a few less and adjust the size for your pattern repeat by changing the needle size. Or, you can center one pattern on the back of the hand and another pattern on the palm. In many books from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, the author advises that it is more important to get a proper fit than to have a full repeat of the pattern at the end of the round. It is perfectly acceptable to have a visible “seam” at the outside edge of the hand where the round ends if the pattern doesn’t match up. If you adjust the number of stitches in the hand, the thumb opening should be made using one fifth of the total number.