Significance in Community Life

The skills needed to make patterned, double-knit mittens represents many years of diligent work for the Folk Arts Studio Mazsalaca. These are their hallmark of intangible cultural heritage and identity. The double-knit mittens of Mazsalaca are doubly warm and doubly beautiful. This fifty-year creative journey has been sustained and nurtured by the joint efforts of the studio and the support of the Municipality.

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Activities / Practices

In Mazsalaca a double-knit mitten is one that has patterns both on the inside and the outside with the colours reversed. The knitting of these patterned double-knit mittens originated with Folk Art Master Rasma Āboltiņa.

Rasma Āboltiņa joined the Folk Art Studio Mazsalaca In 1982, soon after moving to Mazsalaca with her family.

This is how the double knitting of mittens began in Mazsalaca; mittens like this were not being made anywhere else. Rasma was followed in this work by Folk Art Master Ilga Vītola, who also learned to make double-knit mittens.

Late in 1986, Rasma Āboltiņa was awarded the title of Folk Art Master. In the intervening thirty years, she has participated in countless exhibitions and annual fairs at the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia.

A masterclass in Safeguarding Mitten Knitting Traditions was held in the summer of 2009, with the work continuing in 2010, at the 3x3 Camp. Āboltiņa also participated in the Traditional Skills School and the Meet Your Master Artisan events presented by the Latvian National Centre for Culture.

In her free time, Āboltiņa taught double-knit mitten making to interested groups in the neighbouring municipalities of Valmiera, Smiltene, Ogre, Staicele, and at the Craft House in Cēsis, and closer to home in Ramata, Sēļi, and elsewhere.

In 2014, the Latvian National Centre for Culture published a guide “Double Mittens of the Folk Art Craftsman Rasma Āboltina”.

Late in 2015, Latvian Television recorded an interview with Rasma Āboltiņa about the making of double-knit mittens.

Rasma Āboltiņa passed away in April 2019.

Although many have learned to make double-knit mittens, information about the number of skilled individuals and active practitioners is not available.

In Mazsalaca, Āboltiņa was succeeded by Evija Nagle, who continues to teach other knitters. At the studio, skills are put into use by Folk Art Masters Ilga Vītola, Sarmīte Luste, Ilzīte Celmiņa, Māra Mistre, and to a lesser extent by Rita Ertmane and Gunta Jēkabsone.

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Transmission and Passing Down

It is possible to acquire these skills at the Mazsalaca Craft House of the Folk Art Studio from artisans individually, as well as from the guidebook “Double Mittens of the Folk Art Craftsman Rasma Āboltiņa“ (Latvian National Centre for Culture: Rīga, 2014, with the support of the Council of Mazsalaca Municipality).

At the present time:
1) We provide ongoing instruction, access to information free of charge, and weekly extra-curricular classes for youth at the Mazsalaca Craft House;
2) Masterclasses and thematic exhibitions are presented twice each year;
3) Master artisans participate in state and regional exhibitions. In the last three years, this has included:
• The Leading Theme: Black and White exhibit organized by the Latvian Folk Art Union, 2017;
• The Applied Art Exhibition at the XXVI Latvian Song and XVI Dance Festival organized by the Latvian National Centre for Culture at the Rīga Art Space, 2018;
• The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Leading Theme: Festivities organized by the Latvian Folk Art Union;
• The Latvian Arts and Crafts exhibitions “Birds in Colour and Composition” and “Flowers in Colour and Composition” at the Mēru Manor Museum in Smiltene, organized by the Smiltene Municipality and the Folk Art Studio Smiltene, 2019 and 2020.

Seminars and summer camps are being planned for the long term with the support of Mazsalaca Municipality and Cultural Centre, the Latvian National Centre for Culture, and the State Culture Capital Foundation.

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History

Archaeological findings attest to the presence of mitten-wearing traditions in Latvia since the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The mittens in Latvia’s museums date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Mittens are both an accessory and a necessity and can be divided into three groups: work mittens, festive mittens, and gift mittens. Today this division remains unchanged although possibilities have expanded tremendously. Like any other skill, mitten knitting was originally learned in family settings and inherited from parents and grandparents. Neighbours learned from each other, all the while maintaining identification with their parish or county.

However, the tumultuous twentieth century brought change and unrest. Social structures changed, and wars and economic crises took place. Industry developed and there was progress in education, science and culture. Craft persisted in times both good and bad.

Latvia experienced a very active cultural life after World War II. Weaving and handicraft groups and studios were set up by clubs and culture houses throughout Latvia.

The Folk Art Studio Mazsalaca will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2022. The weaving and handicraft club was founded in 1972, and in 1982, awarded the honourary title of Folk Art Studio Mazsalaca.

It was in this year that Rasma Āboltiņa began to attend, bringing her knitting skills and innovations. Her invention came into being along with a story about a vest.

How did it all begin? The story, according to Rasma Āboltiņa, was that while she was working in bookkeeping at Austrumi, a young man wearing a patterned, knitted vest came into the office. When the vest opened, she could see that there was a pattern on the reverse side as well, not the usual strands of yarn. Rasma asked the man who had made the vest and he said that it was his mother but not to ask how she did it. Rasma asked him to take off the vest, and she studied it closely to understand the technique.

Every one of Rasma Āboltiņa’s pairs of mittens was a work of mastery. The world was slower then, money was scarce, material even scarcer, but there was plenty of optimism, imagination, and creativity. Members of the Mazsalaca studio knitted mittens and socks, wove blankets, table cloths, towels, participated in many exhibitions and travelled to the Open-Air Museum’s annual fair every year. These were true celebrations of craft!

The 1990s were one of the most difficult periods for the people, as well as for folk art and culture, their collectives and leaders. People left the country in search of work and the collectives grew old.

Early in the twenty-first century, new growth became discernable as a wider selection of materials and more information became more available. New designs and kitsch dominated.

Sunnier days came for artisans, but the climate encouraged us to think practically, warmly, and beautifully. How much thought and time, how many patterns were knitted into these mittens? What could they signify to the person who wore them?

Countless masterclasses, summer camps, seminars, and training trips have taken place in the last twenty years, in Vidzeme and elsewhere.

Today the Meet Your Master Artisan project is particularly relevant, as are masterclasses and participation in applied art exhibitions.

Mazsalaca is a weaving town with its own history and stories. You can’t put a loom into your purse, but you can always find a place for your knitting in your bed, by the television, on a kitchen window ledge or out in the garden. You have to knit for your family and make gifts for your friends and relatives. It seems as if the women of Mazsalaca were born with the ability to knit. Everyone has their little secrets, but double-knit mittens are a common heritage.

Rasma Āboltiņa’s knitting technique is now the Folk Art Studio Mazsalaca’s trademark and several members are well versed in it. This is a source of pride, but it also carries a responsibility not to give up and act to ensure it lives on.

Double knitting is as time consuming as any other handicraft. Every mitten has its own story. Warmer winters are also having a certain effect, since people wear mittens less frequently. Despite climate change, northern Vidzeme has not relocated; the climate here is harsher and mittens are still necessary, so there is still a demand for them.

Rasma Āboltiņa’s legacy encourages the knitters of Mazsalaca to continue planning and thinking about launching a Latvia-wide project to develop and consolidate double-knit mitten skills.

The intangible cultural heritage inherited by the studio and the city from this Master Knitter has brought joy and pride, as well as a sense of responsibility to develop and continue what she started.

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Additional Information

Other useful items can be made by extending this technique, including accessories such as scarves, shawls, hats, socks, as well as textiles for the home such as bedspreads.

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Masters

Folk Art Master Rasma Āboltiņa has followers in her own studio, the town of Mazsalaca, and elsewhere. Her heirs and successors are the artisan-teachers Evija Nagle, Ilga Vītola, Sarmīte Luste, Māra Mistre, Ilzīte Celmiņa, as well as Rita Ertmane and Gunta Jēkabsone.

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Institutions and Organizations

Valmiera Municipality Mazsalaca Culture Center's Applied Folk Art Studio “Mazsalaca” and the “Apskritnis” association

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Consolidation

MASTERCLASSES, SEMINARS, EXHIBITIONS, PUBLICATIONS
• ICH Project: Introductory masterclass “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca 2022”, master artisan Evija Nagle, 03.2022–05.2022, Mazsalaca Culture Center. “Apskritnis” association;
• International Folklore Festival “BALTICA 2022”: Participation in the “Living Cultural Heritage Workshops”, presenting “The Craft of Making Mazsalaca Patterned Double-Knit Mittens” on 08.07.2022 in Vērmanes Garden. Master artisans: E. Nagle, G. Jēkabsone, M. Mistre;
• ICH Project: Exhibition “Patterned Double-Knit Mittens 2022” and a practical seminar/masterclasses, 15–16.07.2022, Mazsalaca Culture Center, House of Crafts. Organized by the LNKC (Latvian National Centre for Culture), Mazsalaca Culture Center, “Apskritnis” association, and AFAS “Mazsalaca”, with the support of the SCCF (State Culture Capital Foundation) and the Valmiera Municipality;
• Participation in LNKC ICH projects “Meet Your Master 2022–2025”: Masterclasses in weaving, knitting, ceramics, and handicrafts, first week of April, 2023–2025. Mazsalaca Culture Center House of Crafts;
• Participation in LEFM (Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum) “Fair 2023, 2024, 2025” events: Presentation of studio works and patterned double-knit mittens;
• Participation in the XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival events in Vērmanes Garden: Demonstration of the ICH masterclass “The Craft of Making Mazsalaca Patterned Double-Knit Mittens”;
• ICH Project: Open masterclasses 1, “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca 2023”, 10.2023–06.2024. Master artisan Gunta Jēkabsone, Mazsalaca Culture Center House of Crafts, “Apskritnis” association;
• 50th Anniversary Event of the Mazsalaca Culture Center's AFAS “Mazsalaca”: Exhibition of the collective’s works “Apliecinājums” (Confirmation), 16.11.2023–06.01.2024. Mazsalaca Culture Center;
• ICH Project: “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca 2”: Opening event for the patterned double-knit mitten exhibition “Dubultskaisti, dubultsilti” (Double Beautiful, Double Warm) – a seminar and gathering of master knitters, 19–20.07.2024. Mazsalaca Culture Center and House of Crafts;
• ICH Project: Open masterclasses 2, “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca 2024”, 10.2024–06.2025. Master artisan Gunta Jēkabsone, Mazsalaca Culture Center House of Crafts, “Apskritnis” association;
• ICH Project: Conference “Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Historical Lands” / Street-long festival “Summer Awakener”. Masterclasses: Gunta Jēkabsone – knitting, Gaļina Birkava – weaving, Linda Zelta – ceramics, Laila Strada – handicrafts. Craftsmen's market and folk music concerts, 2–3.05.2025. Mazsalaca Culture Center and House of Crafts, “Apskritnis” association.

Publications:
• ReTV, G. Matisone – interview about the 50th anniversary and exhibition of the Applied Folk Art Studio (TLMS) “Mazsalaca”, about the Mazsalaca Museum (NKM) and the inclusion of “The skill of making patterned double-knit mittens in Mazsalaca” into the National List, regarding Community duties, Jan 10, 2024.
• INFO about open masterclasses in the project “The skill of making patterned double-knit mittens in Mazsalaca–2” during the 2023/24 season.
• INFO about the 2nd Patterned Double-Knit Mitten Exhibition “DOUBLE WARM, DOUBLE BEAUTIFUL” (July 19 – Aug 9, 2024) and the knitting masters' gathering “The skill of making patterned double-knit mittens in Mazsalaca–2” (July 19-20, 2024) – published on the Latvian National Centre for Culture (LNKC) website, Valmiera Municipality website, and Mazsalaca Culture Centre Facebook pages. Also published in the Municipality informational newsletter, June–July 2024, issues No. 6 and 7.
• Valmiera regional newspaper “Liesma”, E. Grigule – interviews on the aforementioned topics, July 25, 2024.
• www.valmierasnovads.lv, www.facebook.mazsalacaskultūrascentrs.

Active involvement has made an impact on the lives of Mazsalaca residents. The significant project “Meet Your Master,” organized by the Latvian National Centre for Culture and local municipalities, sustains interest in craftsmanship within the local area. It fosters a desire to take action, acquire these skills, and improve individual quality of life. It is accessible to anyone interested, regardless of social background. A trend over the last two years shows growing interest in handicrafts among city dwellers who have bought summer homes in rural areas or small towns. 1. Promotion of youth interest education – participation in creative workshops, visiting exhibitions, and writing reviews on what was seen. 2. Seminars promote professional skill development, qualification upgrades, and experience exchange. 3. Participating in and visiting exhibitions provides continuous information, review analysis, and promotion. Diverse works are displayed in one place, making it possible to compare, evaluate, criticize, and borrow ideas. 4. It builds recognition, popularity, and networks of like-minded people. 5. A continuous learning process and free access to information are forming at the Mazsalaca Crafts House. These activities sustain interest in craftsmanship within the local area, fostering a desire to act, learn skills, and raise individual quality of life. It is accessible to any interested person from any social background. A recent trend highlights interest in handicrafts among big-city residents who have purchased summer properties in the countryside or small towns. • Traditions are being strengthened and refined. • Youth interest education is being promoted. • Seminars promote professional skill acquisition, qualification upgrades, and experience exchange. Participation in exhibitions and visiting them ensures continuous information sharing, evaluation analysis, and advertising. Various works can be viewed in one place, allowing for comparison, evaluation, criticism, or inspiration, which leads to visibility, popularity, and finding like-minded peers. • A continuous training process and open access to information are developing at the Mazsalaca Culture Centre's Crafts House. • The message about Mazsalaca's patterned double-knit mittens has reached even the furthest regions of Latvia. Over the past two years, patterned double-mitten knitting has become exceptionally active in Vidzeme. Inquiries and phone calls are also coming in from the Kurzeme region and the Pierīga area.

The Municipality provides €4,500 to support the work of the studio. This amount covers salaries, the costs of upkeep, heating, and utilities.

The Latvian National Centre for Culture grant is on average €400 per year which is used to supplement the director’s salary.

We plan on using €2,000 for seminars, making use of matching funds from the above institutions.

2022./2023.
• SCCF ICH (VKKF NKM) Project: “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca–1”, 30.05.2022.–30.12.2023.
Allocated funding – 7,030 EUR (documentary short film, 1st Patterned Double-Knit Mitten Exhibition and practical seminar 2022). Co-financing from Mazsalaca Culture Center – 2,355 EUR (operation and management of the House of Crafts premises all year round);
• Culture, Sports, and Camp Project of Valmiera Municipality: Practical seminar “The Skill of Knitting Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca 2022”, 15–16.07.2022.
Allocated funding – 600 EUR (organizational work for the seminar);
• Valmiera Municipality Citizens' Initiative Project “Inspire, Promote, Preserve!”, 20.12.2022.–30.04.2023.
Allocated funding – 1,000 EUR (for improving the working environment at the Mazsalaca CC House of Crafts: purchase of window blinds to block sunlight and ceiling lighting over workspaces).

2023./2024.
• SCCF ICH Project: “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca–2”, 30.05.2023.–31.12.2024.
Allocated funding – 21,630 EUR (knitting masterclasses–1, 10-month season);
• 2nd Patterned Double-Knit Mitten Exhibition and Gathering of Master Knitters 2024, procurement of a mitten collection (25 pairs) and a glass showcase with lighting for storing the Element).
Co-financing from Mazsalaca Culture Center – 3,800 EUR (operation and management of the House of Crafts premises all year round).

2024./2025.
• SCCF ICH Project: “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca–3”, 30.04.2024.–30.11.2025.
Allocated funding – 25,000 EUR (knitting masterclasses–2, 10-month season, equipment for the working environment in the classroom and outdoor space for organizing seminars, popularizing the Element. Conference “Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Historical Lands” / Street-long festival “Summer Awakener”). Co-financing from Mazsalaca Culture Center – 9,102 EUR (operation of the House of Crafts premises throughout the year: electricity, water, sewerage, wood heating, security, repairs).

2025./2026.
• SCCF ICH Project: “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca – Further Development and Sustainability”, 30.04.2025.–30.11.2026.
Allocated funding – 14,000 EUR (knitting masterclasses–3, 10-month season; 3rd Patterned Double-Knit Mitten Exhibition “Two Sides” / practical seminar / Street-long festival). Co-financing from Mazsalaca Culture Center – 22,090 EUR (operation of the House of Crafts premises all year round: electricity, water, sewerage, wood heating, security, repairs, wages).

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Continuation and Development

SUSTAINABILITY PLAN FOR THE ELEMENT
• A second volume of the handbook “Double Mittens of the Folk Art Craftsman Rasma Āboltiņa” is in preparation;
• Work will continue on researching and developing teaching resources;
• A repository for completed items will be developed;
• Technical drawings will be developed in 2023 and 2024.
• Instructional material will be published and presented in 2024–2025.

WORK PLAN FOR 2026–2030
• “Double-Knit Mittens by TDA Rasma Āboltiņa”, LNKC, 2014, digitization of the book;
• “The Craft of Making Patterned Double-Knit Mittens in Mazsalaca”, work on the creation of methodological material, Part 2:
– Continuation of research and refinement of the methodological material,
– Creation and digitization of technical drawings,
– Story creation,
– Publishing and presenting the methodological material, 2029–2030;
• Supplementing the mitten repository, creating a visual layout/presentation for the mitten collection;
• Creating correct storage conditions for the repository.

• Creation of a website for the House of Crafts / “Apskritnis” association, ensuring publicity;
• Engaging the press and public media;
• ICH project “Meet Your Master”, knitting workshop at the Mazsalaca CC House of Crafts, LNKC and regions, 2026–2030;
• “Open Masterclasses”, autumn–spring season, twice a month, Mazsalaca House of Crafts;
• Summer seminars “Development of Double-Knitting Skills”, Mazsalaca Culture Center and House of Crafts;
• Summer seminars “Application of Double-Knitting Skills in Clothing Design and Accessories”, Mazsalaca Culture Center and House of Crafts;
• 4th and 5th Latvian Double-Knit Mitten Exhibition “The Four Seasons of Salaca: Spring. Autumn. Summer. Winter.” Mazsalaca Culture Center, House of Crafts, and “Apskritnis” association, summers of 2028–2030.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ACTIVITIES
• To promote the making of patterned double-knit mittens, facilitate skills acquisition in Vidzeme and Latvia, and honour the contributions of Folk Art Master Rasma Āboltiņa;
• To seek collaborative models that result in patterned double-knit mittens becoming a trademark of Mazsalaca and their makers a source of local pride;
• Gather the residents of Mazsalaca in a creative environment and learn the skill of double-knitting. This is the result of many years of meticulous work, and the community is ready to share the acquisition of this skill;
• Patterned double-knit mittens are double-warm and double-beautiful. This creative journey, spanning nearly fifty years, is maintained and nurtured through the joint efforts of the tradition bearers and municipal support, along with LNKC recommendations and SCCF funding. It is the pride of the Mazsalaca community, the town, and the region;
• The craft of making patterned double-knit mittens by master artisans Rasma Āboltiņa and Evija Nagle is part of the community’s identity. Currently, the bearers of this skill are master artisan Gunta Jēkabsone and 8 community members. This awareness not only makes them proud but also places an obligation upon them not to stop, to continue strengthening the community's capacity and activities, to maintain the sustainability of the Element, and to teach the new generation of skill bearers, thereby ensuring the transmission of the craft;
• Carry out documentation/statistics and material processing during the project;
• Improve the repository of works, ensuring its accessibility to the public;
• Build cooperation with like-minded communities, networking, and joint initiatives;
• Promote the popularization of the craft of making patterned double-knit mittens in Vidzeme and Latvia.

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Threats

Potential threats to double-knit mitten-making skills:
• Aging of the practitioners and small increase in the number of knitters;
• Climate change could decrease the demand for warm mittens.

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Publications

Methodical material: “Tautas daiļamata meistares Rasmas Āboltiņas DUBULTCIMDI/ DOUBLE MITTENS of Folk Art Craftsman Rasma Aboltina” by Linda Rubena. Latvian National Centre for Culture, 2014.

https://www.lsm.lv/raksts/dzive-stils/tautas-maksla/meistare-rasma-abolina-cimdus-darina-dubultadijuma.a161289/

Article “Mazsalaciešu darba tikums”, newspaper “Cīņa”, August 1983.

Article “Balta nāca tautu meita”, newspaper “Rīgas Balss”, February 1990.

Article "Mazsalacas meistariem 30 gadu jubileja", newspaper “Liesma”, November 2002.

Article “Dubultajam divi mūži”, newspaper “Liesma”, August 2009.

Article “Ar mīlestību, sirdi un dvēseli”, newspaper “Liesma”, November 2010.

Article “Honor masters”, newspaper “Liesma", November 2010.

Article “Izdota grāmata par dubultcimdu adīšanas tehniku”, Mazsalaca Municipality, March 2015.

Article - info, “Apgūsti prasmes”, October 2010.

R. Āboltiņa Copy of the Folk Art Master's Certificate, 1st opening, granted/issued - 1986/87.

Copy of the certificate of R.Āboltiņa, Master of Folk Crafts, 2nd opening, granted/issued - 1986/87.

Invitation to the studio event "Honouring the Masters", January 1983, March 1985.

Invitation to the studio event "The Sun Weaves Gold", June 1987.

Invitation to studio event “Meistaru godināšana”, July 1988.

Poster “Cimdu pāris”, Cēsis, September 2009.

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Websites

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