Alice Starmore writes:

Another example of decoration with a flourish is found in the tassled gloves of Karelia. The tassles are obviously impractical, which indicates that the gloves were only worn for festive occasions. The design includes a wide variety of geometric features, including simple stripes, squares and bands of eight-petal roses. The colours are equally varied, making it a perfect example of the richness of Finnish knitting. There is red, green, gold, navy and white. Such gloves have been very popular in Karelia, as many examples remain today.

Richness and festivity are the qualities I set out to capture in this little girl’s dress, based on the Karelian glove. All the warm, deep colours are used, and all the different small designs, including the eight-petal roses on the circular yoke, and cerise coloured tassles.