Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Have You Tried Twined Knitting? Check out This Tutorial

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Twined knitting tutorialRemember earlier this week when I said I know enough about knitting to know that I still have a lot to learn? One of my knowledge gaps that I am well aware of is twined knitting, a technique that uses two colors of yarn, alternating each stitch. The difference between twined knitting and more conventional stranded colorwork is that you deliberately twist the yarns as you go, twisting in the opposite direction on each round so that your yarns get twisted and the untwisted around each other.

It’s good to have a visual tutorial for this technique, and the Chilly Dog has a great video tutorial for twined knitting, which goes with a sock pattern she’s designed.

In the picture you can see how to sock looks from the inside (which is how it is knit) and the outside. It produces a really interesting texture and I imagine it’s also pretty warm.

Have you ever tried this technique? I’m thinking about giving it a go!

[Photo via the Chilly Dog.]

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Comments

  1. I haven’t tried twined knitting. But now you have me intrigued. Thanks for bringing this technique to the top of my list. I’m about to cast on for my second double knitting project. If I can do that, I should be able to learn twined.

Have you read?

Krampus Sweater Knitting Pattern

Santa and Saint Nicholas generally get all the good press, but Central European kids know you don’t want to just be good so you get presents from St. Nicholas; you also want to avoid the ire of Krampus. (He’s depicted as a human-like figure with horns and usually hairy or furry who gives birch rods instead of gifts to kids who are bad.)

If you’re the type to embrace the naughty side (or you just want to scare the children into good behavior over the holidays), maybe you’ll want to knit a Krampus sweater.  

This one, from Sofie Amalie Laulund, is a top down circular yoke sweater with Krampus faces at the top and cavorting Krampuses further down the body, with some traditional Scandinavian snowflakes thrown in for fun. 

Because of the large motifs there’s not a lot of room for adjusting the fit, but it is available in five sizes (the Ravelry page doesn’t say what the sizing is, and it says its worked with no ease but the photo looks like the sweater has a bit of positive ease, so if you decide to make this one just check the measurements and your own comfort level for ease when picking a size). 

It also uses five colors, but there’s very little red and brown so you can probably use scrap yarn for those parts. It calls for DK weight yarn. You’ll want a background color that helps the creatures stand out. You could also work the snowflake bands in different colors if you want to mix it up. 

The pattern is available in both English and Danish, and you can find it on Ravelry. This is the designer’s first pattern, which kudos to them because it’s such an ambitious (and fun!) project I’m happy to add to my collection of whimsy-filled knits. 

[Photo: Sofie Amalie Laulund]