Tag Archives: Twined Knitting

New Twined knit Earflap cap pattern for sale on Ravelry!

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I  finally got my pattern for Kathy’s Earflap Hat edited and up for sale on Ravelry!

Earflap hat with Twined Brim and earflaps.
Earflap hat with Twined Brim and earflaps.

It is such a cute hat! And it includes twined knitting, which I adore!

I can’t remember where I was first introduced to twined knitting but I immediately fell in love with the beautiful patterning and durability of the knitting.  wait – now I remember. I was browsing the knitting books at my local library and found this great book, “Twined Knitting A Swedish Folkcraft Technique” by Birgitta Dandanell and Ulla Danielsson. The photos are fabulous and I couldn’t get over the beautiful white on white designs. I wanted this book for my personal library but to my dismay the book was out of print and the cost ran 96$ and up. Luckily I have a big (and generous) family and they all went in together and purchased this great book for me.

I am always inspired when I wander through this book.

A friend of mine wanted me to knit her a cap, an earflap cap specifically, to match a beautiful woven scarf of her mother’s that had a great art deco sort of weave. . . angels and squares and subtle texture. I thought that working in twined knit would provide the perfect opportunity to create subtle texture designs. Kathy’s one of a kind hat is done in black and turned out great! Kathycloseup03

I’ve knit many earflap hats with twined brims since this one and have written a pattern for a traditional pattern that is fun and easy to follow.

If you’ve never done twined knitting before I include a description in the pattern. There are also many youtube videos on twined knitting. In twined knitting you use two strands of yarn from the same skein,and as you knit you wrap each stitch around the next, alternating between the two strands. Yes,  the result is a twisted skein of yarn, but I find that taking breaks to untwist the skein is as relaxing as the knitting. I use a double pointed needle, making an s-twist around it with both ends of yarn, then hold up the ends and watch the ball of yarn spin around and “untwist”. It’s fun!

My pattern also includes line by line directions, and graphs – you can follow which ever one works for you!

Happy knitting!

New Mittens!

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I just finished these beauties and even though we haven’t had 70 degree weather for 9 months I want it to be cold again right now so I can wear these mittens. These are knit in Harrisville Highland Light Shetland, which I found to be the perfect weight for Twined Knitting.

Twined mitts made for me
Twined mitts made for me

I can’t remember how I was introduced to twined knitting but I think it is gorgeous. The technique requires knitting with two strands of yarn and wrapping every stitch. The band around the cuff is done in knit and purl stitches with the yarn being carried across the outside of the knitting.  These mitts are super warm, flexible and fit like a glove:)

 

Earflap hat with Twined Knitting

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A while back a friend mentioned she wanted a classy, black, earflap hat to wear with her “good” coat. She showed my the ecru 1940s art deco style silk scarf that she wears with this coat. A lovely design is woven into the scarf and I decided to try to match it on the brim of the hat. I wanted something that would be warm and with a nice firm brim and earflaps.

Result – twined knitting – with raised stitches.

    

I fell in love with twined knitting about a year ago, and my family chipped in and bought me Twined Knitting, A Swedish Folkcraft Technique by Birgitta Dandanell & Ulla Danielsson. (an out of print 96$ purchase!!).

So I read the book and figured out how to make raised stitch designs and the black hat pictured here was the result. I don’t remember what yarn I used for that hat.

After knitting several hats I’ve decided a nice spungey, springy yarn, with lots of body works best when knit on a smaller size needle than recommended on the label.

    

I’m happy to knit you one in the color of your choice! 50 colors to choose from in Harrisiville Shetland! Shoot me a comment for more details.

I am writing the pattern using the wavy raised stitch design for publication seen on the other hats pictured here.

Pattern coming soon!

Twined knit neck warmers

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I’m still in love with twined knitting!

These cowls/neckwarmers/headbands work up so quick and take very little yarn.

Twined knitting
Hand knit cowls
Twined knit cowls
Hand knit scarves

The black is solid, the gold is slightly variegated.

The blue is a mohair blended with shiny nylon.

The beige and white is knit in alpaca and silk… verrrry soft and squishy!

Wear them as neck warmers or as head bands over your ears. Dual purpose!!

I can’t decide which side I like better as the outside, or one might say, the “public side”.

More Twined Knitting with beads!

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Finally some good photos of the twined mittens I knit.

These were knit in Gems Merino sport weight and I used 5 different kinds of beads for the design.

The beads in the cuff were knit in. . . the beads on the back of the hand were crocheted on.

Karen's Mittens
Twined knit and beaded mittens
Twined knit mittens
Karen's Twined knit mitens

here you can see them with the coat they were meant to match! I thinnk they match perfectly!

Hand knit twined mittens
Twined knitting mittens

I am so enamored with this twined knitting thing. . .wait till you see the neck cowls I’ve been twining!

Twined Knitting

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Well, I must say I LOVE how this knittin looks. I even got used to spinning the ball of yarn to untwist it.

For my recent birthday my family gave me the book “twined Knitting, a Swedish Folkcrafrt Technique”. It was too expensive for my blood but I love this book. Now I have to return the copy I was using to the Textile Center Library.

A friend commissioned these mittens to match a new coat.

The mitts were knit in black, Gems Merino DK weight yarn. For some reason my camera didn’t work very well. I’ll need to get better photos!!

Black Twined knit mittens
Twined knitt mittens

The beads on the cuff were knit in as I went. Notice how I did the thumb gusset. I wanted these to be a one of a kind!

Twined knit mittens
Black twine knit mittens

Here they are after I crocheted beads onto the back of the mitts. The coat these were made to match is red with half  circle designs in black. I think the mitts match very well. Now I just need to figure out what is wrong with my cameral!

New knitting pattern available & a new love!

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Charlotte’s Tam pattern is now available on my etsy site! I’ve made three of them now and they work up so nicely!

The one shown on the pattern is knit  in Gale Woods Farm’s sock yarn and it was perfect. I knit another one using two skeins of  Mission Falls 136 Merino and that turned out very nice as well. 136 Merino is sooo soft and fun to work with.

I tried one in a worsted weight to see what would happen. . .it is a bit big! The diameter across the top is 13″. . . looks a bit funny on my head!

twined knit mittenI’ve found a new love!!! Twined Knitting.

While at the library at the Minnesota Textile Center I found a book  “Twined Knitting, a Swedish Folkcraft Technique”. The book is full of great pictures, mitten, glove and hat patterns and history. I became so entrigued I started a project right away. I have some New Zealand wool I picked up at a sale somewhere and it is perfect for twined knitting.

This must be the definitive book on Twined knitting since I’ve been searching on line for one and the cheapest one I’ve found is 86$. . ouch. . .too much or my book budget, but I’m keeping it on my wish list.