• Skill level: Intermediate/Advanced
• Dates: Saturdays, 3 – 24 Oct, 10:30am – 12:30pm (4 sessions, 8 hours total)
• Instructor: Mairi McKissock
• Cost: $85 + HST + materials

Tvåändsstickning, also known as two-end knitting, or twined knitting, is a Swedish folk knitting technique that uses two ends of a single ball of yarn, twisting each strand around the other after every stitch. It makes a particularly dense, almost windproof, fabric, that is ideal for mittens, hats, socks, and outerwear.  Highly decorative tvåändsstickning work features distinctive textured patterns made by bringing one strand to the front of the work for a variety of special stitches, and coloured patterns that can be worked by twining two different colours of yarn, by carrying a third strand of yarn for colour stitches, or by working a form of intarsia for small motifs.

This classes teaches all of the essential tvåändsstickning techniques, and all you need to know to knit an exceptionally warm hat.

Techniques covered

• how to wind and manage your yarn to avoid tangles and unwind accumulated twist
• a little bit about the theory of twist, and what yarns work best for tvåändsstickning
• a basic three-strand cast-on technique for tvåändsstickning
• basic twining technique (right- or left-handed)
• how to work with two colours
• how to work mosaic patterns with tvåändsstickning hook stitches
• how to read tvåändsstickning pattern charts
• how to design your own hook stitch patterns
• increase and decrease techniques for tvåändsstickning
• two-colour grafting for tvåändsstickning

 Prerequisites

This class is intended for intermediate or advanced knitters. You should:

• have previous experience with knitting a small circumference (e.g. socks or mittens) in the round, using double-pointed needles, 2 circulars, or one long circular for magic loop
• be able to identify simple mistakes and problems in your knitting (such as accidental yarn-overs, dropped or incorrectly mounted stitches)
• be familiar with increase and decrease stitches (left-leaning and right-leaning increases)

Familiarity with the related technique of stranded colourwork (carrying two colours in one row) is helpful, but not required.  Knitters who hold the yarn in the left hand (Continental, or ‘picking’, style) will find this technique more challenging than those who hold the yarn in the right hand (English, or ‘throw’ style), but both styles will be taught.

Materials

You will need:

• two skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca (worsted weight) yarn in contrasting colours (yarn substitutions are OK-please ask instructor for assistance if you’d like to use another yarn)
• 3.25mm needles for circular knitting (dpns, two circulars, or one long circular, according to preference), or size required to achieve the correct gauge
• tape measure, scissors, darning needles and stitchmarkers

Gauge is highly individual, and will be different for tvåändsstickning than for regular knitting. Please bring a variety of needle sizes to the first class.

  Homework

There is no homework required to prepare for the first class. Homework will be assigned each week to prepare you for the next week’s instruction.