Hat with Estonian pattern

Hat in twined knitting  - Estonian stitch pattern

I wanted to knit a hat in twined knitting. While thinking about how I wanted it to look I searched through some of my knitting books. I found a pattern that only required minor changes to be used for my hat.It was in a book about Estonian socks, called "Eesti sokikirjad" by Elo Lutsepp and Irina Tammis.

"Eesti sokikirjad by Elo Lutsepp and Irina Tammis

I used left over yarn for this hat, one light grey and two nuances of red. The yarn is from Wålstedt and I knitted on 2,50 mm (US 1½) needles.

These old traditional patterns are the best. They look good and they are fun to knit.

"STICKA - Detaljer som gör skillnad" av Ulla Engquist

STICKA - Detaljer som gör skillnad

(English summary at the bottom of this post.)
I tisdags var jag på boksläpp för Ulla Engquists bok "STICKA - Detaljer som gör skillnad", utgiven av Hemslöjdens Förlag. Jag hade hört talas om att Ulla skulle skriva en stickbok och jag hade sett fram emot att läsa den. Intresset för stickning är stort sedan en längre tid tillbaka och det ges ut många nya stickböcker. Ibland har jag suckat över att kvaliteten är rätt varierande på nya stickböcker. Jag har varit tacksam att jag har så många gamla "klassiker" i bokhyllan.

Ulla Engquist, författare

Ullas bok skiljer sig definitivt från flertalet stickböcker på marknaden. Detaljer som gör skillnad är Ullas specialitet inom stickning och följden har blivit att hon skrivit en bok som gör skillnad. Detta är inte en "vanlig stickbok" - det är en kunskapsbok. Ulla fokuserar på teknik och montering. Utifrån sin rika erfarenhet och kunskap ger hon tydliga råd om hur man genom att planera plaggets uppläggningar, avmaskningar, sidsömmar, hoptagningar och utökningar kan skapa ett harmoniskt plagg. Målet är att slippa förargliga skavanker. Råd som vi med tacksamhet tar emot. Att sticka en tröja tar ju trots allt ganska många timmar, och att slippa den frustration som kan uppstå efter missar i monteringsarbetet eller stickningen är värdefullt.

Ullas "provlappar och teknikexempel" fanns att studera på plats

Denna bok är ensam i sitt slag på svenska. Här finns inte inspirerande, softade, romantiska bilder på mönsterstickade tröjor, vantar, sockar mm. Här finns däremot teknikbeskrivningar och tips som kan användas vid stickning av alla sorters plagg. Boken är en möjlighet till förkovran och utveckling för alla oss som stickar. Allt är inte enkelt och okomplicerat om man vill uppnå ett vackert och tillfredsställande resultat. Ulla vet det och inpräntar därför vikten av kunskap, planering och noggrannhet. Det är kanske lite ovanligt idag när "minsta motståndets lag" ofta dominerar. Ulla tar stickning på allvar och delar generöst med sig av sin stora kunskap.

Bokens baksidestext

Glädjande är också att detta är den första boken i en serie. Det ska komma fler böcker. Exempel på vad de innehåller är t.ex. stickade fickor, knapphål, kragar och andra avancerade detaljer. Hur man gör sina egna modeller och anpassar stickbeskrivningar efter sina egna mått och önskemål kommer också. Mycket att se fram emot - och inte alls omöjligt att detta är första delen i en svensk "stick-klassiker".

Instruktionsfilmer på hemslojdensforlag.se/film

I samband med bokens utgivning har Ulla också spelat in ett antal filmer som återfinns på Hemslöjdens Förlags hemsida och deras YouTube-sida.

Läs också om Ullas andra bok här:
"STICKA - Egna modeller och fler detaljer" av Ulla Engquist 

 English Summary:
The above post is a presentation of a new Swedish book written by Ulla Engquist "STICKA - Detaljer som gör skillnad" (a rough translation would be "KNITTING - Details that make a difference"). Ulla has a lifetime of experience in knitting and her specialities are the technical aspects of how to make the finished garment as harmonious and beautiful as possible. Knowledge, planning and choosing the best suited technical solutions combined with meticulous attention to detail will make you a better knitter. 
This book has no fancy, romantic pictures - it is facts and knowledge. Read it if you want to improve your knitting and take it to the next level.
It is the first in a series. The next books will be about knitted pockets, buttonholes, and more advanced details. You will also learn how to construct your own models and how to adapt a pattern to your own measures and likings. I think that this book has a chance to become a Swedish classic - it is packed with useful information.

This book will be published in the USA in 2017.

Digerdöden / Black Death - Hat in Twined Knitting

Digerdöden / Black Death

This is a design by Karin Kahnlund. It was published in a Swedish magazine called "Hemslöjden" in 1988. The design has a peculiar name "Digerdöden", that is the Swedish name for the Black Death.

Hemslöjden 1988/5

I have long planned to knit this hat, but I could not decide which yarn to use until I opened my box with my hand-spun yarns and found a red and a grey yarn which I thought would be nice to use.

The pattern

These yarns were spun a couple of years ago. The red yarn is based on Spelsau mixed with Leicester, and the grey yarn is based on Rya mixed with Gotländsk Pälsull and Leicester.

Digerdöden - close up

I think that the two yarns work well together. It is always a bit special to knit with a yarn that you have made yourself.

Blocking

And I got to test our hatter´s stock - it was perfect for blocking!

Fulling mittens in the machine - an experiment

Very big mittens - 33 cm long and 14,5 cm wide

I have seen many friends and bloggers that have knitted mittens and then fulled them by using the laundry machine. The results have often looked nice and fluffy. I wanted to try the same thing. Since I did not have a pattern I searched the web and found a few of them. They were a bit vague, and often related to a specific yarn.

Rauma 4 tr. Strikkegarn

So I decided to make my own version. I used Rauma "4-tr Strikkegarn", a four ply, 100 % wool and very strong yarn. I have knitted socks with this yarn and they were as durable as socks knitted with sock yarn. My guess is that it is the strong Spelsau-wool that makes them suitable for socks.

After machine washing in 95 degrees Celsius

So I knitted a pair of very large mittens on double pins 4,00 mm (US 6). 33 cm long and 14,5 cm wide (13,2 x 5,8 inches). I knitted them as I almost always knit my mittens, with a thumb gore. After that, I washed them in the machine on 60 degrees Celsius. I did not get much of a reaction at all, despite the fact that I had other clothes in the machine to get more of a "beating" to add to the fulling process. A bit disappointed I decided to try the program on 95 degrees Celsius - if by chance they would end up too small for me I could always give them away as a gift. The result was surprising. Not much of a change. The length was now 31 cm and the width 14 cm (12,4 x 5,6 inches). This was not what I had expected. The mittens were still gigantic.

Fulling board, soap and mittens

My guess is that it all depends on the long strong outer coat wool fibres from the Spelsau, not easily prone to a massive shrinkage. So the experiment on fulling these mittens in the machine was unsuccessful. 

In the middle of the fulling process

But I still had a pair of (far to big) mittens, in a good quality yarn, that I could not use. The only solution left was the fulling board. A fulling board, a generous amount of soap and plenty of very hot water. The process was not as "easy" as I had hoped. It took me about 60 minutes of intense work for each mitten. But the result is quite fantastic. These mittens could probably be used as stove-mittens if needed. The length is now 25 cm and the width 12 cm (10 x 4,8 inches).

Comparison after fulling the right hand mitten

I am pondering whether or not I should decorate these in some fashion. I´ll have to give it some more thought.

A fulled pair of mittens

I will of course have to try out the machine process with another yarn some time in the future.