In the nick of time

These mittens in Twined  Knitting for Jessica were finished just a couple of hours before they were to be gifted. I normally avoid knitting towards a deadline, but it sometimes happens (and Christmas Eve is kind of a special event).

They are (as usual) knitted with yarn spun at Wålstedts. The stitch pattern used is an old one from Ore, Dalecarlia. I saw it on a pair of knitted gloves at Dalarnas Museum in November. It was knitted in red on a white glove. For Jessica I chose pink on natural brown. 

Striped Cap in Twined Knitting

I had some yarn from Wålstedts in really nice colours. I wanted to use them but I did not know what to knit. So I decided on a cap and unplanned striping, deciding on the colours while knitting.

This is the result, much more colourful than most of my items but I kind of like it anyway.

Knitted on dbpns 2½ mm, yarn from Wålstedts, 90 grams.

Inspired by Old model from Leksand

Half mitten - old model from Leksand

I started knitting this one during the course in traditional twined knitting at Sätergläntan that I attended in November. The original pair of half mittens (from the 19th Century) is owned by Karin Kahnlund. 

The mittens feature many of the characteristics of old mittens from Leksand:  knitted with white yarn, a broad cuff, one of the three threads used for casting on is red and they have a crook-stitch pattern. 

The original mitten has a gauge of 52 stitches/10 cm (13 stitches/inch). I knitted this one on dbpns 1.75 mm (00) and a thin 2-ply yarn for twined knitting from Wålstedts (a thinner version of their regular 4,7/2). My gauge is 49-50 stitches/10 cm (12-12.5 stitches/inch).

I knitted this to get a feel for the traditional twined knitting and I think that it was a great experience.

Knitting traditions in Dalecarlia

Sätergläntan

I am back after five very intense days studying local traditions in twined knitting in Dalecarlia. Karin Kahnlund was, as always, a very inspiring teacher and Sätergläntan always offers nice companions, good food and quiet surroundings.

We studied traditions from Rättvik, Floda, Gagnef, Mora and Leksand. As always I get so impressed when I get a chance to study knitted items from the 19th century. The skill of the spinners and knitters is simply amazing. The yarn the used is so thin, most of the mittens that we saw had a stitch count of 50-60 stitches per 10 cm (12½-15 stitches/inch). The patterns are beautiful and there seems to have been no restrictions to the time spent knitting a pair of mittens or socks. It is also amazing how different the traditions are even if they were developed next to each other. In Leksand there are beautiful white mittens with very few patterns and not many colours. In Rättvik there are bold patterns that sometimes has four to five colours in a row.

The different kind of patterns also represents different kind of technical solutions in twined knitting. This was most interesting since we saw different solutions on how to knit twined knitting with two or three colours depending on where the items were knitted and how the patterns were constructed. I know that there sometimes are quite intense discussions on what "the proper" way of knitting twined knitting with two or three colours is. After this week I have learnt that the answer most like likely will depend on where the pattern you knit originated from, that is if you are knitting "traditional" pieces. If you are knitting "modern" designs it will be a matter of what you judge as the best solution regarding the result you aim for.

Sampler: 2 patterns from Rättvik

The pattern at the top of the sampler is a pattern knitted with one strand of red and one strand of white yarn (both wool).
The bottom pattern is knitted with one strand of red yarn (wool) and a thin white thread (flax, a yarn most often used for fine lace-making).

Sampler: 3 patterns from Floda and Gagnef

This sampler was knitted in white and black, one strand of each. When finished is was dyed red. The three motives also represent different techniques in knitting twined knitting with two colours.

Sampler: 3 patterns from Floda and Gagnef, dyed red

Mittens for Mia

These are twined knitted mittens for Mia. She likes brown and grey and perhaps some blue.

They are part and end of what became a "Twined knitted mittens for Peter´s family" Christmas gifts project. I am glad that I was able to finish in time. Christmas is only one month away and time will fly .... 

In the near future I am once more going to Dalecarlia to study local traditions in twined knitting. I am really looking forward to this and know that it will give me lots of inspiration. Posts will come in December.