Twisted Stitches: Left vs Right January 19, 2010

I love knitting and especially designing twisted stitch socks.  Exhibit A: Danube, Salzburg, and Glass Slipper.  I’ve finally completed my collection of German stitch dictionaries (if you haven’t seen, they’ve reprinted all three Überlieferte Strickmuster into one volume over at Schoolhouse press).  Well, “completed” might be a bit strong- I’ve gotten enough that most traditional twisted cables are covered.  I’d consider myself a twisted stitch fanatic.  I know at least three ways to do the cable turns and I understand why twisted ribbing is stretchier than regular ribbing.

 

How is it, then, that I’ve missed learning about this fabulous information until now?

 

Something about these beautiful stitches has always bothered me.  You can see it on the accent cables on Salzburg.  One cable is very compressed and just looks likes close diagonal lines.  The other cable has some space between the diagonals, allowing you to see the way the cable swirls.  It happens with any of the twisted stitch cables.  The ones that travel to the right always seem squished, not as defined.  I’ve always wondered what caused that.  And, of course, what I could do to fix it.  (What can I say, I’m a huge perfectionist.)  I started to think that this phenomenon was just a fact of knitting, like the curl of stockinette or the inelasticity of stranded projects.

 

 

I’m very glad that I always read “Ask a Knitter” in the Ravelry newsletter.  Usually I know the answers to most of the questions, but this time…!  This issue is written about just this problem.  Turns out that it’s the very twist of the stitch that causes this squishing, this lack of definition.

 

Knitting a stitch through the back loop causes the left side of the stitch to overlap the right.  This is a left-twisted stitch.  When a stitch like this travels to the left, it travels in the same direction as the twist.  The stitch stays flat, even, and well-defined.

 

 

But when a left-twisted stitch travels to the right, it kind of rolls onto its side.  It’s traveling against the twist and the pull of the yarn makes the stitches appear narrow and squished.  Think about looking at a book cover versus looking at the spine.

 

If you’re a crazy perfectionist like me, you can twist the stitches so that the right side overlaps the left.  That way the twist of the stitch isn’t fighting the direction of travel.  To twist a stitch to the right, use the right needle to remount the stitch so that the right-leaning leg is in the back.  This is sometimes referred to as an “Eastern mounted stitch.”

 

 

Then knit the stitch through the front leg, wrapping the yarn around the needle in the opposite direction of normal.  The opposite wrapping will make the new stitch have the same Eastern mount so that you don’t have to remount the stitch on the next row/round.  Ta da, a stitch with the right side overlapping the left!

 

 

 

You might notice some similarity in the above picture to this tutorial of lifted increases.  The principle is the same, creating directional stitches.  It’s also the same as M1L and M1R.

 

 

See, no turning on their sides!  The stitches are flat and well defined.  Now, not everyone is as big a dork-perfectionist as I am, and not everyone is going to want to micromanage their twisted stitch projects so much as to change stitch mount for every right-traveling stitch.  But for those few of us who do, aren’t you glad to know about this?  Go check out the Ask a Knitter column in the #67 issue of This Week in Ravelry for more!

Glass Slipper Socks August 21, 2009

Hey, the Fall 09 preview for Knotions is up!  And what’s this?  Is this one of my patterns there under “Steeped in History”?  Why, yes, I do believe it is!

 

 

 

Glass Slippers are top-down socks with elegant twisted stitches down the side of the leg and across the top of the foot. The twisted stitches are surrounded by moss stitch and stockinette. A cable needle is optional; the traditional way of working these tiny cables is without one. The toe has been modified to avoid grafting.

 

The full issue will be up next week, with more pictures and the pattern for free.  There’s some great projects in this issue- it’s humbling to be in such great company.  I’ll write more about my pattern here then.

Purling tbl March 25, 2009

I thought I had made an awesome discovery about short row heels.  Turns out I haven’t.  Or maybe I have, but I can’t duplicate the results, so in the end it’s the same thing.  Very disappointing, since I spent the last two hours trying to unvent my own “mistake” and failing miserably.  So instead of an awesome short row heel tutorial, I’m going to put up something certainly less interesting and probably less useful.

 

Purling through the back loop is a lost skill, I think.  Rarely, if ever, does a pattern request that you purl through the back loop.  The only ones I’ve found, really, have been twisted stitch patterns that are worked flat, like the heel flap of my Socks (circa 2008,) where the twisted purl stitch on the wrong side shows as a twisted knit stitch on the right side.  Purling through the back loop is also useful for the occasional unintended twisted purl stitch, like the ones I always get when I have to rip out and then put ribbing back on my needles.  Instead of having to move the stitch to untwist it, I can just purl it through the back loop.  It’s a small time-saver, but I like it.

 

Go behind the stitch with the right needle and insert the needle into the stitch from the back.

Wrap the yarn as usual and pull through the stitch.

 

Easy as pie!  Mmm, pie…

Socks, circa 2008 October 3, 2008

 

I am fascinated by the history of knitting.  Did you know that knitting (as we know it) probably started in Egypt? Somewhere between 1200 and 1500.  Most of the early pieces that have been found there have been cotton, knitted with at least two colors.  And the gauge!  Most of the old knitting has a gauge of 20 or 30 stitches to the inch!  Insane, I say, insane!  No wonder it’s all so beautiful, though.  They could fit some really detailed designs on that many stitches.  As I said in my last post, the color work chart on these socks is taken from one of the earliest pieces of knitting found.  I added the extra colors, though.  Most of the ancient knitting I’ve read about used a single color for each motif but would have multiple motifs.  The "clocks" (a design that runs down the leg and splits at the heel) are also traditional but from later in the chronology.  If you look at Nancy Bush’s books Folk Socks and Folk Knitting in Estonia you’ll see socks much like these, with color work at the top and clocks down the sides.

 

I couldn’t think of a name for these socks that really fit, so I gave them a bit of that historical flair.  By that I mean I was looking through the History of Handknitting, hoping that the place the fragment was found or something else would be a good sock name.  When that failed, I just decided that naming them as if they were found in an archaeological dig somewhere was the easy way to go.  The color work chart only repeats twice and only has 3 colors, so it’s not too bad.  The clocks on these socks are a simple twisted stitch motif that doesn’t require a cable needle (check out the tutorial and more information here).  The colors of Louet Gems Fingering listed here are mostly the same as for the Arthurian Anklets.  (I’m doing some stash busting.)  Despite having published the pattern using Louet Gems, I would recommend using another yarn for these socks.  The Gems is good, but it’s too… the twist is too tight to really show the twisted stitches right.  Look for a yarn with some good loft to it.  Actually, Knit Picks Essential is probably a good pick…

 

The PDF version of the pattern has symbol-coded charts for the colorwork as well as color-coded charts.

Edited 4-9-09: Fixed various errors that a knitter was kind enough to keep track of.  The heel instructions now make mathematical sense and I hope I’ve clarified some of the other instructions.  Errata are in purple.

Edited 9-4-11:  Lots of small changes!  Renumbered the rows in Charts A and B and added stitch numbers to all the charts.  Changed the Egyptian Chart to a combined symbol and color chart which should work as a color chart or printed in gray scale.  Also added the original cables to the instructions- knitters now have a choice of the classic twisted stitch cable shown in the photos or the braided cable that was actually written in the instructions.  Be aware that there are two different sets of instructions for the different cables!

 

    

 

Socks, circa 2008

Download the PDF: Socks (circa 2008)

• Finished Size: Women’s Size 8 1/2-9, foot length 9 1/2″
• Needles: 2 size 0 (2mm) circulars (or DPNs), 2 size 2 (2.75mm) circulars (or DPNs)
• Yarn: Louet Gems Fingering, MC: Caribou(2 skeins), CC1: Champagne (1 skein), CC2: Ginger (1 skein), CC3: Neptune (1 skein)
• Extras: Tapestry needle, stitch holder or scrap yarn (optional), stitch marker (optional) 
• Gauge: 9 sts x 12 rows = 1″ in stockinette, 9.5 sts x 11 rows = 1″ in Egyptian Chart

 

Special Stitches

Knit TBL:  Knit through the back loop. On WS rows, purl through the back loop.

Right Twist: Slip next two stitches purlwise. From the back, insert the left needle into the back of the first slipped stitch. Pull the right needle from both stitches and reinsert right needle into the loose stitch from the front. Slip this stitch back to the left needle, then k2 tbl.  On WS rows: Slip next two stitches purlwise. From the back, insert the left needle into the back of the first slipped stitch. Pull the right needle from both stitches and reinsert right needle into the loose stitch from the front. Slip this stitch back to the left needle, then p2 tbl.

Left Twist: Insert the right needle into the back of the second stitch on the left needle. Pull left needle out of the first two stitches and reinsert the left needle into the loose stitch from the front. Replace stitch on right needle to left needle, then k2tbl.  On WS rows: Insert the right needle into the back of the second stitch on the left needle. Pull left needle out of the first two stitches and reinsert the left needle into the loose stitch from the front. Replace stitch on right needle to left needle, then p2 tbl.

Right Purl Twist: Perform a Right Twist, but at the end, k1tbl, p1.  On WS rows: Perform a WS Right Twist, but at the end p1 tbl, k1.

Left Purl Twist: Perform a Left Twist, but at the end, p1, k1tbl.  On WS rows: Perform a WS Left Twist, but at the end k1, p1 tbl.

(See tutorial here for twisted stitches without a cable needle.)

 

Cuff

CO 68 sts with smaller needles.  Join in the round, being careful not to twist.

Work k1, p1 rib for 1".

Leg

Round 1: K8, *m1, k17* 3 times, m1, k9.  4 sts increased.  72 sts

Round 2 and 3: Knit

Switch to size 2 needles.

Round 4-18: Work Egyptian Chart (click chart to see full size).

    

Switch to size 0 needles.

Round 19 and 20: Knit.

Round 21: *K34, k2tog* twice. 2 sts decreased.  70 sts   

For Braid Cable Only Round 22: Work Chart A, p1, k23, p1, Chart A, p1, Chart B, p1, k21, p1, Chart B, p1.

  

 

For Classic Cable Only Round 22: Work Chart C, p1, k25, p1, Chart C, p1, Chart D, p1, k23, p1, Chart D, p1.

  

 

Repeat Round 22 until leg is desired length.

 

Heel

At the end of any round, turn.  Make a note of which cable row you stopped on for the instep.  The heel will be worked back and forth over the next 35 sts.  Put remaining the remaining 35 sts on a stitch holder or scrap yarn. 

Row 1 for Braid Cable Only (WS): Sl 1, work Chart B, k1, p21, k1, Chart B, k1, turn.  35 heel sts on heel flap.

Row 2 for Braid Cable Only (RS): Sl 1, work Chart B, p1, *k1, sl 1,* 10 times, k1, p1, Chart B, p1, turn.

Row 1 for Classic Cable Only (WS): Sl 1, work Chart D, k1, p23, k1, Chart D, k1, turn. 35 heel sts on heel flap.

Row 2 for Classic Cable Only (RS): Sl 1, work Chart D, p1, *k1, sl 1,* 11 times, k1, p1, Chart D, p1, turn.

Repeat Row 1 and 2 until heel measures 2" (approximately 30 rows) ending after a WS row.

Turning Row 1: Sl 1, k2tog, k17, ssk, k1, turn. 2 sts decreased.  33 sts on heel flap.

Turning Row 2: Sl 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn. 1 st decreased.

Turning Row 3: Sl 1, k6, ssk, k1, turn. 1 st decreased.

Repeat Turning Rows 2 and 3, working 1 more st each row, until all sts have been worked, ending after a RS row.

Next Row: Sl 1, knit across.  20 sts remain.

Gusset

For Braid Cable Only: 

Pick up and knit 1 st in each slip stitch along the heel flap.  Pick up and purl 1 st in the gap between heel and instep.  Instep: work Chart A, p1, k23, p1, Chart A.  Pick up and purl 1 st in the gap between instep and heel.  Pick up and knit 1 st in each slip stitch along the heel flap.  Knit 10.  Mark this as the beginning of the round.

Round 1: Knit to 3 sts before the first purl st, k2tog, k1, p1, work Chart A, p1, k23, p1, Chart A, p1, k1, ssk, knit to the end of the round. 2 sts decreased.

Round 2: Knit to first purl st, p1, work Chart A, p1, k23, p1, Chart A, p1, knit to the end of the round.

For Classic Cable Only:

Pick up and knit 1 st in each slip stitch along the heel flap. Pick up and purl 1 st in the gap between heel and instep. Instep: work Chart C, p1, k25, p1, Chart C. Pick up and purl 1 st in the gap between instep and heel. Pick up and knit 1 st in each slip stitch along the heel flap. Knit 10. Mark this as the beginning of the round.

Round 1: Knit to 3 sts before the first purl st, k2tog, k1, p1, work Chart C, p1, k25, p1, Chart C, p1, k1, ssk, knit to the end of the round. 2 sts decreased.

Round 2: Knit to first purl st, p1, work Chart C, p1, k25, p1, Chart C, p1, knit to the end of the round.

Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 until there are 71 sts remaining.

Next Round For Braid Cable Only: K2tog, knit to first purl st, p1, work Chart A, p1, k23, p1, Chart A, p1, knit to the end of the round. 1 st decreased.  70 sts

Next Round For Classic Cable Only: K2tog, knit to first purl st, p1, work Chart C, p1, k25, p1, Chart C, p1, knit to the end of the round. 1 st decreased. 70 sts

Arrange stitches so that there are 33 knit sts on the sole needle(s.)  The other 37 sts, including the purls and cables, should be on the instep needle(s.)

Foot

For Braid Cable Only: Knit to first purl st, p1, work Chart A, p1, k23, p1, Chart A, p1, knit to the end of the round.

For Classic Cable Only: Knit to first purl st, p1, work Chart C, p1, k25, p1, Chart C, p1, knit to the end of the round.

Repeat until foot reaches 2" shorter than desired length.

Toe

Move the first and last purl stitches from the instep needle to the adjacent sole needle(s.)  There should be 35 sts on the sole and 35 sts on the instep.

Round 1: Knit to 3 stitches before instep, k2tog, k2, ssk, knit to 3 sts before the end of the instep, k2tog, k2, ssk, knit to the end of the round. 4 sts decreased.

Round 2: Knit.

Repeat Round 1 and 2 until 18 sts remain (9 instep sts, 9 sole sts).

Knit to the end of the sole.  Move stitches so that all sole stitches are on one needle and all instep stitches are on a second needle.  Graft remaining sts together using Kitchener Stitch. Weave in ends and steam block lightly.

 

 

Please Note: I post my patterns as soon as I’ve completed them because I’m excited to share them with you. They have not been fully tested. But they are free. I’ve made every effort to make sure that the instructions are clear and error-free. There may be typos or pattern mistakes and if you find them or have any questions, please let me know by posting a comment or emailing me, dailyskein at gmail.com.

 

This work by Cailyn Meyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Twist and Shout July 24, 2008

As promised, a tutorial on twisting stitches without a cable needle. This is my favorite way to do twisted stitches, but there are others. The other method that I’m familiar with is to use a combo of k2tog and then knitting into one of the stitches again. That just seemed too… let’s say “annoying” when there were going to be a lot of purl stitches to deal with. The following method is used by Nancy Bush in Folk Socks for her Chalet Socks and by Eunny Jang for her Bayerische Socks (both of which were inspiration for the Danubes.) I do my twists so that the loose stitch is always at the front of the work (I think it’s easier to pick them back up) but Eunny does her left twists slightly differently.

Like I said before, twisting stitches is very similar to cabling without a cable needle, so if you’ve done that before, this will be a piece of cake. (Here’s a different tutorial from Wendy.) If not, I suggest getting some chocolate and maybe some relaxing music- the first few times you do this it can be a mite stressful. 😉 I used some kitchen cotton in the pictures- don’t use that to practice! Use a nice wool, something that sticks to itself pretty well and doesn’t split a lot. (In other words, acrylic is not recommended.)

Twisting Stitches for Austrian/Bavarian Patterns

Left Twist

From the back of the work, insert the right needle into the back of the second stitch on the left needle.

Take a deep breath and pull the left needle out of the two stitches. The first stitch will be hanging free. Don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere.

Reinsert the left needle into the loose stitch. (Ah, safe again!) Slip the stitch on the right needle back to the left needle. Now you can knit both stitches tbl or purl 1, knit 1 tbl as the pattern demands. (Here’s a tip for the Left Purl Twists, because the stitches can get tight: Before twisting the stitches, bring the yarn to the front; when you slip the right stitch back to the left needle, don’t pull the right needle out, just purl from there. No pictures of that right now, sorry.)

Right Twist

Slip the next two stitches purlwise to the right needle.

From the back, insert the left needle into the back of the first slipped stitch.

Another deep breath and… Pull the right needle out of both stitches. The second stitch is waving in the breeze. Reinsert the right needle into the loose stitch (you can breathe again now)

… and slip the stitch back to the left needle. Now, knit two tbl or knit 1tbl, purl 1 as the pattern dictates.

(Another tip, which works for both right and left twists: If the first stitch is a knit, don’t pull the right needle out after slipping the stitch back to the left; rotate the needle to the back of the stitch and knit it tbl like normal.)