March 8, 2019: It’s spring break and I have decided to learn Twined Knitting. I had purchased the Craftsy class called “Twined Knitting” by Beth Brown-Reinsel a while back and have been meaning to learn the technique for ages. Well, better late than never.

April 27, 2019: Just wanted to mention that Beth Brown-Reinsel’s “Twined Knitting” class on Craftsy (Blueprint) is amazing. I have learned so much and am so glad I took it.

Notes:
Twists and Plies - Beth Brown-Reinsel’s Craftsy class explains this topic of twist and plies really well in Lesson-1. Here is a short article at Yarnsub explaining the difference as well. This is what I understand…

When spinners spin yarn from carded or combed fiber, they put a twist to the unspun fiber to make a single-plied yarn. The twist makes the yarn stronger. All single-plied yarns are spun with a twist which can either be a Z-twist (same as a right-twist or clockwise twist) or an S-twist (same as a left-twist or counter-clockwise twist). The last pic is from the Yarnsub article and clarifies the concept.

Multiple single-plied yarns are then twisted together (plied) to create multiple-plied yarn (as in 2 ply, 3 ply, 8 ply, etc.). When plying multiple strands of single plied yarns spinners typically ply them with an opposite twist so as to make a balanced yarn that will not curl up on itself. Therefore, multiple Z-spun singles are usually combined with an S-twist and multiple S-spun singles are usually combined with a Z-twist.

Regular Knitting, Yarn and Twist - It turns out that the vast majority of single-ply knitting yarns that we know, and, can easily find, are spun with a Z-twist . When more than one strand of these Z-twisted yarns are plied together to create yarns with multiple plies, they are usually plied with an S-twist (the opposite of Z) to balance them out. When we knit (regular knitting) we tend to add a clockwise twist (Z-twist) to the yarn simply due to the mechanics of the knitting craft. So, the Z-twist that we apply in the natural course of knitting works well with the easily available multiple-stranded S-plied yarns.

Clarifying a possible source of confusion - If I ply two strands of yarn in a counter-clockwise motion I can see that it puts a Z-twist (also called right twist or clockwise twist) to the yarn. Regular knitting motion tends to work the yarn in a counter-clockwise fashion thereby putting an added Z-twist to the yarn. So when one knits with S-plied yarns, they balance each other out.

Twined Knitting, Yarn and Twist - The mechanics of twined knitting puts an additional S-twist to the yarn because one is constantly twining the two strands of yarn in a clockwise direction when working twined knitting. Therefore not surprisingly, the yarn appropriate for twined knitting is an S-spun, Z-plied yarn.

Twined knitting requires Z-plied yarn. I did not have any and yet I was keen to make the mittens. One can work twined knitting with an S-plied yarn, as I did on this project (Patons Classic Wool), but it will get very, very twisted and will curl back on itself. Also the quality of the fabric is a bit different if you use an S-plied yarn. Karin Kahnlund explains all this on her Interview with Fruity Knitting in this video (10:06 to 37:05 min mark).

Books on Twined Knitting
Books in English
Two-End Knitting by Anne-maj Ling

Twined Knitting: A Swedish Folkcraft Technique
by Birgitta Dandanell and Ulla Danielsson

Lekker Warm!-Twijnend Breien/So Warm!-Twined Knitting by Carla Meijsen

New Twists on Twined Knitting by Laura Farson

Non-English Books (information from Lappone blog)8

Gotländsk sticksöm by Violet Bergdahl and Ella Skoglund, 1983, published by LTs förlag Stockholm.

Tveband - Jakten på en strikketradition / “Twined knitting - In search of a knitting tradition” by Margit Bredesen, in cooperation with Magnhild Tallerås (textile advisor); published by Grue Husflidslag; ISBN 978-82-91195-40-7

Where to find Z-plied yarn - In her Craftsy class Beth Brown-Reinsel knits with Black Water Abbey’s 2 ply worsted. However, Black Water Abbey is no longer in business. The Ravelry Page for Black Abbey Yarns directs us to …

Cushendale Woolen Mills which currently produces (what looks to me to be a Z-plied) Irish Wool DK Yarn using a combination of Galway and lambswool. Here is the Ravelry Page for this yarn.

Other Sources for Z-plied yarn in colors and fiber content appropriate for Twined Knitting:

Yarns at Beaverside Dry Goods which is a family run business in Montana producing mostly Z-plied Merino wool. They make 3-ply aran-weight, 2-ply worsted weight, and other lighter weight yarns. Their yarns are mostly Merino but they sometimes add a bit of Mohair for strength and shine.

Ullcentrum’s Z-plied 2-ply Wool is a machine washable pure Swedish sport-weight wool for purchase from ullcentrum.com

Mora is an S-spun, Z-plied, light-fingering, 100% wool milled in Sweden used to be available for purchase at Nancy Bush’s Wooly West website in white, light gray and dark gray. I believe this is not available for purchase any more (Jan 2021).

Tvåändsstickningsgarn Nm 4,7/2]18 by Walstedts and can be purchased at https://www.walstedts.se or from Karin Kahnlund’s website at http://uppstickaren.nu/

Kampes Z-tvinnat is a sport-weight 2-ply Z-plied yarn from Sweden.

Tveband by Hygge is a sport-weight 100% wool fiber from Argentina, dyed and milled in the US and sold at the Wall of Yarn in downtown Freeport, IL.

Utiku Possum Merino DK is a DK weight woolen spun 30% Possum 70% Merino blend from New Zealand.

Twined Knitting Stitches and Techniques:
3-strand, 2-color, twined long tail cast on.
2 color, 4-strand, twisted braid.
Twined Knit st.
Twined Purl with yarn under.
Deep Knit st.
Chain Path, Crook Stitch, and the “O” Stitch.
Twined Purl with yarn over.
Deep Purl.
Twined Increase.
Twined decrease.

My Project:
I am knitting along with Beth (Craftsy class) to make her twined mittens. I am using Patons Classic Wool (winter white) and US #6 needles. Cast on 48 sts with 2 strands of white and one strand of black yarn (Ella Rae Classic Solids, Heathers & Marls, color: charcoal). Divided 48 sts over 3 dpns, joined in the round and started following the chart.

To make the twisted braid (that is made with the tail) I had to twist the yarn anti-clockwise because my yarn is S-plied. I would twist it clockwise if it had been Z-plied.

I added two extra rows of plain twined knitting between rows 17 and 18, and again between 21 and 22, just to make the cuff a bit longer.

For the Herringbone braid we are asked to change to one size smaller needles. So keep changing over to a smaller needle size all around. Knit all 3 rows of the herringbone braid using the smaller (US #5) needles. I used US #6 for the rest of the mittens.

Typo on Left Mitten chart: As far as I can tell, there is a typo on stitch 43 of row 13 of the chart. There is a k2tog instead of a deep knit.

When doing the braided decrease, one set of decrease is shaded in blue. That’s where a stitch is being borrowed from the previous row or being lent to the next row. The written section of the pattern tells you the exact stitch counts and when and how to transfer the sts across rounds.

Update, March 23, 2019: I finished the second mitten only to realize two things:
(1). My initial mitten is too short because I made a mistake and knit only 3 V’s (the pattern calls for 4), and,
(2). I don’t have enough yarn to finish the project and a quick visit to Joann fabrics did not yield a matching skein. I am very disappointed and quite mad with myself that I did not check to see the required yardage.

March 26, 2019: Knitters are the best kind of people! I searched on Ravelry and found a fellow knitter with the same dyelot. She was so kind to mail the skein to me today. I can’t thank her enough. Back in business!

April 21, 2019: Finished knitting and weaving in the ends. The mittens are so warm and cozy! If I make this again I may use US #5 for the entire project.

Measurements: Unblocked and unstretched - 11.5 inches long and 4 inches wide at the palm; 5 inches wide including the thumb. Because of my thicker yarn the mittens are a perfect fir for a men’s medium.