Lost & found; right &wrong

Twined mitten in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Shortcuts are great in many ways, but it is a major disadvantage that your knitting might get caught by twigs without your noticing it. Fortunately, a neighbour found my twined mitten among the lilac shrubs after it had been missing for days and I had almost given up hope. 

I started it for my twined knitting workshop to show some patterns you can make with two colours. This project also shows the pattern effect you achieve when you place the increases for the thumb gusset in the middle of it: the two colours almost look braided.

Speaking of braids, one of the participants asked me about knitting a braid in a contrast colour, when to join it in and for how many rows to keep it.

Twined braids

I said you have to prepare for the braid by joining in the new colour the row before the braid - and was later ashamed to realize I had done exactly the opposite of what I had been preaching. More than once I told the group I didn't like right and wrong, the idea that you have to do things in a certain way because that's how they are done.

I also quoted Dödergök: "Traditions are there to enrich my knitting, not to restrict it." I love traditional knitting and have learnt a lot from knitting old patterns and trying to master different techniques, but after all, what is regarded as traditional now was once new. And quite possibly, perhaps certainly, regarded as wrong by some.




Of course you don't have to join in the new colour the row before you make the braid; it will just look different. I'm working on a swatch testing various combinations.

All the braids have exactly the same structure (if they were all white they would be identical) but turn out completly different depending on when I add a colour, for how many rows I keep it and which row(s). These are about half of the combinations I can think of, and it's quite exciting seeing them take shape! And I haven't even added a third colour...

Which one is right then? Well, I'd say the one you want to make is the right one.

Last but not least, Åsa likes her "Viften" cardigan. I think it's a great colour for her!