Spin-Off – September 2019

26 Spin Off • http://www.interweave.com

Everlasting Stitches

A twined-knitted fabric is strong and sturdy, firm but

not bulky. The combination of the smooth vertical

stitches on the right side and the twined and horizontal

texture of the wrong side makes a structure that

withstands the elements. The fact that the working yarn

changes every other stitch also makes a twined-knitted

garment more durable. Add fulling as a finishing

treatment, common for twined-knitted items, and it is

easy to understand why these garments last a lifetime.

A twined-knitted fabric has very little elasticity

and behaves more like a woven fabric than a knitted

one. The needle sizes for twined knitting are typically

smaller than you might expect for use with the same

yarn weight with other knitting techniques. I’m

fascinated that I can knit a garment with such fine

needles that results in such a strong and durable fabric.

Z-Plied Yarn

The history of twined knitting indicates that women

spun and created twined-knitted garments to provide

for their families. In the literature about the history of

twined knitting, I see a few pictures and images of women

walking and knitting, as is common for other historical

Scandinavian knitting traditions. In my research, I found

nothing about the spinning process or technique, either

written or depicted. I asked Anna-Karin Jobs Arnberg

about this, and she told me that there has been no analysis

of the wool, preparation, or spinning technique in the

twined-knitted items in their collections; all we know is

the twist direction at this point.

Spinning for Twined Knitting

Without analysis of the finds, we can only speculate as to

the fiber content, wool preparation, and drafting technique.

Since the yarn untwists a bit in the knitting process, it

needs some long and strong fibers for durability. A yarn for

twined knitting needs to be both warm and strong but can

With the exception of two mills in Sweden that produce yarns for

twined knitting, Z-plied yarns are hard to find today. However, this

is of little concern for spinners; we can make our own Z-plied yarn!

Swedish Värmland lamb locks.

A Z-plied yarn for twined

knitting spun from Swed-

ish Värmland lamb fl eece.