Strong and Sturdy: Two-end Knitting Condensed

One of my favorite knitting techniques is two-end knitting. It is slow, but very enjoyable, like a choreographed dance. Two-end knitting is an old technique in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. The knitter alternates between two ends of yarn, usually from both ends of a center-pull ball, while twisting them around each other between stitches, creating horizontal ridges on the wrong side of the project.

Everlasting Stitches

A two-end-knitted fabric is strong and sturdy, firm but not bulky. The combination of the smooth vertical stitches on the right side and the twisted and horizontal texture of the wrong side makes a dense grid-like structure that withstands the elements. The fact that the working yarn changes every other stitch also makes a two-end-knitted garment more durable. Add fulling as a finishing treatment, common for two-end-knitted items, and it is easy to understand why these garments last a lifetime. Twined knitting has a rich history in Sweden and Norway, where it was used for sturdy work mittens with the twined ridges on the outer sides of the mittens.