Myös saatavilla|Also available in: Suomi (Finnish)

Hello there!

This is the first post on the TuyaKnits blog and I’m taking an advance of bringing you greetings from Rhinebeck. I had the opportunity to attend the NY Sheep & Wool Festival 2019 and spent the first whole day on a class learning a new-to-me technique called Twigg stitch. The name comes after the inventor of the technique, Vicki Twigg, who really is a knitting wizard!

Background of the Twigg Stitch technique

Vicki started the class by telling how the idea behind the Twigg stitch technique came to her. She was yearning for a two-colored rib fabric that would be reversible and more elastic than corrugated rib. While experimenting she came up with a technique that seemed to be a completely new one. She couldn’t find it in any knitting books and therefore named it Twigg stitch. In this video, Vicki compares swatches made with double knitting, brioche stitch and Twigg Stitch.

As you can see, Twigg stitch looks a bit like brioche stitch at first glance, but it’s not the same at all. In Twigg stitch you work with two yarns at all times. Furthermore, Twigg stitch isn’t just one stitch but a special knitting technique. You can make knit and purl stitch patterns, stripes, rib variation patterns, lace, colorwork, cables, or even different colorwork patterns on each side of the knitting. You can work in the Continental style, English style, or one yarn in each hand. Once you learn the basics there seem to be no limits.

How does one work in Twigg stitch?

You can work in the Continental style, English style, or one yarn in each hand. Once you learn the basics there seem to be no limits. You’ll find some basic tutorials on Youtube.

On Vicki’s website, there are also more advanced tutorials for cast on and cast-off methods, increases, decreases, some stitch patterns, and even how to correct your mistakes but you need a paid subscription for those.

Vicki has also written a book called Twigg stitch: A new twist on reversible knitting where she explains it all and offers patterns, too. You can find the book both as a hardcover version and an ebook, and there’s a Finnish translation available, too.

How did learning a new technique go for me?

When I first started to experiment with the technique, I thought the two-handed style would be the easiest for me as that’s the method I use for colorwork. But I soon discovered that it wasn’t working for me at all. So, I switched to keeping both yarns in my left hand as I’m a continental knitter.

At first, it felt like being a tiny baby knitter all over again and having to learn everything from scratch. But after repeating those novel maneuvers row after row after row, it all started to come together. One certainly needs patience and practice in learning this technique well enough to really own it, but it pays off. It’s always nice to learn new techniques and tricks as you never know when you need them. Also, I would love to see new patterns created with Twigg stitch!