Twined knitting: tvåändsstickat or two-ended knitting was used for the vast majority of early Swedish knitting, especially in the northern areas. The knitter uses both ends of the same ball of yarn for this beautiful old technique, twisting and alternating the two yarns after each stitch is made, producing a uniform fabric of double thickness that is smooth, firm, warm and hard wearing.

There are many examples of beautiful, brightly embroidered and tufted twined knitted mittens and gloves from the Dalarna area of Sweden and my enthusiasm to learn this wonderful old traditional technique was fueled by a research trip to the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm, which houses a fantastic collection of knitted textiles. This style of knitting is ideally suited to mitten and sock making - traditionally it is worked as a tightly knit, firm fabric which is fulled or felted slightly to produce a less elastic fabric than conventional knitting but an ideal base for embroidery.