DIY Network

Viking Knit Silver Bracelet Viking Knit Silver Bracelet From "Knitty Gritty" episode DKNG-304

Viking knitting, one of the oldest known forms of knitting, is a looping technique that preceded traditional knitting by centuries.

advertisement

Materials:

26-gauge silver Artistic Wire™, 1 spool
waste wire: 28-gauge Artistic Wire, small amount in contrasting color
1/4" Allen wrench
small vise that will clamp to a table
ruler, 1" to 1-1/4" wide
2 silver split rings
silver clasp
drawplate
wire-cutters
chain-nose pliers
optional: wire smoother

Basic Viking Knitting Set-Up

Note: All directions are given for a right-handed worker. A left-handed person would simply change the direction to the opposite side.

Preparation

Figure A

Attach the vise to a table or workbench so it sits right in front of you. Place the short end of the Allen wrench in the vise with the long end located to the left (figure A).

Cut a piece of the working wire about 18" long and set aside.

Startup Bundle

Wrap the waste wire around the end of the ruler four times. Cut the wire, leaving an 8" tail. Pull the loops gently off the ruler and wrap the tail around the bottom of the loops, securing them. Separate the loops to result in an open loop on all four sides, so you have four "petals" (it will look like a little flower). Wrap one end of the working wire around the wrapped end of the startup bundle to secure. Leave the long tail hanging loose.

Place the startup bundle over the end of the Allen wrench and hold tightly with the fingers of the left hand. The petals of the bundle will now get connected with the working wire. Insert the working wire under the wires of two adjacent petals from back to front. The wire should come out and toward you and also over the end of the working wire attached to the end of the startup bundle. Pull the wire toward you, then to the right to make a loop that resembles the letter E around the two wires of the petals. The new wire should be crossing over itself.

Note: Don't pull too tight: you don't want to distort the wires of the bundle, and you have to go under the loop you just made again.

Continue around the bundle, turning it toward you with the left hand as you join the next two sides of the adjacent petals in the same manner. You will have two more sides to join, giving you a total of four stitches.

Working around the Viking knitting and always turning it toward yourself, go under the previous stitch where the working wire crossed itself. Keep the stitches similar in size and separated from each other as much as possible. Be sure you always have four stitches.

Joining New Wire

When the working wire is about 1" to 2" long, or you can't hang onto it anymore, cut the wire down to about 1/2" and leave it lying flat on top of the Allen wrench, directed away from the stitches. Cut a new piece of wire, no more than 24" long, and make a small hook in one end about 1/2" long. Insert the tail under the stitch you just finished, but this time insert it away from you. This is the only time you will insert wire away from you instead of toward you.

Bring the 1/2" hook over the tail of the old wire and twist slightly. Hold your left thumb over the two tails, make the next stitch to anchor the two tails. Continue around: each time you come to the tails, work the stitch in the normal way but also go under the tails. It's like knitting the ends in when you knit a sweater.

Drawplate

Viking knitting can look pretty sloppy once it comes off the Allen wrench. The other cool thing is that it will stretch once it goes through the drawplate, which will smooth it and clean it up--promise!

The problem with this is that there's no way to tell how much knitting to do for your desired length, so it's always best to do extra. So for a bracelet, make about half of what you need, but for a necklace, you would need to make about two-thirds of what you need. You can't add to the Viking knitting once it has come through the drawplate, but you can cut off.

Figure B

When you have completed your piece, leave the entire startup bundle intact. Insert the drawplate into the vise, or if it's a short piece, you can hold it. Insert the startup bundle in a hole that is close in size to the knitting, through the back of the drawplate just enough so you can grab the wire with the chain-nose pliers (figure B). Pull it smoothly and evenly through. Repeat this process, going through progressively smaller holes until the desired length has been reached (or you love the way it looks). The knitting will get tighter, looking and more and more beautiful, but remember: once you have drawn it through a hole, you can't go back to the way it was before.

Note: You must always draw the knitting through the drawplate using the end with the waste wire.

	Viking Knit Bracelet (to see a step-by-step demo, click on the video link below) ...
	Media Watch the Video

Viking Knit Bracelet

Bracelet length: 7" (approx.) with clasp.

Using the Basic Viking Knitting setup and waste wire, start with 4 loops. Join silver wire and work chain for approximately 4". Draw chain through drawplate to about 6 1/2".

Remove the waste wire, weave in the ends of the silver wire to the center of the bracelet. Attach jump rings and clasp.

(Reprinted with permission from Knitting With Wire, by Nancie Wiseman, 2003, Interweave Press. Available at craft stores or bookstores, or at www. interweave.com.)

RESOURCES :

Artistic Wire
Website: www.artisticwire.com

Purse Frame
BagLady Bags
P.O. Box 2409
Evergreen, CO 84037-2409
1-888-222-4523
Website: www.baglady.com

Beads and Findings
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads
One Fire Mountain Way
Grants Pass, OR 97526-2373
800-423-2319
Website: www.firemountaingems.com

Wyr Knittr™
73 Main St., Suite 29
Montpelier, VT 05602
Website: www.bond-america.com

Knitting With Wire
By Nancie Wiseman
Interweave Press, 2003
Website: www.interweave.com
Also available at craft or book shops.

GUESTS :

Nancie Wiseman
President
KnitWise
Phone: 360-678-6378
E-mail: nanciewiseman@earthlink.net
Web site: www.nancieknits.com