Home generalLearn how to knit Norwegian patterns - technique and instructions

Learn how to knit Norwegian patterns - technique and instructions

  • Material and preparation
  • Basic guide background and pattern
    • Knit in a second color
    • Our example pattern
    • Cross the thread
    • Knitting two colors alternately

When knitting, there are different ways to make the knit look livelier. This starts with the choice of the cut, goes through variations in the surface, such as braids or Ajourmuster, to the processing of several colors. For example, in the Norwegian pattern, at least two colors are traditionally used and entangled into a small picture or an abstract form.

Basically the knitting Norwegian pattern is really easy. Even beginners who only know the basics of knitting can try it. The classic motifs include stars, reindeer and snowflakes, as well as more abstract patterns of straight and curved lines. The Norwegian pattern can be a great motif in the center of the knitting work or used as an ornament on borders and the like. Once you have internalized the principle, you can let your imagination run free and even design patterns. These pretty sweaters, socks and legwarmers as well as cellphone bags or pillowcases.

Note: For beginners, Norwegian patterns are easier to knit, because only right stitches are knitted.

Material and preparation

Material for a 2-color Norwegian pattern:

  • 2 balls of wool of the same kind in different colors
  • 2 matching knitting needles or a circular needle

Basics for Norwegian patterns:

  • right stitches
  • left stitches

Where does the pattern come from ">

How to read the sketch ">

From bottom to top you see the rows to be knitted one after the other. Keep in mind that you should knit the rows alternately right and left to get a smooth right surface. The sketch must be read in a row with right stitches from right to left, in a row of left stitches from left to right. Our motive is optimal for beginners in two-tone knitting: It is symmetrical, which is why, if you confuse the reading direction, nothing can go wrong. If you later want to knit asymmetric patterns, such as reindeer, reading in the correct direction is essential.

Note: If you knit Norwegian pattern in rounds, read the creative template in each line from right to left.

Basic guide background and pattern

Overall, our snowflake is 21 x 21 square in size. Everything to the left and right of it as well as below and above it is knitted in the background color green. Usually, the environment of the pattern is due to its location on the piece of knitting. Often the same pattern is repeated several times next to each other. If you want to knit a sweater, cap, or anything else that repeats the same pattern all round, you have to expect. The total mesh number of a round must then be an exact multiple of the width of the motif. If we take several of our snowflakes as bases, the z. B. mean a total mesh of 84 or 126.

Knit in a second color

In our example, a rectangular piece with a width of 41 stitches was knit smooth right. First, a few rows in the background color were knitted green. For the rows in white, the green thread at the end of a row simply hangs. For the next row, take the white thread and hold the loose end firmly between the middle finger and thumb of the right hand. After the first 2 to 3 stitches, the thread is firmly worked in and you can continue to knit the row as usual.
If you would like to work in the second color at the beginning of the pattern, you can do it with the same technique. To do this, hang the green thread behind the work in the appropriate place and knit the next stitch with the white thread. Again, you have to fix the loose end well with your fingers.

Our example pattern

In the case of our sample, the first pattern series looks like this: You knit 10 right stitches in green. Hang the green thread behind the work and pick up the white thread. Wrap it around your left index finger as usual and fix the free end between the middle finger and the thumb of the right hand.

Knit a right stitch in white.

Now hang down the white thread behind the work and knit in green the following 4 stitches. Now when you pick up the white thread for the next stitch, just tighten it gently. Since he is simply stretched loosely on the back of 4 stitches, he must not be dressed too tight. Otherwise, the entire knitting works at the height of the pattern. Actually, this is the greatest art in the Norwegian pattern! If you really want to master the technique, you have to get a feeling for how tight the strings may be.

Basically, the whole line goes on until the last white stitch comes.

At this point, let the white thread hang down behind the work and finish the remaining stitches in green.

The back row is now knitted with left stitches. This is similar to the previous series with one big difference: the unneeded color now hangs down on your side of the knit. From there, after 11 green stitches, pick up the white thread again for the first white stitch of the row. Then hang the thread down to you and knit 4 stitches in green, then one in white, three in green, and so on.

On the back of the work is nice to see how the threads run along the back. If the piece of knitting lies on the table in front of you, it should not contract either on the left or on the right, and there should not be any small loops.

Cross the thread

In some Norwegian patterns, you do not need a color over many stitches. For example, repeat the same pattern, but always leave 10 stitches. If the thread now hangs loose on the back over 10 stitches, the risk of tangling is very high. Especially with jumpers for babies you have to be very careful here. To avoid the potential snare, interlock the loose and the work thread at regular intervals. Usually you can not run a thread loose more than 5 stitches loose.

For interlacing a row with right stitches, place the loose thread - in this case the white one - over the work thread (green) before knitting the 5th stitch. So the white thread is neatly fixed. In a row with left stitches, the procedure is analogous. Lay the white thread over the green and then knit the next stitch. Just like before you have to make sure that the thread is still hanging down on the left side of the knitting work.

Knitting two colors alternately

Finally, let's briefly discuss a specific technique that makes it much easier for Norwegian pattern knitting to knit two colors in a single-stitch or two-stitch swatch. In our example from the tutorial you can see a border above the snowflake. One stitch was always white, one stitch knitted green. The second row was then shifted one stitch to the left.

For such patterns, you can run both colors simultaneously over the index finger of the left hand. Surely there are other methods, but for beginners, this technique is probably the simplest. So you take both threads at the same time and only use the right knitting needle to find the thread you need for the current stitch. This procedure works equally well for left and right stitches.

If you need to knit more than two stitches in a row in the same color, this technique will no longer work. The tensions of the threads then become too different.

All in all, Norwegian patterns are not rocket science. If you consider yourself as a beginner, but are reasonably sure in the basics of knitting, you can try this guide without any problems. You will be amazed how endless possibilities open up for you with this simple technique!

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