How to Make Twisted Stitches in Eastern (Russian) Knitting

To twist stitches in the Classic knitting style, we knit them through the back loop. If we do the same when we work using the Eastern (previously known as Russian) knitting style, we get the ordinary – non-twisted – stitches.

So what do we do when we want to twist stitches in Eastern knitting? That’s what this tutorial is all about. Let’s see how we can make twisted knit and twisted purl stitches in just a few simple steps.

If you are a visual learner, click here to watch these steps in a video tutorial, or simply scroll to the bottom of this page to watch an embedded version of the video.

TWISTED KNIT STITCH

The logical solution to twisting a knit stitch is to work it through the front loop. That means that we knit a stitch the same way as we knit it when we use the classic Continental knitting style and get a twisted Eastern stitch as a result.

STEP 1

With the yarn at the back of the work, insert the tip of the right needle from left to right into the first stitch on the left needle.

STEP 2

Pick the working yarn from right to left.

STEP 3

Pull the yarn through to make a new stitch and slip the original stitch off the left needle.

As you see, making a twisted knit stitch in Eastern knitting is very simple and straightforward. Things get a little bit more unusual when we want to make a twisted purl stitch.

TWISTED PURL STITCH

To make the same twist on the purl side of the work, we purl a stitch through the back loop, but, unlike the way we do it in classic knitting, we should purl it from the left side of the front loop in Eastern knitting. That involves a quite complicated maneuver with the tip of the right needle.

An easier solution would be to twist the stitch first and then purl it the usual Eastern way.

Here’s how it happens:

STEP 1

With the yarn at the front of the work, insert the right needle from left to right into the first stitch on the left needle.

Take the left needle out leaving the stitch on the right needle.

STEP 2

Return the stitch to the left needle. Do it purlwise, without twisting the stitch.

STEP 3

Purl the stitch the same way as we purl stitches in Eastern knitting.

To make this process more efficient, don’t take the right needle out when you return the stitch to the left needle. Use the tip of the right needle to pick the yarn and purl the stitch as soon as it is slipped to the left needle. Watch how to do it in this part of the video.

When you look at the fabric formed by twisted stitches made using the Eastern and the classic knitting styles, you will see that the Eastern twisted stitches (swatch at the left side of the photo below) have a right-slanting twist, while stitches worked using the classic way of knitting (swatch at the right side of the photo) twist to the left.

This is the only way we can tell whether the fabric is knitted using the Eastern or the classic style once the project is finished.

Look closely at the photos of twisted stitches that you find online and try to determine which way the stitches are twisted. Chances are you’ll find quite a few photos of projects made using the Eastern knitting technique.

An even easier way to make twisted stitches in Eastern knitting is to start working in the round. This and many other features of the Eastern knitting style are explained in a detailed online course “Eastern (Russian) Knitting Simplified”.

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