A Viking Knit Journey

This project utilizes viking knit - an ancient technique used by the vikings, according to some sources as early as the 8th or 9th century.  Some people also call it Trichonopoly.  This technique is still used by modern artisans to make men's and women's adornments.

A customer of mine recently requested a special piece - one in a thicker gauge - fit for a man. In stainless steel too! With a challenge like that I just couldn't resist! So I documented a little along the way. Here is my journey. . . .





I start by creating a three-loop "cast-on".  Then wrapping
the wire with the aid of  a mandrel.  In this case I like to use
 a 10 mm size.  I also prefer a plastic mandrel - it seems to be easier to
work with.


 

Here you can see that I'm using the double viking knit technique.
I loop the wire behind the second loop above the row I am
working on. 


 


This is really where the magic happens!!!  These are called draw plates.
They have varying sized holes through which the knitting is pulled (Of course
after it has been taken off the mandrel. ;-D)  This evens the stitches, elongates
the woven rope and decreases the circumference.  This is the step that makes
it into what most of us recognize as the intriguing, beautiful, historical - Viking Knit!!!!
(In the case of this necklace, because of the large gauge of the wire, I had to enlist my husband's
manpower to help me draw the rope through the holes.  It's kind of a fun tug-of-war!!!  :-D)




 

This is something I've started doing for my own reference. I take notes of the starting size and materials, and the corresponding results after using the draw plates. Why? Because each "knitter" can come up with their own results depending on the tension they use when pulling the wire. Also, I can duplicate my results if I desire to make the same necklace again. Ironically, after making this note, I found I had to decrease the size of the viking knit by pulling it through the draw plate one more time, which changed the diameter & length - but only very slightly. I was happy that it needed to go through one more time. I believe the more compressed the knitted rope becomes, the more beautiful it becomes!

 

 

 

 

I trimmed the ends to the desired length and affixed the end-caps

that included the ring, and voila!!!!  A necklace fit for a Viking!!!!

 

 

 

 

 The end-caps are stunning and really add the wow-factor!  I hope it's new owner loves it!!!  I know I had a great time creating it!!!

Thanks for following me on this Viking Knit journey!!

As always, have fun!!!

Terah
TerahClassyCreations.etsy.com
Facebook.com/TerahsClassicCreationsStudio