Knitting Technique--Need 3 Strands of Yarn at Once? Try Navajo Knitting!

Do you know this new knitting technique for three strands of yarn? Before, if you didn’t have three skeins, you’d make three balls with a scale, calculator or guesswork. Or use two ends of one skein. While you knit, balls would roll, strands tangle and an intrigued cat added more trouble. Try Navajo knitting.

Wait, Don’t You Mean a Spinning Technique Called Navajo Plying?

Yes and no. People who spin yarn do Navajo plying as they spin, which turns a single ply into triple-ply yarn without using three bobbins or for saturated color repeats. Navajo knitting uses the same technique, except you create tripled yarn while knitting.

How Does It Work?

1. Make a slip knot in your yarn and leave a loop big enough to put your fingers through.
2. Reach into the loop, grab your strand of yarn and pull out a nice long loop.
3. If you hold your two loops of yarn like you’re stretching out a rubber band, you’ll see three strands all along the way between your hands, with a little link connecting two of them.
4. Knit a few stitches with this tripled yarn.
5. When you come to the last little bit of the loop, reach through it and pull out another long loop.
6. Continue knitting and making new loops as needed.

Make your loops as short or long as you like, but making fewer links may be preferable.

Do Those Links Show in My Knitting?

Lucy Neatby, genius originator of this knitting technique, says these little links don’t show much at all. Therefore there’s no need to pull out a loop from here to eternity. You may make each loop an arm’s length or whatever you (and your curious cat) deem most enjoyable.

Is This Series of Loops Like a Crochet Chain–on Drugs?

Exactly. A crochet chain is a series of loops, each one pulled through a previous loop. The size of each loop is determined by the size of your crochet hook.

In this case, there’s no crochet hook, just your fingers. If you want super-sized loops, have someone hold your knitting while you run down the hallway as you make each new loop. It could be good exercise.

What Are The Pitfalls?

• You might knock over the cat or blacken the eye of someone sitting too close as you pull out a loop.
• You might experience dangerous stash enhancement.

How’s that possible?

Do you have a cone of yarn you stashed away? Maybe it’s some fine-strand silk so gorgeous you couldn’t resist buying it, but can’t face winding it into multiple balls for knitting?

Well, now you can use that yarn or any other nice, affordable knitting machine yarn for any number of delicious projects. Oops, do you suddenly have more projects than you could knit in a lifetime?

Best,

Karen

P.S.

Now that you’ve been warned, here’s Lucy Neatby’s video showing how to do Navajo knitting. And a big thank you to French Press Knits for hooking me up with this knitting technique.