Viking Knit
 

I just got my viking knit "kit" from Roccio and I printed out the mini tutorial and set to work. Yeah right. Once I taped down the five petals to the dowel I was lost. How pathetic is that? I couldn't figure out for the life of me what I was supposed to do next. I pasted the link to the tut so you can see what I was seeing. I'm at work right now so can't actually sit down and do any of this but I got so frustrated I wound up tossing the mandrel onto the floor and walking away last night. lol.lol. Please help.

http://www.fineartbyrocio.com/vikingknitdirections.html

My feeling AJ is that in step 8 you start by putting one end of your wire parallell and next to one of the petals (that's the end disappearing off to the left) You pull the other end through and use that to knit - that's the short end you see in the pic.
I hope this helps, I know how frustrating it is to be gung ho to start something and be stopped in your tracks!

I tried that and was successful with the first row of loops but wasn't sure if I was supposed to use the wire I taped or if I was to start using a new spool of wire. I went with a new spool and obviously I was wrong. lol. Once you loop it through all 5 petals what do you do? That's step 11 and I actually laughed out loud when I saw that pic. What in the world is going on in pic 11?

I'm a bit confused about your question, because I'm not sure which wire you looped through all 5 petals initially. When i start one, the wire that the petals consists of is not the wire I'm actually looping through the petals. It's the wire I think you're referring to as from the spool. I do several starter rows then switch to sterling wire. If you are using all the same wire, just continue.

LOL I'm not sure I have helped.

Try this link, lots of good help...

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...ghlight=viking


granny

Amanda, in step 11, you are only going up one row which is attached to your original petal. You can't go up two rows, like in pic 12 because you haven't got one yet. Make any sense? Just keep going around and try to keep your ribs evenly spaced, this is a bit tricky for the first several rows but the more evenly spaced you can keep them now, the easier it will be to get a uniform knit later. Your first several rows aren't that important, except for keeping them evenly spaced around your dowel, because some of them will get squished with your pliers when you're pulling your knit through your draw plate anyway. What gauge wire are you using?

I have seen the "tutorial" on the Roccio site and I am surprised you were able to get as far as you have based on that. The tutorial I wrote for this technique is over 30 pages and has nearly 80 photographs. The comment from Starrr is entirely right. Basically, the bundle of petals and the first SEVERAL rounds of stitches are just to get things started before you switch over the the wire you want to use for your piece. If you are unsure about the weaving process, just stick with the copper craft wire. Just practice the Single Knit Stitch for a while before switching to Double Knit (as in Pic 12). It might help to consider that Viking knitting simply consists of making loops around the base (where the crossed wires form an "X") of other loops. Really, that is it! And don't fret too much about the unevenness of your stitches; the drawplate has the magical ability to hide all kinds of sins!

Ask more questions so we can help you. It really is worth learning this technique.

I looked at the "mini-tutorial" more closely and I see part of the problem. Those photos show the very first round of stitches being made by making a new stitch on the loop itself, then successive rounds of stitches are made by making loops around the base of a stitch, the characteristic of this technique. This is confusing without plenty of accompanying text, explaining what is going on!

I have pulled a few photos from my tutorial which may clarify how to do the single knit stitch. The red arrow points to the base of a stitch. You'll be making a loop around this "X". Hope this helps!

I saw your tutorial earlier and tried to figure out a way to get money to buy it it looks awesome the other one confused me as well :)

I will have to add it to my must have list

My rather long must have list :hide:

Jan, those are fantastic pictures, I wish I had seen them when I first started doing Viking knit, it would have saved me some frustration also.

I wanted to add that I work on a wooden dowel and prefer the single stitch, (and so do my customers),I work with 20, 22 and 24 g wire.

Aha!!! A moment of clarity thanks to you. Thank you so much for helping me like that. I'm going to give it a whirl when I get home from work today. Ooh, now I'm all excited again. lol.lol.

20 gauge! Really?! 20 gauge. Hmmm.

Nice work Jan. Loved your website/blog. I purchased a tut from someone else after I was extremely frustrated by Rocio's tut as well. It was the second row that threw me.

Here is a utube video on making a portion of the viking knit, I found it helpful when making my first one. He starts different but you can get an idea of the 1st and 2nd rows!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfsyTn9XCsE

Can't wait to see your finished project!

Diane

Yep, 20g, it can be a little rough on the hands but I use a fairly large dowel and plastic jawed pliers help. It makes a nice substantial weave, especially for bracelets, very pretty.

Jan,

I just ordered your tutorial. I have one piece I've done, but have not drawn down yet! I managed to misplace the book I have, and your photos look so good that it looks like a worthwhile investment!

The book I had just said to loop the new wire and keep going. (It was not very clear!)

Looking forward to the download!

Mary

Jan, thank you so much. I tried again last night and I couldn't believe how much easier it was. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. I didn't estimate the length of wire properly so it's too short to do anything with it but it turned out nice I think.

Here it is.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s/CIMG0984.jpg

These came out nicely, they look great!

Do you have to pull it through a hole, or can you just stretch it?
In all fairness to Rocio, I just want to say I did understand hers. Maybe it's because I've done a lot of needlepoint and crochet, I don't know, but it didn't confuse me. I will say, though, that Jan's pics are very nice and clear.

Well I worked on the double stitch last night (I was feeling brave) and I think I'm in love. Wow, what a difference in the finished look between the double and the single. I'll post a pic tonight but I'm definitely hooked now. lol.

Amanda: that looks great! If your "too short" segments of chain are 2-1/2 to 3 inches, you could make hoop earrings out of them. Show us your double knit when you are done!

Patti: it depends. Single knit chain in 26 gauge can be stretched by hand, but the resulting chain may be uneven. Double knit chains certainly need a drawplate, as will a chain made with a heavier gauge. I have pulled a 24 ga single knit by hand, but it was necessary because of graduated stitches and I used a piece of leather to protect myself. Every chain I make that includes pearls or gemstone chips is pulled by hand as well.

Alright. Be gentle. lol. Here is my double stitch. I messed up a bit when I had to add another wire in to make it longer but I figured that move out late last night while working on my second one. At least I think I did. We'll see how it looks when I pull it through the hardplate.

Before
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s/CIMG0985.jpg

After
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s/CIMG0991.jpg

Perfect!

There are videos for this on Youtube also. You can find a video for almost anything on Youtube.

YAY!

Thanks guys!! I'm pretty excited about this new jewelry craft I learned. I made another one last night that was beautifully even. Nice loops and I figured out how to add another wire in when I ran out. Then I gave it to my ridiculously strong husband to pull through the hardplate and what happened? He literally ripped it in half. How the heck do you rip that in half? I felt like crying. All that work and nothing to show for it. On top of that, I'm out of wire so I couldn't even do a new one. :( :(

I ripped one in half too. I think you've missed a couple of holes or tried to go to small for the amount of wire. I really think it should pass through fairly easily once you have it started.

You know you can use segments of what you make? I often use a 2 or 3 inch piece in a necklace or bracelet. Just cut off what you want-remove loose loops where you cut- feed a wire through the intact end loops to give yourself something to attach to. I make a tight cone shaped coil or you can purchase end pieces to thread that wire throught.

It doesn't unravel.

Good job AJ, you have the technique down pat, so sorry to hear about the "accident"! So many great tips here!

I was feeling depressed about not being able to torch in the cold weather, and this has given me something to do, yay! So I tried it with the only copper wire I could find, which was 20 gauge. Kind of hard for a first-time try though, and I used a magic marker as my dowel, lol, but I did it. Now I guess I will have to make or buy a plate to pull it through.

One question... Can you put copper in Liver Of Sulphur to patina it? I want everything to look older than me. ;-)

I was wondering the same thing. I also read a tip that if you don't have Liver of Sulpher you can use a hard boiled egg in a tupperware container. It said to do it when the egg was hot and I guess it emits some kind of fume that oxidizes metals. Crazy! Let me know what you hear about oxidizing copper.

I tried to use the largest hole but I must admit I gave it to him because I couldn't pull it through even that one. Should I use a thinner dowel? The kit came with two dowels and I've been using the larger one.

I heard the same thing about the eggs.

I looked at my copper, and it has some kind of tarnish resistant coating, so I am not sure either technique would work for mine, but I did look it up and I think you can use LOS on regular copper. I am going to throw mine in the LOS and see what it does anyway! *crosses fingers*