Made it to Riga, Latvia, this afternoon and I went in search of information on how to handle a third and maybe even a fourth color in a given row of stranded knitting. I had given up on the more complex patterns in Knit Like a Latvian due to frustration with managing more than two colors per row.

I went to two shops looking for advice and this is what I was told:

1. At Sena Klets (upscale national handicraft center): a young shop clerk who spoke English well acted as a translator for an older woman employee who spoke no English. She said she doesn’t worry about securing the strand of a third or fourth color even if they are carried for 10 stitches or so. What she does is tack the strands down using a tapestry needle and yarn when the project is complete. So, that’s one possible solution – from an experienced Latvian mitten knitter.

2. At Hobbywool Riga (this was my source online for the book “Knit Like a Latvian” and my first Latvian mitten yarn) – I spoke to the manager who is quite proficient in English and was very helpful. She took out a project and showed me how she handled a third color. Basically as she picks up the color to be used next she ensures that the strand is moved over the top of the other strands, and so on with each color change. Although this creates a twisted mess, on the following round she moves the strand to be used under the other strands and so on with each color change – basically untwisting the strands that became twisted on the previous round.

Also, she said that if a row called for the very infrequent use of a third color she used the duplicate stitch method after the project was complete and didn’t bother carrying the third color when knitting.

Don’t know if that’s of use to anyone – but clearly there are different methods for different knitters and doesn’t seem to be a “right” way of doing this.

Photos show Sena Klets, Hobbywool, and the meager purchase of 5 skeins for my next mitten/glove projects.

Happy Knitting!
MikeH