Re group and forgotten things

Hello - its been a long time, this year, and perhaps the last one has seen me blog less, but not knit less. I realised that i had never linked to my most recent knitting videos,
I have a small serries on braids - and in the words of Elizabeth Zimmerman 'unvented' a improved way to knit a Vikkel braid. This variation eliminates the elongated stitches that always occur with this braid.

I taught a class at Unwind 2017, on knitting braids and became completely frustrated with the elongated stitch that working a Vikkel braid produced. I tried knitting into the back to twist and tighten the stitch, i tried using a smaller needle and then an even smaller needle. In the end I wondered what it was about the braid that caused the elongated stitch. I realised the physical act of working the stitch -  of stretching around the working stitches drew more yarn into the work than needed and this created the elongated stitch. This techniqueworks the braid seperately from the  row after the braid and effectively eliminates  the loose elongated stitch. This technique may not be authentic - but it is effective.
The Vikkel video is part of a serries demonstrating braids - I hope to link these here over the next week or so.
Na Stella