Folk School

The Oslo Stitch

Day one: read Hansen notation, make the thumb-loop start, work the Oslo stitch (UO/UOO F1) into a chain, join new yarn by spit splicing, close a ring, and work rows connected to the row before, with increases and decreases.

  • 2 min
  • 5 steps
  • 2 questions
  • Lesson 199 of 204

In this lesson

  1. Reading the notation
  2. The start and the chain
  3. Spit splicing
  4. In the round
  5. Try it

Reading the notation

Stitches are written in Hansen notation, published by Egon Hansen in 1987: U is under, O is over, and / is where the needle turns. The Oslo stitch is UO/UOO F1: one loop stays on the thumb and one is picked up on the needle, and F1 means each stitch also passes through one loop of the row before, from the front. Mammen is UOO/UUOO F2 1.

Quick check

In Hansen notation, what does the slash in UO/UOO mean?

The start and the chain

  1. Thread about an arm span of wool 2.
  2. Make a loop around your left thumb, the needle end hanging toward you.
  3. Pass the needle under the thumb loop, turn it, and pass under the next loop and the free strand; pull through so a new loop falls on the thumb.
  4. Slip the old thumb loop off; it becomes the loop you pick up next. Repeat to build a chain.

The loops sit on the thumb, which acts as the gauge, so keep them the same size. Schmitt says getting the motion takes anywhere from “20 minutes to two-and-a-half days” 2.

Left, Hansen notation for the Oslo stitch, UO/UOO F1: the needle goes under one loop and over one on the thumb, turns, then under, over, over coming back; F1 means each new stitch also passes through one loop of the row before, from the front. The working loops sit on the thumb, which acts as the gauge. Middle, starting: thread an arm span of non-superwash wool on a flat needle about 10 centimeters long; make the starting chain; join yarn by spit splicing, fanning out the ends, moistening, and rolling them together. Right, a mitten worked from the top: a small rosette of about 8 stitches in thick yarn, increased in every stitch, then every second, then every third, to about 45 stitches; down the hand to the thumb; leave about 4 centimeters unconnected for the thumb opening; on to the cuff; then work the thumb up from the opening. Add about a centimeter all round if the mitten will be fulled.
Under, over, turn; one loop on the thumb. Credit: StudyCorner diagram after neulakintaat.fi, Hansen notation, Ellen Hagen, and Vesterheim · CC BY 4.0 · Source
Nålebinding tutorial part 1 - Oslo stitch The Oslo stitch from the first loop to working in the round. Credit: HomeWithMyBookshelf · YouTube standard license · 10:54 · Source

Playback is optional. If the player is unavailable, open the video at its source.

Spit splicing

When the yarn runs short, fan out the last 2 to 3 cm of both ends, overlap them, moisten them, and roll vigorously between your palms for 10 to 20 seconds until they felt together 1. Superwash wool won’t felt, so it can’t be joined this way 3.

Quick check

How do you join new yarn in nålbinding?

In the round

Join the chain into a ring and keep going, now passing through one loop of the previous row from the front on every stitch (the F1). Increase by working two stitches into one loop of the row below; decrease by picking up two loops at once 1. To leave an opening for a thumb or heel, “simply jump over a row or area” 4.

Try it

Make a ring about 20 stitches around and work five rows on it. Measure it after each row; if it grows or shrinks without increases, your thumb loops are changing size.

Lesson complete

Nice work.

1day streak
0/1today's goal
–correct

Up next · 2 min

A Pair of Mittens

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Sources for this lesson
  1. 1
    Sanna-Mari Pihlajapiha. Needles for nålbinding. Neulakintaat.fi. verifiedFinnish needles usually 8-12 cm long (old ones up to 15), about the length of a forefinger, 0.4-1 cm wide, edge 2-3 mm; juniper, lilac, rowan, and other woods. The same site explains Hansen notation, published by Egon Hansen in NESAT III in 1987 (U under, O over, / needle turns; Oslo UO/UOO F1, Mammen UOO/UUOO F2), spit splicing (fan the plies 2-3 cm, moisten, roll 10-20 seconds; superwash won't felt), and mittens started at the top with a rosette of about 8 stitches in thick yarn, increased to about 45, a thumb opening about 4 cm, and 1 cm added all round for fulling.
  2. 2
    Linda Falkenstein. A stitch in time. Isthmus (Madison). 2020. verifiedLarry Schmitt's classes start with whittling a needle; yarn about an arm span long; getting the motion takes '20 minutes to two-and-a-half days'; spit-splice 100% wool.
  3. 3
    Nålbindning. Swedish Wikipedia. verifiedA flat needle about 10 cm; yarn must not be superwash, which can't be spliced or fulled. The Åsle mitten from Västergötland is dated 1510-1640; Lund mitten before 1400.
  4. 4
    Ellen Hagen. Needle binding: a short guide. Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger (via National Museum of Ireland). verifiedNålbinding is red-listed as a craft in Norway; finds from a Mesolithic net at Tybrind Vig to the 10th-century Coppergate sock, the Mammen grave (970/71), and a medieval Oslo mitten; to make a heel or thumb 'simply jump over a row or area.'

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