Latvian braid is a great way to spike our knits with a touch of colour. It adds just enough decoration to turn even the simplest projects into eye-catching ones without making them too flashy.
Traditionally, these braids are added to seamless hats, mittens, socks and other projects worked in the round. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t decorate projects worked flat with these lovely braids. We can.
In this tutorial, we’ll see how we can make Latvian braids when we work in the round and back and forth.
If you are a visual learner, watch the steps described below in a video tutorial:
LATVIAN BRAID WORKED IN THE ROUND
The braid is worked over an even number of stitches.
If you have an odd number of stitches in your project, make a temporary decrease or increase to bring the number of stitches to an even number for the next three rounds. Then make an increase or a decrease to get back to the original number of stitches.
ROUND 1
This is a setup round. If your project is made in a two-colour pattern and you have both colours already in play, you are all set to start this round.
If you are working with a solid colour, attach a strand in a complimentary or contrasting colour (we’ll call it “colour A”) to the main colour of your project (that will be our “colour B”).
The easiest way to attach a new strand is by tying it to the working yarn with a simple knot.
Bring both strands to the back of the work. Then knit 1 stitch with colour A, and knit the next stitch with colour B.
Repeat the sequence of[ knit 1 with colour A, knit 1 with colour B ] until you get to the end of the round.
As you work this round, use any method you like to manage two strands of yarn – hold each strand in a separate hand, place them on different fingers of one hand, or use a knitting thimble ring to separate the strands on one finger.
I usually simply drop one strand and pick up the other strand every time I change colours.
ROUND 2
This is the first braid-building round. The braid is formed by the floats that we carry on the right side of the work. That’s why we move both strands to the right side of the work before we start this round.
In this round, we’ll follow two simple rules:
(1) we’ll purl each stitch with the same colour as the stitch, and
(2) we’ll always take the strands from underneath each other.
Here’s how we do it step by step:
2.1. Take the strand in colour A from underneath the colour B.
2.2. Purl 1 stitch with colour A. The first stitch in my swatch is blue, so I purled it with the yarn in the same colour as the stitch – blue.
2.3. Take the strand in colour B from underneath the strand in colour A.
2.4. Purl the next stitch with colour B.
Repeat these steps to the end of the round purling each stitch in the same colour as the stitch and taking the strands one from underneath the other every time you change colours.
If you see that the strands of yarn are getting twisted, that means you are doing great.
If you have a lot of stitches on your needles, by the end of this round, the strands will get twisted a lot. Don’t untwist them! Just be brave and manage working this round as best as you can. This twisting will resolve itself in the next round.
ROUND 3
This is the round that forms the top part of the braid.
We’ll keep purling each stitch with the yarn in the same colour as the stitch, twisting the strands every time we change colours, but this time, we twist the strands in the opposite direction – we bring one strand over the other one, not underneath it.
The direction of the twist in this round is prompted by the twist we made in the previous round. The strands seem to “want” to untwist. Our task is to help them.
Here’s how we do it step by step:
3.1. Bring the strand in colour A over the strand in colour B.
3.2. Purl 1 stitch with colour A – the same colour as the stitch.
3.3. Bring the strand in colour B over the strand in colour A.
3.4. Purl the next stitch with colour B.
Repeat these steps to the end of the round, and you will see that not only the braid starts to resemble a set of arrows pointing to the right, but also that the twisted mess we created in the previous round (almost) magically disappears.
The braid is formed and now we are ready to bring both strands to the back of the work and resume working in the main pattern of our project. In my swatch, it means knitting all stitches in every round with the yarn in golden colour.
The biggest issue with the Latvian braid worked in the round is the jog that appears at the beginning of the round. If you are looking for a solution to this issue, download the Jogless Latvian Braid e-book.
LATVIAN BRAID WORKED BACK AND FORTH
When we work back and forth, we can make a Latvian braid on any number of stitches. There is no need to bring the number of stitches to an even number. Any number will do.
ROW 1
The first row is the same as the first round of making this braid in the round.
We attach the yarn in a new colour to the working yarn and knit 1 stitch with colour A and the next stitch in colour B. Repeat this sequence to the end of the row.
ROW 2
Start by bringing both strands over the right edge and to the back of the work so that they stay at the right side of the fabric.
In this row, we’ll follow two simple rules:
(1) we’ll knit each stitch with the yarn in the same colour as the stitch, and
(2) we’ll bring the strands over each other every time we change colours.
Here’s how we do it step by step:
2.1a. Bring the yarn in the same colour as the first stitch on the left needle over the other strand of yarn.
2.2a. Knit 1 stitch.
Repeat knitting stitches with the yarn in the same colour as the stitch and bringing the strands over each other until you knit all stitches in this row.
When you finish this row, the strands will be twisted, but we already know that it is a temporary nuisance and it will get resolved in the next row.
ROW 3
This row is very similar to Round 3 of the braid worked in the round – we’ll purl each stitch with the yarn in the same colour as the stitch, and we’ll bring the strands over each other every time we change colours.
3.1a. Twist the strands and bring the strand in the same colour as the first stitch over the other strand.
3.2a. Purl 1 stitch.
3.3a. Bring the strand in the other colour over the strand we’ve just worked with.
3.4a. Purl 1 stitch.
Repeat bringing the strands one over the other until you purl all stitches in this row.
Then resume working in the main pattern of your project.
Once you work a few rows, you will see that the lovely braid you’ve just made does not just add a touch of colour, but it also enhances the texture of your knitted creation. It has a beautiful 3D effect that makes this braid embossed on the surface of the fabric.
In most cases, the Latvian braid looks like a set of arrows pointing to the right. But we can easily change the direction of the arrows by the way we twist the yarns in the braid-forming rounds and rows.
When you work in the round, bring the strands one over the other in round 2 and one from underneath the other in round 3. When working back and forth, bring the strands one from underneath the other in rows 2 and 3 of the pattern.
No matter which direction of the arrows you choose, you can add Latvian braids to any part of any project. Make a braid right after you cast on stitches or in the middle of the project. Add it as a single colourful stripe or stack the stripes on top of each other for a more prominent decoration. The choice is yours.
SAVE IT FOR LATER:
This and 41 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #6.