The Twist Stitch

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The Twist Stitch

Also referred to as "Double Circle", the Twist Stitch is nothing more than TWO Circle Stitches side by side. To start this stitch, you'll need three strands of boondoggle, two of the same length, and a third that is approximately 1½ times as long as one of the first two. For me, I can get almost two inches of twist when my shorter strands are two feet long each.

The following shots were taken from a bit farther back, so that I can show you the placement of my fingers. Also, for reference, I'm sitting at the TOP of these shots. What looks like my RIGHT hand is actually my LEFT hand, so the BOTTOM finger shown is my Pointer Finger, while the TOP finger is my Ring Finger.

Start by laying the two shorter strands ON TOP OF and ACROSS the longer strand, which should be facing away from and towards you...

Hold the strands with your thumb to free up your other hand...

Take the end of the longer strand that faces you and bring it UP and OVER to create the first loop...

...which you can hold in place between your pointer finger and middle finger.

Now take the long strand that faces away from you and bring it UP and OVER towards you to create the second loop...

...which you can hold in place between your ring finger and middle finger. Always hold the strands with the longer strand facing towards and away from you, so that you create TWO loops, instead of FOUR loops.

There are FOUR weaves, instead of TWO, as in Square and Circle. Take the short strand that is FARTHEST away from you and bring it UP and OVER the loop closest to it, then UNDER the loop farthest from it...

...and pull it through.

Now take the next farthest strand from you, which should be on the other side of the stitch, and bring it UP and OVER the loop nearest it, then UNDER the loop farthest from it...

...and pull it through. You've just completed a Square Stitch; but onto the Brick!

Similar to the way you started the stitch, take the third strand, which should be on the same side you started the stitch on, and bring it UP and OVER the first loop, then UNDER the second...

...you know what to do, right? Pull it on through!

Hey, we're almost done! Just one more strand! Bring it UP and OVER the first loop, then UNDER the second loop...

...and pull it on home! Take a good look at this stitch, as it's nothing more than TWO Square stitches!

Now for the pulling! With some practice, you can train your hands to actually pull in FOUR DIRECTIONS at once...

...you can kind of see how I do it in this sequence...

...all tight! There's the basic Brick Starter stitch!

	Start by placing the "starter brick stitch" on your middle finger.
	Take the longer strand that points towards you and bring it UP, OVER and ACROSS the starter stitch to form the first loop. Use your pointer finger to hold this loop between it and your middle finger, as shown...
	The other long end, the one facing away from you, should then be brought UP, OVER and ACROSS the starter stitch to sit next to the first loop to form your second loop. Use your pinky finger to hold this loop against your ring finger...
	Take one of the inner strands UP and OVER its nearest loop, then ACROSS and UNDER the second loop...
	...and let that short strand hang off your hand. Note how the second yellow loop, the one on the right, holds the pink strand in place. If you had started with the other pink strand, you'd note that it would fall out of the loops, which is NOT what you want to do! :-)
	Alright, now grab the other short strand of the same color and bring it UP and OVER the nearest loop, then ACROSS and UNDER the far loop...
	...and let this strand flop off your hand as well. In this shot, note the possible problem we might have if we're not careful. Can you see it? Look closely at the last pink strand we were working with...
	Continuing, grab the next short strand, on the opposite side, and bring it UP and OVER the first, then ACROSS and UNDER the second loop. (Are you still looking at the second pink strand? The problem is still there...)
	Pull this strand through fully. Note how I corrected the problem with the pink strand from earlier? Did you catch what the problem WAS? That strand was TWISTED and would have caused the finished stitch to have an odd appearance when you compared it to all the other stitches.
	Finish your last short strand now: UP and OVER the first loop, then ACROSS and UNDER the second loop...
	...and pull it through. We're ready to start pulling this stitch together!
	I zoomed out quite a bit for this shot. Note, specifically, the placement of my fingers. This is that 4-way pulling I was talking about earlier. I use my thumbs and pointer fingers to pull away from each other in one direction, while at the same time using the remaining fingers and the cup of my palms to pull away from each other in the opposite direction.
	Zoomed in a bit more and you can see how a finished twist stitch looks almost identical to a brick stitch.
	Here's what the stitching looks like after a bit of work...
	...and here's the ever popular "bullseye" view, ready for one last stitch.

	Start by laying the two shorter strands ON TOP OF and ACROSS the longer strand, which should be facing away from and towards you...
	Hold the strands with your thumb to free up your other hand...
	Take the end of the longer strand that faces you and bring it UP and OVER to create the first loop...
	...which you can hold in place between your pointer finger and middle finger.
	Now take the long strand that faces away from you and bring it UP and OVER towards you to create the second loop...
	...which you can hold in place between your ring finger and middle finger. Always hold the strands with the longer strand facing towards and away from you, so that you create TWO loops, instead of FOUR loops.
	There are FOUR weaves, instead of TWO, as in Square and Circle. Take the short strand that is FARTHEST away from you and bring it UP and OVER the loop closest to it, then UNDER the loop farthest from it...
	...and pull it through.
	Now take the next farthest strand from you, which should be on the other side of the stitch, and bring it UP and OVER the loop nearest it, then UNDER the loop farthest from it...
	...and pull it through. You've just completed a Square Stitch; but onto the Brick!
	Similar to the way you started the stitch, take the third strand, which should be on the same side you started the stitch on, and bring it UP and OVER the first loop, then UNDER the second...
	...you know what to do, right? Pull it on through!
	Hey, we're almost done! Just one more strand! Bring it UP and OVER the first loop, then UNDER the second loop...
	...and pull it on home! Take a good look at this stitch, as it's nothing more than TWO Square stitches!
	Now for the pulling! With some practice, you can train your hands to actually pull in FOUR DIRECTIONS at once...
	...you can kind of see how I do it in this sequence...
	...all tight! There's the basic Brick Starter stitch!