When Spin Off contributor Amy Tyler took a workshop with Rita Buchanan back in 2003, she discovered that energized yarn intrigued her. Handspun-energized singles have active twist and produce three-dimensional effects when knitted. But all of the pent-up energy can make working with the singles a challenge. Below are Amy’s tips for knitting with energized yarn.
I love the gentle texture that results from knitting certain simple knit-purl stitch patterns with energized singles, and I’m always on the lookout for stitch patterns that produce such an effect. I recently used stitch pattern #20 from The New Knitting Stitch Library by Lesley Stanfield and realized that, with some tweaking, it might create interesting texture when knitted from energized singles. I named the tweaked stitch pattern Cinder Blocks and used it in this cowl.
The structure of the cowl is simple to keep the stitch pattern as the main attraction. I knitted a rectangle, then used a three-needle bind-off to create a flap that looks like a ruffle because of the texture of the knitted fabric. Here are some of the tricks for knitting with energized singles that I picked up along the way.
The ingredients for Amy’s cowl.
Tips for Knitting with Energized Singles
1) You do not need to wash or finish your singles before knitting! You can just knit right off the bobbin. I put my bobbin on a lazy kate and put the lazy kate on a table next to me. Sometimes I tension the bobbin to help control the willful singles; sometimes that is not necessary.
2) Use a knitted or cable cast-on. I learned the hard way that using a long-tail cast-on with energized singles can be problematic.
3) Weave in the cast-on tail after knitting a few rows; otherwise, it will untwist and drift apart.
4) After weaving in the cast-on tail, it can be difficult to identify the right side of the fabric. Use a locking stitch marker (or safety pin) on the right side of the fabric to help keep track.
Knit Amy Tyler’s companion project, the Energized Cinder Blocks Cowl, which is available in the Spring 2018 issue of _Spin Off_.
5) You may need to knit more slowly and pay more attention to your knitting when using energized singles. (If I don’t, I make more mistakes.)
6) If you do make a mistake, take stitches out one at a time instead of ripping the stitches out.
7) When you wash or block the finished knitting, do so lightly; do not stretch the fabric.
Find Amy Tyler’s entire updated article, “3-D Effects with Energized Singles,” plus six charts, in the Spin Off Library. Amy’s companion project, the Energized Cinder Blocks Cowl, is available in the Spring 2018 issue of Spin Off.
Editor’s note: Due to editorial oversight, several errors were introduced into the version of Amy’s article that appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of the magazine. We sincerely regret the error and appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight here.
Originally published March 30, 2018; updated December 26, 2025.