I changed this pattern up quite a bit. I hesitated at first, since I bought both the pattern and the (very) expensive yarn because I loved it—but I wasn’t enjoying the knitting at all. The yarn slipped all over my needles, making the stranded colorwork miserable. I tried switching to grippier needles, but it didn’t help, and after a few inches I seriously considered giving up. I love stranded colorwork… just not when everything slides.

Instead, I switched to the dip stitch that Isabell Kraemer seems to be so in love with lately (Bao Bao and Heimathafan), and I’m in love with it too. It’s much easier to work, and while the yarn is still slippy, it’s ok with the dip stitch. Best of all, it still feels true to Maxim’s original design. Keeping the soul of the piece mattered to me—and now I’m finally enjoying every stitch.

So to keep Maxim’s design style in tact, I did this for the narrow rows:

R1--K2 (dip stitch, k4) dip stitch, k2
R2--resolve dip stitch
R3-5--knit

To make the wider rows I knit rows 3-10

I got as close as I could to his original colors and I’m following his color changes. LOVE it!

You can find a YouTube how to