Roosimine is an Estonian inlay technique that creates the appearance of embroidery through intentional floats in contrasting yarn on the right side of your knitting.

It’s the perfect technique to add some embellishment to your knitting that is easier than intarsia. The name Roosimine translates to “decorating with roses,” which comes from a style of short stitch embroidery done on the Estonian island of Muhu.

Technique Requirements: knit/purl, cast on/bind off, working in the round, chart reading

Using one color (which will be the main color) and US 6 / 4mm needles, cast on 42 sts. Join in the round and place marker for BOR (beginning of round).

Rnds 1–2: Work 1x1 rib as follows: [k1, p1], repeat [-] to end.
Rnds 3–4: K to end.

k: knit
p: purl
rnd(s): round(s)

[-]: repeat everything between [ ]

• 4mm / US 6 needles for knitting small circumference (double-pointed needles or circular needles for magic loop)
• Stitch markers
• DK-weight yarn (preferably nothing slippery—think yarn you would use for colorwork/Fair Isle knitting) in 2 contrasting colors, approx. 20g of each color and approx 10g of a third contrasting color in DK-weight yarn. Make sure all yarn is easy to pull from both ends of the ball (for working with two strands at a time).