So glad I found you. What's a Knitter To Do? Method 2 - Working Yarn in Left Hand Use this method when your WORKING yarn is in your LEFT hand and your FLOAT yarn is in your RIGHT hand. Learn how stranded colorwork can be used in design with five accompanying projects including mitts, cowls, and sweaters. This email came at the perfect time. Read More. Ive knit for over 50 years and have just stuck my toe into colorwork. September 25, 2021 @ I was introduced to your helpful tutorials when knitting the Grumpy Grandpa Cardigan. Insertyour right needle intothe nextstitch like normal. As a, It's the holiday season and you know what that meanstime for last-minute handmade gift ideas!, Knitting Instructions & AbbreviationsGuide to Subbing Brown Sheep Yarns in Knit & Crochet PatternsGuide to Weaving With Brown Sheep Yarns. First of all: choose the right pattern for learning to knit with two colors at a time. To swatch for a stranded colorwork motif, we recommend the Speed Swatching method for circular knitting; because most stranded colorwork patterns are worked in the round, it is best to swatch in the round as well. The good news is that picking up dropped stitches in color work is actually not hard! I definitely feel more confident. It might sound daunting, but once you get the hang of it you'll be sailing in no time. 1) Holding the yarn. We believeswatchingis an important part of the process of beginning any project. 10:53 am. September 28, 2021 @ actually a pretty fun experiment to try this, switching which color is dominant and which is not, you One tip is to spread out the sts on the right hand needle before carrying your yarn across in a long float. 8:59 pm. Unlike charts for lace or cabled patterns, which will require you to be familiar with a number of chart symbols, all youll need to keep in mind when following a colorwork chart are the colors of the boxes. Holding them over your finger like a ring, halting at or near your first knuckle, with a multi-channel top that keeps One way is to go up a needle size when working colorwork (but do, When working stranded fabric with two or more colors, one color (the Dominant Color) will always be more prominent on the right side (RS) while the other (the Background Color) recedes to the background. jane Straut Some teachers use hard-and-fast rules, like never carry a float more than five stitches without trapping it. Some teachers tell you not to go more thanthreestitches. Completethestitch withyour working yarn. October 5, 2021 @ In the swatch pictured above, there are two long floats where the blue yarn is stranding across twelve stitches on the wrong side of the fabric. Add a key, so you remember the boxes with dots are purls, and the boxes without dots are knit. The method you use to strand your working yarns may also have different effects on your tension. A baby sweater or a pair of mittens, however, will provide ample opportunity for fingers to catch on floats, so trapping those floats is a good idea. You want to have the right side facing you at all times rather than messing with purling on the wrong side. to peek through from underneath. Whats the process for trapping non-dominant float? Traditional Fair Isle (or stranded knitting) color knitting specifies no more than two colors per row and sequences of no more than six stitches of one color. I dont enjoy trapping floats very much, as it slows down my knitting and can affect the look of my knitted fabric, and Ill avoid it if I can get away with it. When you go from knitting one stitch in the MC to one in the CC, they dont sit as perfectly as they might if they were done in the same colour. Elizabeth DeHaven Abel The charcoal grey isthe working yarnfor that length, while the light blue yarn is being carried across the back (the floating yarn). Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge. The timing of this is hilarious. These non-traditional colorwork charts are perfect for the creative knitter . Ive heard of some people switching to a larger needle for the color work. We recommend starting with a hat and only two colours just dive in and enjoy the learning process! This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Im trapping my float every 6th stitch as I work across the span of charcoal grey, but you could trap every 5th or 4th stitch as well. September 24, 2021 @ If you hold one color in each hand, the easiest way to manage color dominance is to hold the Dominant Color in your left hand and strand it below the Background Color on the WS of the fabric. 9:28 am. Laura Trickel If you are (or can get) comfortable with either left-hand or right-hand knitting, you may find that strands can be tightened, but its virtually impossible to loosen stitches that are too tight. Some knitters like to wrap floats frequently and regularly, while others do so when the floats feel too September 24, 2021 @ Insertyour right needle into the next stitch, making sure to go BEHIND your float yarn. After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. When knitting colourwork patterns, you use two colours (sometimes more) in a single row or round. 4:42 pm. Some folks will tell you to trap floats every 3, 5, 7, 10+ stitches, but we almost never do (mittens are the exception). The Knitter's Pride Royale 16 needle set I use in the video can be found here. This is convenient because youre always looking at the knit side of the work and thus can ensure that the pattern is forming correctly. Also note that if you You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Once youve knit a project or two, youll be ready to tackle any colourful knit. The basics of colourwork knitting First, you knit a stitch (or several) in one colour - let's call it the main colour (MC). Alexa Ludeman Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. I'd start with something where there's only a few stitches between colors so you don't have really long floats. How can one get a copy of the pattern? September 30, 2021 @ For just a few stitches, this is fine and tidy! Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Then you finish with 4 rows of garter stitch. 11:20 am. Because Im a continental knitter and I carry both yarns in my left hand, that series of photos is first, but if you scroll down youll also find a series of photos demonstrating the same technique in the two-handed method, with one yarn carried in each hand. Enjoy! When doing more than 4 stitches in a row, just flip the unwanted color over the correct color. Personally, I dont like this approach. How to catch floats in stranded colorwork knitting on purl and knit rows, including videos of how I knit colourwork with two hands. This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Get your copy of Vintage Modern Knits today and queue up your version of the Ajiro scarfor one of the other 25 designs in this fab booktoday! a fabric they like. Ill be using myHearth Slippersto demonstrate in the photos, as this pattern involves a very long float the first time you work Chart C. Im working the Large size, and the float is carried across 21 stitches. 1:35 pm. This effect is referred to as. youre ready to go. In typical fair isle knitting, as you switch from one color to another, the inactive color drops to the back of the work. 10:33 am. When you come to the stitch you want to wrap, put your working needle into the stitch on the What a great tutorial! You cant avoid them, but they need to be loose so they arent causing your fabric to pinch in. (Ive ended up doing a not-so-sophisticatd continental CC and the drop and pick up method with the other two colors on my throwing hand), Alexa Ludeman For me, lifes too short to purl in colorwork! Omit them, of course! I often stick with what I know instead of trying new things. 8:01 am. You initially catch the floating yarn by changing its position as you knit, then you go back and make the floats ladder up themselves, in a technique that is somewhat similar in look to the ladderback jacquard technique used in commercial knitting. swatch) the one you prefer. When working a stranded pattern, you never want to carry the non-working yarn across the back of the work for more than about 5 stitches, or whatever constitutes about a inch at your gauge. 10:06 am. accidentally pick or throw the wrong one. Think of the dominant color as the one creating the design rather than the one creating the background. Thank you. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I hope it helps you or at least entertains you. So what do I do? Regardless of how you hold your yarns when working stranded colorwork, To swatch for a stranded colorwork motif, we recommend the Speed Swatching method for circular knitting; because most stranded colorwork patterns are worked in the round, it is best to swatch in the round as well. (We found that for this reason, colorwork charts are quite helpful for, For example, in Round 1 of the colorwork chart below (adapted from the. Emily Wessel Alexa Ludeman Here's a video from Tiara the Unicorn explaining three different ways to catch floats, followed by written directions below that. Shop our 50% Off Online Workshop Sale! Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. A pattern like. Colorwork Without Interlocking Floats - Technique Tuesday - YouTube Kelley Hobart from Alpaca Direct shares tips on how to knit colorwork without the need for interlocking floats as. Thank you again for all your beautiful patterns and knitting lessons. tutorials Andrea Rangel January 15, 2020 video, tutorial, . long for their taste. I usually do colorwork with the two hand method any tips for how to add in that third color? Wrapping floats can help, but even if youre wrapping stitches frequently, you still want to be By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. pattern), the first stitch is worked in C1, the next in C2, and the following two stitches are worked in C1. Or, you can be a lazy ass like me I just tie them to the next colour, trim them fairly short, and then hope that, with plenty of time and wear, theyll eventually felt themselves together into a nice, solid, woolly mess. I dont enjoy trapping floats very much, as it slows down my knitting and can affect the look of my knitted fabric, and Ill avoid it if I can get away with it. I have a question on color dominance. If youmustuse a general rule, going by length in inches or cm is a better way to go (e.g. The basic idea is simple: knit each stitch in the correct colour according to the pattern, carrying the unused colour behind and across the back of the work. The pattern can be found in Vintage Modern Knits, heres a direct link to the book: https://www.interweave.com/store/vintage-modern-knits-ebook. This is my biggest hurdle in colourwork-the float tension. Contains spam, fake content or potential malware, https://www.interweave.com/store/vintage-modern-knits-ebook, Free Resin Jewelry Video: Yupo Paper, Alcohol Inks, and Resin, Knitting-Themed Artists We Love: Inspiration from Fiber & Needles, Celebrating Beadwork Artists on International Womens Day. Most knitters would probably leave shorter Color in the boxes with two or more colors. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. Lisas List: 10 Reasons Knitting Is Better Than Dating, Spurned Gifts: When Knit & Crochet Gifts Went Wrong. I thought it would be a good idea to finally address this issue! But I got big Vs in knitting color pattern stitches, then stockinette stitches. Wanting to try stranded color work or Fair Isle knitting, but feeling a little intimidated? By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. 1. This method leaves floats, which are lengths of yarn carried across the back of the work that can be easily snagged. (Wondering what the dominant yarn is? If youd like to stick to carrying the yarn with only one hand but youre having trouble keeping the yarn