I knit continental style, with two strand on left hand. 9:28 am. I havent written it up in a blog post, but I covered trapping the non-dominant float in my video on Youtube about stranded colorwork. Tension is the most difficult aspect to master in color work knitting. Hats or mittens are also great choices. You want to have the right side facing you at all times rather than messing with purling on the wrong side. Hats or even can koozies can be excellent Wrapyour working yarn (left hand) around the right needle as though to knit but don't complete the stitch yet. Your great presenation has take the fear out of at lease trying colorwork. The long float pictured at the bottom of the swatch isnt trapped at all, so its floating across all twelve stitches. 11:20 am. The hat used almost one full skein of the main colour yarn. When you come to the stitch you want to wrap, put your working needle into the stitch on the have several rows in a pattern that may require wrapping, dont wrap at the same places in each rowthat Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Heres an extra special tip for you: I use the tacking technique to weave in ends as I knit all kinds of projects, color knitting or solid knitting! pattern), the first stitch is worked in C1, the next in C2, and the following two stitches are worked in C1. (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 You want the design to appear as if its laid over the top of the background color, rather than trying I get this question a lot, and its a tricky one to answer. The mechanics are REALLY that simple, and if you know how to follow a chart, then you can stop reading, grab one of our free colourwork patterns (like the Anthology hat and cowl or the Clayoquot toque), and start knitting right now. This was only in two colours, and I caught the floats every other stitch because I like having a neat back to my work and less things to catch on when [], Your email address will not be published. How to Make Stranded Colorwork Knitting Go Smoothly The biggest problem most people new to stranded knitting have is pulling the yarns too tightly when changing between yarns. One tip is to spread out the sts on the right hand needle before carrying your yarn across in a long float. This method leaves floats, which are lengths of yarn carried across the back of the work that can be easily snagged. Thank you! Hold your float yarn away from your working yarn as you knit yournext stitch. One of the many reasons we love this technique is that it creates a visually intricate fabric, but is deceivingly simple to work. When knitting the MC with my right hand, I throw (English style), and when knitting the CC with my left hand, I pick (Continental style). There are a number of ways to manage the tension of your floats. Most knitters would probably leave shorter If the floats are too loose, they can get caught when you wear the garment or the stitches may recede in the background. September 27, 2021 @ How to catch floats in stranded colorwork knitting on purl and knit rows, including videos of how I knit colourwork with two hands. Im all about creativity. to peek through from underneath. over your finger like a ring, halting at or near your first knuckle, with a multi-channel top that keeps What exactly is color work? All Rights Reserved. Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. Whats the process for trapping non-dominant float? I know its a slow work in progress. Are there any other pages/videos showing this technique? When you come to the stitch you want to wrap, put your working needle into the stitch on the According to designer Courtney Kelley, This scarf was inspired by a picture in Handschuhe, a vintage knitting book from Germany by Eva Maria Leszner. Tension is my struggle-any tips or videos on how to tension properly to avoid floats? KnitChats - Tip to Keep Loose Floats in Stranded Knitting KnitChats 473 subscribers Subscribe 54 Share 5.6K views 3 years ago Here's a demonstration of one way to keep your "floats" loose when. How to catch floats when knitting stranded colour work by ARNE & CARLOS ARNE & CARLOS 161K subscribers Subscribe Share 161K views 4 years ago This week we take a close look at the back of our. Suck it up, buttercup those yarn tails arent gonna weave in themselves! dont. Ive found that this method of weaving in works best with worsted-weight and smaller yarns. Ive always been intimidated to try anything with more than one color. Theres a big difference between a knitted bag youll sew a lining into and a pair of mittens or socks. Tension will be easiest to tackle if you choose a pattern that doesn't require long floats. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Use this method when your WORKING yarn is in your RIGHT hand and your FLOAT yarn is in your LEFT hand. Cookie Notice Thank you for the simple, easy to follow directions. It is also helpful to spread out the stitches just worked on the right needle each time you switch yarns or colors, so that when you draw the next working yarn (C1) behind the stitches just worked in the previous (C2), you can be sure that its float can span the full width of the stitches just worked. In this example, the dominant yarn is the floating yarn, while the background yarn is the working yarn. Wanting to try stranded color work or Fair Isle knitting, but feeling a little intimidated? Making mistakes in any technique is inevitable, because were all human! For more information, please see our knitting words, by repeating the same word in a row, but then stacking the words in a quote, phrase or sentence. 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. How To Finish Intarsia Knitting 4:42 pm. To accompany the colorwork charts in our patterns, we provide a key showing which colors should be held as the Dominant Color and the Background Color. long for their taste. December 2, 2021 @ I can see improvement. My blue floating yarn is trapped on either side of the 6th stitch. You can find more information about Knitter's Pride needles from these retailers: Bryson Distributing Accessories Unlimited Knitter's Pride Shop finder Without In reality, there are a few different methods, but Ill be demonstrating what I think is the most common below. used to, so try each method and then spend some time practicing (preferably on a small project or even a Most often, knitters will "lock" these floats if they become longer than 3 or 4 stitches. 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. 1:50 am, Good luck! The method you use to strand your working yarns may also have different effects on your tension. Someday I may get to this, but as of now Ive never really purled colorwork (beyond a small swatch with short floats). Blocking colourwork isnt really different from any other kind of blocking, but it is CRITICAL! I usually do colorwork with the two hand method any tips for how to add in that third color? September 24, 2021 @ I've been knitting for 2 years and I want to tackle some colorwork to keep expanding my skill set! Equipped with the basics of stranded colorwork knitting, you can now proceed with confidence! By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge. Add a key, so you remember the boxes with dots are purls, and the boxes without dots are knit. In this day and age, its extremely difficult to go for knitting lessons and I feel like Im sitting right there with you learning. Marge Sturgill If you do come to a spot where its necessary to carry your yarn across more than 5 stitches, remember to catch your floats every so often. Not following a pattern, just my rough one I made. These patterns are particularly well-suited for practicing stranded colorwork as they're smaller projects, worked in the round, and feature motifs that don't require working with more than two strands or colors of yarn in the same round. Even if you dont struggle with tension or gauge when knitting with one color, knitting colorwork with can try both out on a colorwork swatch before you cast on to see which you prefer. Simply open the latch, lay each strand in its own channel in the Yarn Guide, snap the top shut, and Youll definitely want to block your colourwork piece after you complete it, and regular wet blocking works just fine. One way is to go up a needle size when working colorwork (but doswatchto make sure your gauge remains accurate to the pattern youre following!) The Japanese word ajiro describes a herringbone pattern in basketry, which seems fitting for a country known for its long fishing traditions and bold graphic representations of natural elements. No need to trap floats there. A long float would be considered more than 5 stitches in a row of one color before changing. Your videos have inspired and taught me so much. Please, for the sake of your sanity, choose a pattern thats knit in the round! knittingissofun After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. A colourwork chart is typically read right to left, starting from round 1 at the bottom of the chart and working your way up to the top, one round at a time. Eva Youve effectively trapped the float already! thistheyre twice as thick! Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. This was so helpful! I definitely feel more confident. Floats can get in the way in the finished project because they can snag - and, they can mess with the tension of the knit stitches around them. Insertyour right needle intothe nextstitch like normal. September 26, 2021 @ I recently completed a color work sweater and the yoke is snugger than the body. Because you have floats making a straight line across the back of the work, the fabric formed by stranded colourwork is much less stretchy than that formed with a regular knitted fabric. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. No matter what you decide, the dominant color should always be held to the left of the non-dominant Once youve knit a project or two, youll be ready to tackle any colourful knit. 12:24 pm. The project is a scarf called the Ajiro Scarf. Of course, which color you want to be the dominant one is entirely up to youand since its 10:06 am. Thank you again for all your beautiful patterns and knitting lessons. Alexa Ludeman would you do one on catching floats in purl side?Im knitting a Marie Wallin pattern in pieces and Im trying to find the best way to trap the floats in purl. September 28, 2021 @ November 1, 2021 @ This was all very helpful. First of all: choose the right pattern for learning to knit with two colors at a time. . Mary In this video I demonstrate a couple of ways to carry floats in fair isle knitting. But after a couple of hours of practice, everybody manages to get the hang of it. It is my goal for this winter to knit my first colorwork sweater. If you place the CC ball to the left of your body and the MC ball to the right of your body (and always keep them in those positions), they will not tangle. If you're unsure about what patterns to start with, we recommend the following form our Pattern Database (from left to right): Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin. With a little practice, you can master these techniques and they will Ive made it pretty clear to the knitting world that when it comes to colorwork, floats and I are incompatible. 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. This is a very secure way to trap the float. arlene j shipper The rest is just details! Here they are in order of relative usefulness (just my opinion! 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. Enjoy! Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? My UPS gal surprised me again the other day with several new Interweave books full of wonderful, inventive projects. For just a few stitches, this is fine and tidy! Otherwise, the fabric will be tight and compressed horizontally, which is NOT fun as you knit it and it doesnt look good when its done, either. The only Marie Wallin garment Ive knit, I adapted to be knit in the round and I steeked the armholes and front neck. it both ways before getting too far into a project. 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. Ive completed a few stranded colorwork projects in which I had to switch position of the yarn balls every time I trapped a float: trapping a float without taking my hands off the needles was a revelation and a relief! It there any way to fix this problem? colourwork, techniques colourwork, tutorial. There are about as many ways to knit colourwork as there are ways to knit, so feel free to experiment and find the technique that works for you. 5:56 am. In typical fair isle knitting, as you switch from one color to another, the inactive color drops to the back of the work. Thanks! 11:25 pm. sometimes called Scandinavian knitting, is the one endorsed by Elizabeth Zimmerman in Knitting You will always draw the CC yarn (the one on your left) up from underneath the other colour, so it will create slightly longer dominant stitches. Wrapping floats can help, but even if youre wrapping stitches frequently, you still want to be Some motifs, however, involve longer floats and long floats are exceptionally good at catching on fingers, jewelry, or other things that can work their way between the knitted fabric and the float. September 29, 2021 @ into stranded colorwork with confidence with a section on reading charts, working floats, and choosing colors. In the words ofJune Hemmons Hiatt, the most successful method is as much a matter of anatomy as it is of dexterity, so keep swatching, experimenting, and practicing to find what works best for you. You can read aboutcolor dominance here.). For example, if there are 3 stitches in a row of one color, the other color will need to be carried behind it for 3 stitches. 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. This pulling can also really tighten your gauge and make garments too small. I have done very little colorwork but am working on a hat with some simple(ish) colorwork. Whichever camp you fall into, note that you must have normal (non-wrapped) 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. Alexa Ludeman When you have a pattern that calls for long floats (the strand of yarn that you carry behind the color youre knitting with at any one time), its a good idea to tack them, or trap them. [] used Dianna Wallas tutorials for dominant strands and trapping floats. (Don't know what the proper terminology is). the other, you may need to readjust your tension frequently as you pull from one strand more than the This scarf will keep you warm even on the coldest windswept shore.. I often stick with what I know instead of trying new things. Omit them, of course! Youll weave in the ends later. Lisa Narayanan September 28, 2021 @ (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. Alexa Ludeman This positions your float yarn in betweenyour needles. Weve got an opinion (or three) on this topic! These non-traditional colorwork charts are perfect for the creative knitter . After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. To help shorten the floats while maintaining good tension, tack these long floats to the wrong side of the work. Copyright2023Golden Peak Media. After steaming, the scarf is so cozy and warm! A pattern likePine Bough Cowlis worked in a tube and then grafted together, so the floats on the inside of the tube will never be exposed one its finished theres really nothing they can get caught on. If youre ready to take the plunge, click here to sign up for our newsletter & well send you a free PDF download of the Jeanette Hat & Scarf Pattern, a lovely colorwork ensemble in which both pieces are knit in the round! Like Alex I am interested in tidy float catching, working on a sock flat heel (stranded patterning a feature on it) ..so purling involved. Complete thestitch with your working yarn. When you knit colourwork, the stitches sit a little differently than in regular stockinette. My first stranded colorwork project was the Herringbone Hat by Anne Mizoguchi, who has several other similar free colorwork . Some folks will tell you to trap floats every 3, 5, 7, 10+ stitches, but we almost never do (mittens are the exception). Ideally, as a rule of thumb, you want your floats (those unworked strands that end up behind your work) to be less than 1"/2.5 cm. The timing of this is hilarious. Dive into stranded colorwork with confidence with a section on reading charts, working floats, and choosing . Its not as slow as you might think (though its also not fast ). September 27, 2021 @ The relevant part starts at 23:15 so you can skip to that to see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sex1qLRd_I&t=7s, [] started knitting the colourwork chart using the dark orange and the black. Laura Trickel They are best known for their craft books and their original, colourful and visually striking designs. To help shorten the floats while maintaining good tension, "tack" these long floats to the wrong side of the work. In other words, when you alternate between colors of yarn, the previously unused strand travels behind the stitches just worked until it is ready to be used again, resulting in a horizontal strand on the wrong side (WS). If you finish knitting something and onlythenrealize that you should have trapped the long floats dont worry! There are several ways knitters do this, and the right choice is the one that feels most comfortable 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. 10:33 am. Simply follow the colourwork chart, and the pattern appears! 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. tutorials Andrea Rangel July 26, . Learn how stranded colorwork can be used in design with five accompanying projects including mitts, cowls, and sweaters. I am a knitting chicken. This email came at the perfect time. Required fields are marked *. too loosely can make the fabric look messy. This will work for any way you knit colorwork (one-handed or two, English or Continental). 6:29 am, Thank you, been nervous about trying this but after watching and reading feel confident to give it a go, growbakeknit Sometimes the toughest bit is casting on :), askcarolynwarren Regardless of how you hold your yarns when working stranded colorwork, the float of the Dominant Color should always be stranded below the Background Color. This scarf is knitted in the round, which simplifies the Fair Isle patterning (no wrong-side rows) and creates an insulating double layer of fabric. Ive done a couple colorwork projects and I appreciate all of this good info in one place! We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. September 29, 2021 @ Before you pull the left-hand yarn through, push the right-hand yarn strand back off the working I so appreciate it and YOU! Laurie Rickward Oneof the questions I get most often from students or knitters working from my patterns is how to trap floats in stranded colorwork. get more info on choosing a colourwork sweater size here, Check out our tutorial on swatching for colourwork here, Week of Colour: Strategies for Designing a Palette, Applying Colour to Stranded Knitting Motifs, design your own Strange Brew colourwork yokes, like these ones, The Three Needle Bind-off: A Bind-off and Seaming Method, Blocking: how to finish your hand-knit hat, First, you knit a stitch (or several) in one colour lets call it the, Then you knit a stitch (or several) in another colour lets call it the. I don't want to have long strands of floats inside the hat, nor do I want it to be too tight. Likely because I need to work on the tension of my floats. Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. Its important to draw this yarn LOOSELY across the back of the work. Videos. Thanks again! youre ready to go. Colorwork motifs are often presented in charts, as this is an intuitive and shorthand way of showing how the motif builds round by round. Stranded colorwork motifs are more often than not worked in the round in plain stockinette, which means that in most cases you simply knit all your stitches while alternating between colors across the round. Foreground color nearest the fingertip, background further down. That being said, if a rule doesnt jive with your personal preferences, thats perfectly fine! When you join a new ball of yarn, just weave it in for 1 1/2 to 2 inches using the tacking technique. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('interstitial-ad');}); Save patterns, share updates, and connect with your community. Linda Natanagara Simply pick up loose bars of yarn in the order they belong (according to your chart), and youll be back in business. 7:56 am. trapping long floats carrying both yarns in your left hand, trapping long floats while using the two-handed stranded colorwork method, DIY: Knit Laurus Hat and Free Pattern by Dianna Walla - Kiku Corner, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sex1qLRd_I&t=7s, Something spooky this way comes Halloween inspired knitwear | Wolfish Written, On Dasher, on Dancer the Fallow Jumper | Wolfish Written. You may have heard of trapping floats, but Ill let you in on a little secret: Emily and I almost never trap our floats! Firstly:what is a float, and why would I need to trap it? and thought I might start poking around to find tutorials for beginning colorwork. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. 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. If you are (or can get) comfortable with either left-hand or right-hand knitting, you may find that What a great tutorial! Knitosophy Designs uses cookies on our site to improve your experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 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.