I usually do colorwork with the two hand method any tips for how to add in that third color? Color in the boxes with two or more colors. 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. Knitting colourwork (also known as stranded colourwork or Fair Isle knitting) may seem difficult, but its actually quite simple. If you hold your yarns in each hand, check out this video for a slightly fancier way of trapping: To join a new yarn, just leave a yarn tail and then get started with the new yarn from the beginning of the next round. free download when you sign up for our newsletter! I often stick with what I know instead of trying new things. Stitches & Technique Hi Eva This isnt the most satisfying answer but: if you have big Vs it probably means its a little too loose. This method leaves floats, which are lengths of yarn carried across the back of the work that can be easily snagged. the colorwork portions of a garmentusing US 9 needles on a colorwork yoke of a sweater thats otherwise Colorwork motifs are often presented in charts, as this is an intuitive and shorthand way of showing how the motif builds round by round. Thank you so much , Mona Wadington This positions your float yarn in betweenyour needles. ), Heres the tutorial for you! Equipped with the basics of stranded colorwork knitting, you can now proceed with confidence! September 27, 2021 @ The project is a scarf called the Ajiro Scarf. Marge Sturgill Tears. Cut off the excess yarn, leaving about a 1/2-inch tail. September 27, 2021 @ 9:04 am. Then you knit a stitch (or several) in another colour - let's call it the contrast colour (CC). But after a couple of hours of practice, everybody manages to get the hang of it. strands apart, there are tools to help. Its important to draw this yarn LOOSELY across the back of the work. Tension will be easiest to tackle if you choose a pattern that doesn't require long floats. Making mistakes in any technique is inevitable, because were all human! have several rows in a pattern that may require wrapping, dont wrap at the same places in each rowthat can try both out on a colorwork swatch before you cast on to see which you prefer. Hi Julie The key to tension in colourwork is keeping those floats nice and loose. When you begin knitting stranded colourwork, you may find that your yarns get all tangled up around and around each other, which can be annoying, but this is simple to prevent. The timing of this is hilarious. If you only feel comfortable as either a picker (Continental knitter) or a thrower (English Please note: Laura Trickel Knitosophy Designs uses cookies on our site to improve your experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Are there any other pages/videos showing this technique? Plus, use your imagination to modify, deconstruct, and combine the unique motifs to create your own designs. Simply open the latch, lay each strand in its own channel in the Yarn Guide, snap the top shut, and jane Straut Some simply experiment with how they hold the yarn until they get Hi. other. Insertyour right needle intothe nextstitch like normal. Wrapyour working yarn (left hand) around the right needle as though to knit but don't complete the stitch yet. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? If youd like to stick to carrying the yarn with only one hand but youre having trouble keeping the yarn By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Laurie Rickward What exactly is color work? Winter begins to feel interminable around this time of year. Colorwork motifs are often presented in charts, as this is an intuitive and shorthand way of showing how the motif builds round by round. Theres only what you prefer. Hats or even can koozies can be excellent Just starting a colour work sweater. Check out our tutorial on swatching for colourwork here. You can find more information about Knitter's Pride needles from these retailers: Bryson Distributing Accessories Unlimited Knitter's Pride Shop finder For me, lifes too short to purl in colorwork! Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. Why would the shape be different from the color dominance? Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. This was all very helpful. Tension is my struggle-any tips or videos on how to tension properly to avoid floats? swatch) the one you prefer. I thought it would be a good idea to finally address this issue! One thing that is important to keep in mind in stranded colorwork knitting ismaintaining even float tension. 2010 - 2022 Tin Can Knits. to you and that allows you to get the most even tension in your knitting. Thank you so much! 5:56 am. Keep in mind that if the pattern youre working on has significantly more stitches with one color vs. the other, as is the case when just carrying two yarns in one hand without the Yarn Guide. This looks tricky to the uninitiated; however, the pattern is formed using only knit stitches, so its not nearly as complicated as it looks! 8:53 am, This is fantastic! rightand you should keep this consistent throughout the whole project. 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! Required fields are marked *. Use this method when your WORKING yarn is in your LEFT hand and your FLOAT yarn is in your RIGHT hand. 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. I thought you said to put the red yarn in your left hand to make it dominant, but then I thought you said to make a diamond shape stand out, you would put the yarn in your right hand. 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. Keeping your Dominant Color and Background Color consistent will ensure that your colorwork motifs pop rather than recede into the background. After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. Step 1: Put the knitting thimble on like you would a ring so it rests firmly on the first knuckle of your index finger. 8:17 pm, Hi Ladies With a little practice, you can master these techniques and they will and thought I might start poking around to find tutorials for beginning colorwork. Oneof the questions I get most often from students or knitters working from my patterns is how to trap floats in stranded colorwork. The most important thing is to consider what kind of item youre knitting, and whos going to be wearing/using it. Follow the instructions in the. But, as crafters, we have, The new year is a fantastic time to reflect on last year's accomplishments. Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. We recommend starting with a hat and only two colours just dive in and enjoy the learning process! This creates floats, where yarns pass across the back for several stitches. Wanting to try stranded color work or Fair Isle knitting, but feeling a little intimidated? We just don't get along. It is my goal for this winter to knit my first colorwork sweater. Thank you for the idea of tying ends and letting them felt themselves over time. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. You cant avoid them, but they need to be loose so they arent causing your fabric to pinch in. strands can be tightened, but its virtually impossible to loosen stitches that are too tight. And you can see these steps in action here: trapping long floats carrying both yarns in your left handfromDiannaonVimeo. How can one get a copy of the pattern? I don't want to have long strands of floats inside the hat, nor do I want it to be too tight. Youve effectively trapped the float already! Insertyour right needle into the next stitch, making sure to go BEHIND your float yarn. For just a few stitches, this is fine and tidy! Its better to stagger the tension so you dont end up with one column of stitches pulling towards the inside of the project. Most knitters would probably leave shorter floats (with three stitches or less) alone, but floats of five or more stitches may benefit from wrapping. Maureen Murley 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. I am a knitting chicken. I like to knit stranded colourwork holding one yarn in each hand. Your email address will not be published. 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. Cotton or acrylic blend yarns are not ideal because they are too smooth to cling together properly and dont have the memory that wool does to hold its shape. I hope it helps you or at least entertains you. Float is a common term for the strand of yarn that runs across the back of colorwork fabric the strand that makes colorworkstranded. With two hands, color work is both addictive and soothing. In reality, there are a few different methods, but Ill be demonstrating what I think is the most common below. Youll see the left-hand yarn strand is wrapped behind that stitch, keeping it tame. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. You can work any increase or decrease stitch in the colour shown. Nothing wrong with that, but it would slow you down a bit. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. 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. September 24, 2021 @ As you work following the chart, the fabric grows to create the pattern shown, so you can look at the colourwork chart and make a fair guess at what the finished product will look like theyre closely related. The most important thing is to consider what kind of item youre knitting, and whos going to be wearing/using it. A huge thank you for sharing your wisdom! These cookies do not store any personal information. October 5, 2021 @ Of course, which color you want to be the dominant one is entirely up to youand since its September 27, 2021 @ Dive into stranded colorwork with confidence with a section on reading charts, working floats, and choosing . Keep in mind that wrapped floats may sometimes be visible from the front of the work, so test I've been knitting for 2 years and I want to tackle some colorwork to keep expanding my skill set! Alexa Ludeman Ive taught countless colourwork classes and literally NEVER had a student who couldnt learn to do colourwork using this method but they did find it difficult it at first (theres always a bit of cursing). trapping long floats while using the two-handed stranded colorwork methodfromDiannaonVimeo. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. A critical thing to keep in mind when knitting colorwork is where you're holding your main color (MC) vs. 1. 9:28 am. Really enjoyed your Q & A youtube video, very useful as a newbie to stranded knitting making the most of lockdowns in UK to experiment! September 29, 2021 @ The guidance suggested catching the floats (the stitches youre carrying of one colour behind the colour youre working with) every [], [] After that I got to start on the yoke and the colourwork. Mary Bringyour float yarn (right hand) behind and aroundthe right needle as though you are going to knit but don'tcomplete the stitch. Stranded colorwork knitting is referred to as such because of thesestrands(orfloats) left on the inside of your work. There is enough of the contrast grey []. 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. December 2, 2021 @ This scarf will keep you warm even on the coldest windswept shore.. Start small! 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. 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. :). The only color you knit to create a new stitch is the one from your right hand. Read More. 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. Some knitters like to wrap floats frequently and regularly, while others do so when the floats feel too If a pattern row has you knit two white stitches, then two black stitches and repeat that to the end of the row, you could literally knit the two white stitches, drop the yarn, pick up the black yarn and knit two stitches, drop it, etc. knit with US 6 needles, for instance. Katherine Hill 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. Most knitters would probably leave shorter September 28, 2021 @ knitting words, by repeating the same word in a row, but then stacking the words in a quote, phrase or sentence. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. stitches on either side of every wrapped stitch or the weaving effect wont work. 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. The only color you knit to create a new stitch is the one from your left hand. wrapping. Twist your float yarn around your working yarn. [] used Dianna Wallas tutorials for dominant strands and trapping floats. These non-traditional colorwork charts are perfect for the creative knitter . Firstly:what is a float, and why would I need to trap it? 4:42 pm. We recommend a tool called a Yarn Guide that slips Most often, knitters will "lock" these floats if they become longer than 3 or 4 stitches. 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. Knit Picks and KnitPicks.com are registered trademarks of Crafts Americana Group, Inc. Blocking colourwork isnt really different from any other kind of blocking, but it is CRITICAL! But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. beginning projects for stranded colorwork. Give it a try and see if its the solution for you. The two-handed method is great because the two yarns do not get tangled. Enjoy! Eva Alexa Ludeman Completethestitch withyour working yarn. You can clip off a little more after you block the piece. youre ready to go. 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. Im going to queue it up today and start looking through my stash for appropriate yarn (or I may just have to spring for the luscious Fibre Company Road to China Light thats used in the book!). The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. 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. If your stitches are twisted, then you are bringing the yarn through the wrong way. I loved your tutorial on catching floats! In this example, the dominant color, carried in my left hand, is the contrasting color (blue), while the background color, carried in my right hand, is the main color (charcoal).