document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Fervent fiber nerd and frequent baker living in Norway. Your explanations and videos are so helpful (as always). Hi Julie The key to tension in colourwork is keeping those floats nice and loose. Just perfect. You can find more information about Knitter's Pride needles from these retailers: Bryson Distributing Accessories Unlimited Knitter's Pride Shop finder How To Finish Intarsia Knitting And vice versa hold the Background Color in your right hand and strand it above the Dominant Color on the WS of the fabric. 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. Tension will be easiest to tackle if you choose a pattern that doesn't require long floats. 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. strands can be tightened, but its virtually impossible to loosen stitches that are too tight. Theres a big difference between a knitted bag youll sew a lining into and a pair of mittens or socks. Whether you hold the yarn September 27, 2021 @ I love your blog and all your instructions along with perfectly placed videos! [] used Dianna Wallas tutorials for dominant strands and trapping floats. These cookies do not store any personal information. Most knitters would probably leave shorter floats (with three stitches or less) alone, but floats of five or more stitches may benefit from wrapping. That being said, if a rule doesnt jive with your personal preferences, thats perfectly fine! These cookies do not store any personal information. In this video I demonstrate a couple of ways to carry floats in fair isle knitting. The project that that strikes my fancy for todays post is from Vintage Modern Knits by Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn. Enjoy! So Im sorry Im not the most helpful person for that! We just don't get along. And before embarking on a sweater-sized project, its wise to do a swatch first. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Videos. . needle and wrap the yarn from your right hand around the working needle as if to knit itbut These non-traditional colorwork charts are perfect for the creative knitter . Thanks! CraftGossipAbout CraftGossipContact Us | Privacy and affiliate policy, This Colorwork Cowl is a Great Way to Play with Color, Grab a Deal on Knitting Designs through 11/29, How to use a reusable adhesive to make reverse stamps, Spring Minis and What to Do with Mini Cross Stitch Patterns, Fun Games for St. Patricks Day Class Parties, Free Knitting Pattern Twisted Stitch Blanket, 20+ Airplane Themed Quilt And Block Patterns. The Knitting Man's Tiny Shorts, How to knit stranded colorwork NO FLOATS METHOD - in just 3 minutes - colourwork fairisle techniques tutorial Teaching and g. colorwhether on one finger, in a Yarn Guide, or in your left hand while the other strand is in your Also note that if you Your videos have inspired and taught me so much. UFO to WIP: Can This Crochet or Knitting Project Be Saved? You can see how much easier it is to catch a finger (or a toe, or a hand) on the open, un-trapped float: So, if Im knitting a piece that has long floats, how often should I trap them? Follow the instructions in theSwatching for Circular Knittingsection of ourSwatching 101article to learn more. The basketweave pattern is reminiscent of fishing nets, so I chose blue and natural colors to accentuate the ideas of sea and shore. September 29, 2021 @ In typical fair isle knitting, as you switch from one color to another, the inactive color drops to the back of the work. 2010 - 2022 Tin Can Knits. Most knitters would probably leave shorter 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. Weve got a long list of posts that are all about picking palettes and combining colours. I was told it is never too loose when knitting multi colors . You cant avoid them, but they need to be loose so they arent causing your fabric to pinch in. After steaming, the scarf is so cozy and warm! (We found that for this reason, colorwork charts are quite helpful forlearning how to read knitting charts.). Going up a needles size can help compensate for this tighter tension. October 4, 2021 @ This method (pictured below), the other, as is the case when just carrying two yarns in one hand without the Yarn Guide. trapping long floats in stranded colorwork. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. *Membership cannot be purchased with Gift Cards. Thank you! Maureen Murley The background color/main color is also my working yarn here, while the dominant/contrasting color is being carried across the wrong side of the work. over your finger like a ring, halting at or near your first knuckle, with a multi-channel top that keeps I do colorwork using continental knitting, with both strands on my left forefinger. Don. 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. True Fair Isle knitting is more specific originating from the island of its namesake in Shetland, northern Scotland but generally can be used interchangeably with the term colorwork. There are a number of ways to manage the tension of your floats. CARRYING YARNS WITH THE TWO-HANDED METHOD. 8:01 am. The unused yarn ends up "floating" behind the pattern. 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. Our Jeanette Scarf is a nice choice because its knit in a small tube in the round (its also available as a free download when you sign up for our newsletter!). rightand you should keep this consistent throughout the whole project. Hats or mittens are also great choices. Color in the boxes with two or more colors. 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. To accomplish this, you need to invisibly tack down or "catch" the float on the wrong side of your work as you knit with the working yarn. If you only feel comfortable as either a picker (Continental knitter) or a thrower (English 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. (Ask me how I know! could work with one color at a time, constantly dropping one and picking up the other and then back Stranded colorwork knitting is referred to as such because of these, One thing that is important to keep in mind in stranded colorwork knitting is, There are a number of ways to manage the tension of your floats. If you finish knitting something and onlythenrealize that you should have trapped the long floats dont worry! (Wondering what the dominant yarn is? . If youve been too intimidated to give colourwork a try, this tutorial will demystify the process and take you through it step by step. You can clip off a little more after you block the piece. Katherine Hill In reality, there are a few different methods, but Ill be demonstrating what I think is the most common below. Blocking colourwork isnt really different from any other kind of blocking, but it is CRITICAL! Ive heard of some people switching to a larger needle for the color work. tutorials Andrea Rangel July 26, . 10:53 am. 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. left-hand November 1, 2021 @ swatch) the one you prefer. Your email address will not be published. A quick little video showing how to cable without a cable needle. If you can pick up a regular knit stitch, then you can definitely pick up and fix a dropped stitch within a section of color work. 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. Typically, stranded colourwork is knit in the round, rather than back and forth in rows. I often stick with what I know instead of trying new things. What are your thoughts on this? You can seein the photo abovethat Ive worked the first 5 stitches of my 21-stitch span. Im assuming you are right handed. 1:50 am, Good luck! Oneof the questions I get most often from students or knitters working from my patterns is how to trap floats in stranded colorwork. 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. I definitely feel more confident. Step 1: Put the knitting thimble on like you would a ring so it rests firmly on the first knuckle of your index finger. Typical stranded colorwork motifs are worked with two different colors per round, with the colors changes happening often (this keeps the floats short). Working continental on left hand and throwing (english) on the right hand ..your Q & A video showed a way of simply holding up the work and turning it through 360 deggiving that a go if all else fails (thankfully its not a jumper size or such like. If you're unsure about what patterns to start with, we recommend the following form our Pattern Database (from left to right): Lucerne, Morse, Seeds, and Sommers. Enjoy! 1. 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 than, That being said, if a rule doesnt jive with your personal preferences, thats perfectly fine! Likely because I need to work on the tension of my floats. Keep one ball of yarn on either side of you while youre knitting, so youll not only keep the 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. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? This creates floats, where yarns pass across the back for several stitches. 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). This is convenient because youre always looking at the knit side of the work and thus can ensure that the pattern is forming correctly. Once you have gone over all the puckered fabric in this manner, repeat from the start - until the floats have stretched sufficiently. It maysoundprecise at first, but when you think about it, gauge makes this an incredibly imprecise way to go about it. Use this method when your WORKING yarn is in your RIGHT hand and your FLOAT yarn is in your LEFT hand. Below is a video demonstrating my method for knitting colorwork sans floats. 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. Tacking Long Floats. Equipped with the basics of stranded colorwork knitting, you can now proceed with confidence! too loosely can make the fabric look messy. I am sort of figuring it out as I go but it is a little wonky. Follow the instructions in the. Learn how stranded colorwork can be used in design with five accompanying projects including mitts, cowls, and sweaters. When carrying both yarns in the left hand, you may need to use your thumb to hold the floating yarn (blue) out of the way. 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. 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. January 22, 2022 @ By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. I'd start with something where there's only a few stitches between colors so you don't have really long floats. Tension is my struggle-any tips or videos on how to tension properly to avoid floats? When you come to the stitch you want to wrap, put your working needle into the stitch on the Heres a closer look at what that looks like from the wrong side of the fabric: You can see how the float is trapped at the sixth charcoal grey stitch. Wool will naturally relax into a smooth, even surface after blocking to improve any tight or loose spots in your knitting. September 27, 2021 @ December 2, 2021 @ Because knitted fabric is elastic, the floats traveling behind worked stitches must be long enough to span the width of those stitches, both when stretched and relaxed. 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. In this example, the dominant yarn is the floating yarn, while the background yarn is the working yarn. 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. I don't want to have long strands of floats inside the hat, nor do I want it to be too tight. What's a Knitter To Do? With two hands, color work is both addictive and soothing. We hope you enjoy it! See our Japanese site: http://arne-carlos.co.jp/ Instagram: arnecarlos Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARNE-CARLOS-164370623579070/?fref=ts Buy our yarn here: http://arnecarlos.com/yarn/ Buy our books here: http://arnecarlos.com/buy/ You find all the patterns in our blog: http://arnecarlos.com/blog/For any business inquiries please contact:anna@noefornett.no Focus on one section of the fabric at a time and knead it. Hi Elizabeth Thanks so much for your kind words! I know its a slow work in progress. 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. Knit 2 or 3 stitches with MC (2 stitches shown in illustration), insert the right-hand needle tip into the next stitch on the left-hand needle, place the non-working yarn (in this case, CC) over the right-hand needle . used to, so try each method and then spend some time practicing (preferably on a small project or even a 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. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Step 2: Thread the first color (your dominant color) through the left eyelet by wedging it through the cleft and pulling the tail down. You have inspired me to cast on a colourwork hat this week! Some folks will tell you to trap floats every 3, 5, 7, 10+ stitches, but we almost never do (mittens are the exception). This looks like a really fun project, and the authors have included a little tutorial about how to deal with long floats, too, which is one of the challenges lots of Fair Isle knitting projects. I get this question a lot, and its a tricky one to answer. can try both out on a colorwork swatch before you cast on to see which you prefer. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Thank you All Rights Reserved. jane Straut There are a multitude of techniques used to carry two strands of yarn across a row of knitting. 9:28 am. Dive into stranded colorwork with confidence with a section on reading charts, working floats, and choosing . Stranded colorwork knitting, recognizable by allover patterning or bands of color motifs, is prominent in many knitting traditions around the world and continues to inspire countless more iterations of creative colorplay today. needle. In reality, there are a few different methods, but Ill be demonstrating what I think is the most common below. September 26, 2021 @ 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. Remember, loose stitches or For me, lifes too short to purl in colorwork! With a little practice, you can master these techniques and they will There are two commonly used techniques for wrapping the unused color behind your work while you are 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. I was introduced to your helpful tutorials when knitting the Grumpy Grandpa Cardigan. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Stretch Gently stretch out the stitches on your right needle as you strand the unused yarn across the back of these stitches (Photo 1 below).