knitting colorwork without floats
Colorwork motifs are often presented in charts, as this is an intuitive and shorthand way of showing how the motif builds round by round. rightand you should keep this consistent throughout the whole project. Knitting colourwork (also known as stranded colourwork or Fair Isle knitting) may seem difficult, but its actually quite simple. 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. Itll make the finished knit look a lot better because it will even out the stitches and help the yarn bloom. September 27, 2021 @ 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! Ive never knitted a scarf in the round; it forms a tube and when youre done knitting the main part of the scarf, you knit the front and back together with a version of the three-needle bind-off without actually doing the bind-off part. Oneof the questions I get most often from students or knitters working from my patterns is how to trap floats in stranded colorwork. Ive heard of some people switching to a larger needle for the color work. With this weather were all having, doesnt this scarf sound tempting? September 27, 2021 @ 7:46 am. September 24, 2021 @ By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. 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. So for knitted fabric thats likely to come into things that may catch on floats, like fingers and toes, we musttraporcatchlong floats to anchor them to the fabric. Please, for the sake of your sanity, choose a pattern thats knit in the round! floats (with three stitches or less) alone, but floats of five or more stitches may benefit from strands can be tightened, but its virtually impossible to loosen stitches that are too tight. 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. Your great presenation has take the fear out of at lease trying colorwork. Weve got an opinion (or three) on this topic! September 24, 2021 @ 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. You cant avoid them, but they need to be loose so they arent causing your fabric to pinch in. I have a question, how loose should I knit when changing colors ? Thank you so much! Hats or mittens are also great choices. 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. yarns at a time. 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! 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. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Don. I get this question a lot, and its a tricky one to answer. This method (pictured below), I knit continental style, with two strand on left hand. October 28, 2021 @ We believeswatchingis an important part of the process of beginning any project. One thing that is important to keep in mind in stranded colorwork knitting ismaintaining even float tension. Stitches & Technique Finally, spread out your sweater and leave it to air-dry. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. :). Some patterns, such as the Ajiro Scarf, require that the non-working yarn is carried farther7 stitches in this case (see chart at right). in your left or right hand, its important to keep the strands separate enough that you dont All of them take some getting used to, so try each method and then spend some time practicing (preferably on a small project or even a What is the best method for making sure your floats are loose enough when knitting. This looks tricky to the uninitiated; however, the pattern is formed using only knit stitches, so its not nearly as complicated as it looks! Personally, I dont like this approach. Some simply experiment with how they hold the yarn until they get The method you use to strand your working yarns may also have different effects on your tension. Colorwork motifs are often presented in charts, as this is an intuitive and shorthand way of showing how the motif builds round by round. One of the many reasons we love this technique is that it creates a visually intricate fabric, but is deceivingly simple to work. Enjoy! I know its a slow work in progress. How To: Catch Floats in Colorwork - Twisted Elizabeth DeHaven Abel accidentally pick or throw the wrong one. Add a dot to the boxes that are purl, and leave the knit stitches blank. 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. Most often, knitters will "lock" these floats if they become longer than 3 or 4 stitches. exactly the opposite. Really enjoyed your Q & A youtube video, very useful as a newbie to stranded knitting making the most of lockdowns in UK to experiment! The long float pictured at the bottom of the swatch isnt trapped at all, so its floating across all twelve stitches. 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. 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. If you stop here and look at your float, youll see that its caught in the space between the stitch you just knit and the previous stitch. I love your blog and all your instructions along with perfectly placed videos! Thank you. Learn how stranded colorwork can be used in design with five accompanying projects including mitts, cowls, and sweaters. Thank you for the idea of tying ends and letting them felt themselves over time. Below is a video demonstrating my method for knitting colorwork sans floats. A float carried across five stitches in fingering weight is a much shorter float than one carried across five stitches in bulky yarn. Of course, which color you want to be the dominant one is entirely up to youand since its Stranded colorwork knitting is referred to as such because of thesestrands(orfloats) left on the inside of your work. Remember, loose stitches or 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!) 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. Floats are the yarn thats carried behind the stitches across a row. Most knitters would probably leave shorter floats (with three stitches or less) alone, but floats of five or more stitches may benefit from wrapping. You may have heard of trapping floats, but Ill let you in on a little secret: Emily and I almost never trap our floats! Your email address will not be published. What's a Knitter To Do? Theres no wrong way to knit, and theres no wrong way to knit colourwork. long for their taste. you get. I hate to avoid stranded knitting or fair isle because I love, love the look, but I dont want to ruin a lovely pattern with novice work. Okay, excellent, so do I! So, dont let the fear of making mistakes stop you from trying a new technique. 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. 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. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. When doing more than 4 stitches in a row, just flip the unwanted color over the correct color. This is a very secure way to trap the float. The timing of this is hilarious. Most knitters would probably leave shorter The two-handed method is great because the two yarns do not get tangled. This is my biggest hurdle in colourwork-the float tension. 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. Most color work patterns use a light to medium weight wool yarn our Nature Spun Fingering, Nature Spun Sport, Lanaloft Sport, and Prairie Spun DK are ideal for color work projects. youre ready to go. Ive done a couple colorwork projects and I appreciate all of this good info in one place! Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. 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. the other, you may need to readjust your tension frequently as you pull from one strand more than the When you join a new ball of yarn, just weave it in for 1 1/2 to 2 inches using the tacking technique. jane Straut Wanting to try stranded color work or Fair Isle knitting, but feeling a little intimidated? 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. the other, as is the case when just carrying two yarns in one hand without the Yarn Guide. Whats the process for trapping non-dominant float? Wool will naturally relax into a smooth, even surface after blocking to improve any tight or loose spots in your knitting. click here to sign up for our newsletter & well send you a free PDF download of the Jeanette Hat & Scarf Pattern, Guide to Subbing Brown Sheep Yarns in Knit & Crochet Patterns. Insertyour right needle into the next stitch, making sure to go BEHIND your float yarn. 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). Lisa Narayanan 1. This email came at the perfect time. to you and that allows you to get the most even tension in your knitting. through, push the left-hand yarn strand back off the working needle. This is a very secure way to trap the float. Knitting Tutorials Andrea Rangel trapping long floats in stranded colorwork. Ive found that this method of weaving in works best with worsted-weight and smaller yarns. Hi Anna For the odd 3 colour round I usually have one yarn in my right and two yarns in my left, but I drop and pick up with the two in my left hand. Thanks again! When you come to the stitch you want to wrap, put your working needle into the stitch on the Complete thestitch with your working yarn. If you dont, its a good bet that youll pull the non-working yarn a little too tight, causing puckering problems. I recently completed a color work sweater and the yoke is snugger than the body. Thank you. 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. A quick little video showing how to cable without a cable needle. Wrapping Floats To keep the back of your work tidy, you may want to consider securing the longer loose strands, or "floats," by wrapping the two yarns while you're knitting. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. There are several ways knitters do this, and the right choice is the one that feels most comfortable Please confirm you want to block this member. We recommend starting with a hat and only two colours just dive in and enjoy the learning process! 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. For me, lifes too short to purl in colorwork! Winter begins to feel interminable around this time of year. Thank you! What exactly is color work? Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Moveyour float yarn over the working yarn and back around behind the right needle. I am a knitting chicken. 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! My blue floating yarn is trapped on either side of the 6th stitch. After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. I do colorwork using continental knitting, with both strands on my left forefinger. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Hi. The unused yarn ends up floating behind the pattern. Thanks! 1:35 pm. September 27, 2021 @ 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. 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. 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. The only color you knit to create a new stitch is the one from your right hand. Im working on it and I realize no matter which method I use for trapping the longer floats, Ill sometimes have to loosen the yarn. You want the design to appear as if its laid over the top of the background color, rather than trying My UPS gal surprised me again the other day with several new Interweave books full of wonderful, inventive projects. The long float pictured at the top of the swatch is trapped twice so that the blue float never carries across more than fourstitches (it looks like three shorter floats instead). So Im sorry Im not the most helpful person for that! I have done very little colorwork but am working on a hat with some simple(ish) colorwork. The charcoal grey isthe working yarnfor that length, while the light blue yarn is being carried across the back (the floating yarn). 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. 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 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. knit with US 6 needles, for instance. Unlike other types of colorwork knitting techniques (such as striping or intarsia), stranded colorwork requires you to carry along the strand of yarn not in use across the back of the work. Think of the dominant color as the one creating the design rather than the one creating the background. Ive made it pretty clear to the knitting world that when it comes to colorwork, floats and I are incompatible. For more information, please see our September 28, 2021 @ Use this method when your WORKING yarn is in your LEFT hand and your FLOAT yarn is in your RIGHT hand. 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. I loved your tutorial on catching floats! September 29, 2021 @ > >, Knitting on an Airplane and Other Travel Tips for Makers, Why You Shouldn't Buy a Knitter Yarn as a Gift, Reasons to Take Your WIP to a Sporting Event, A Free Bracelet Beading Pattern for Valentines Day. 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? 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. Before you pull the left-hand yarn through, push the right-hand yarn strand back off the working The yarn thats not currently being used is drawn across the back of the work, and those strands are called floats. This is perfect timing. 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. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. If you do want to trap your floats, its as simple as twisting your two yarns together. If you happen to know both styles of knitting (I do know both because I learned to knit English-style and then converted to Continental-style), work one strand in your right hand to throw and one strand in your left hand to pick. each yarn strand in its own pathway. September 27, 2021 @ Likely because I need to work on the tension of my floats. 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. This past week I was thinking, Maybe if I had someone really break it down for me . Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge. 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. So what do I do? dont. Tension is the most difficult aspect to master in colorwork knitting. You can find more information about Knitter's Pride needles from these retailers: Bryson Distributing Accessories Unlimited Knitter's Pride Shop finder Their work is highly influenced by their Scandinavian background and their everyday life in rural Norway. 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). This is convenient because youre always looking at the knit side of the work and thus can ensure that the pattern is forming correctly. moon sprites & icelandic wool month at tolt, Float is a common term for the strand of yarn that runs across the back of colorwork fabric the strand that makes colorwork, So, if Im knitting a piece that has long floats, how often should I trap them? Follow the instructions in the. This was so helpful! Without Youll definitely want to block your colourwork piece after you complete it, and regular wet blocking works just fine. 4:42 pm. 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. Keep in mind that wrapped floats may sometimes be visible from the front of the work, so test December 2, 2021 @ How can one get a copy of the pattern? Then you knit a stitch (or several) in another colour - let's call it the contrast colour (CC). Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. Alexa Ludeman tangled, then, is key to working with multiple colors. 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. Just perfect. 10:06 am. and our Sometimes the toughest bit is casting on :), askcarolynwarren The pattern can have a million different colors included, but only two are used within a single row. 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. Like Alex I am interested in tidy float catching, working on a sock flat heel (stranded patterning a feature on it) ..so purling involved. Also, if you need to catch floats in a bunch of rows dont catch in the same place every row. November 1, 2021 @ It maysoundprecise at first, but when you think about it, gauge makes this an incredibly imprecise way to go about it. left-hand 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. 5:52 am. A critical thing to keep in mind when knitting colorwork is where you're holding your main color (MC) vs. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. (Ask me how I know! By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. 5:56 am. Check out our tutorial on swatching for colourwork here. needle and wrap the yarn from your right hand around the working needle as if to knit itbut Feel free to post questions in the comments, orshare other tips or methods you know of!