Stranded color knitting is the knitters versionof painting by numberand just assimple. Posted by 3 years ago. Now my tension is perfect every time! With practice, youllfind the right balance. 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. What exactly is color work? These are just my preferred methods. I found this page which shows a technique for capturing the floats & providing a nice stretch. The good news is that picking up dropped stitches in color work is actually not hard! For me, lifes too short to purl in colorwork! This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Required fields are marked *. If youve tried this out and you still think your colorwork is coming out too tight, roll up your sleeves and get ready to try a few different methods, keeping in mind that some things may work for you and some may not; theres a lot of trial and error in knitting! Knitting on an Airplane and Other Travel Tips for Makers, Why You Shouldn't Buy a Knitter Yarn as a Gift. Knitting on an Airplane and Other Travel Tips for Makers, Why You Shouldn't Buy a Knitter Yarn as a Gift. "Float" is a common term for the strand of yarn that runs across the back of colorwork fabric - the strand that makes colorwork stranded. (Side note: its always better to have floats that are a little long than a little short you can always draw in the slack when youre weaving in ends, but you cant make a short float longer.). Please, for the sake of your sanity, choose a pattern thats knit in the round! The two-handed method is great because the two yarns do not get tangled. Whats the process for trapping non-dominant float? Knittersgenerally find that their gauge is tighter, with more stitches perinch, over stranded areas than plain stockinette stitch. Let the socks dry onsock blockers to help them keep their shape (Photo 7 below). Colorwork knitting inside out for socksfrom Melissa B This is a very secure way to trap the float. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. When you join a new ball of yarn, just weave it in for 1 1/2 to 2 inches using the tacking technique. Omit them, of course! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Fervent fiber nerd and frequent baker living in Norway. In order tokeep the tensionof your sock from getting too tight, you may want to considerletting your floats go a little longer without catching them thanyou normally would; catching floats too frequently can make thefabric less flexible. Its possible to trap those long floats as youre weaving in ends after the fact (and if there isnt a long end to weave in where you need to trap a float, you can take a spare bit of leftover yarn and just weave it into the wrong side of the fabric as if it were an end, trapping the floats as you go). The amount of elasticity you can achieve will also depend on how the yarn was spun and how many plies it has. Wanting to try stranded color work or Fair Isle knitting, but feeling a little intimidated? and our After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. Although you also dont want loose, wobblystitches, remember that even if some stitches look large when youfirst try it, youll be able to wear the socks. There is enough of the contrast grey []. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Conversely, depending on the knitter, a very smooth yarncan also cause less elastic knitting because it will be easy to pull your stitches tight without meaning to as the smooth yarn fibers slide right past each other. This is also part of why steeking is so common in these places sticky wools are unlikely to unravel when the stitches are cut. The duplicate-stitch weaving closely mimics the pathof the yarn and will stretch almost the same amount as the originalstitches. Colorwork without stranded floats? Required fields are marked *. I hope it helps you or at least entertains you. Most socks are knitted a tad smaller in circumferencethan the actual measurements of your calf and foot; theelasticity of the knitted fabric generally allows them to stretch. That being said, if a rule doesnt jive with your personal preferences, thats perfectly fine! 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. Colorwork Sans Floats I've made it pretty clear to the knitting world that when it comes to colorwork, floats and I are incompatible. Some wools that areknownfor colorwork are very sticky wools, like Shetland wool or Lopi. You have done it again, Marie! (Wondering what the dominant yarn is? Floats are the yarn thats carried behind the stitches across a row. An inelastic fabric will not stretch to allow your heel to passthrough or pull in to gently hug your leg. In reality, there are a few different methods, but Ill be demonstrating what I think is the most common below. Thank you!! Because strandedcolorwork does not have the same stretch capacity as plain stockinetteknitting, you have a real problem. Since different colors of yarn are used throughout thepatterned areas of socks (sometimes for only one round! Tacking Long Floats. Enjoy! I loved your tutorial on catching floats! Giving the stranded section a slightly larger gauge thanthe rest of the sock can help avoid a too-tight sock. AboutPressCopyrightContact. If you want to explore this issue in further depth, I recommend checking out some of the following links to blog posts, videos, and books. Stitches just knit spaced out along the right needle. Don. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Please confirm you want to block this member. UFO to WIP: Can This Crochet or Knitting Project Be Saved? By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. If you have any other tips foreasing up tight colorwork, Id love to hear themin the comments! 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. The Knitters Book of YarnandThe Knitters Book of Woolby Clara Parkes 256-266 (2012 edition) That said, it is important to remember to catch those floats overlong stretches of more than six stitches where a color isnt used(Photo 4 above). With two hands, color work is both addictive and soothing. 22:34 Jessica McDonald 3.6K. Many knitters like to wrap each strand around a different finger and knit all stitches English style (throwing) or Continental style (picking). Remember that there are no rules here and experimentation is key trying a new method often feels awkward at first, and your gauge may shift as you settle into it, but until youve given it a shot, how can you say it wont work? This is a very secure way to trap the float. Picking Both Colours with One Hand. Stretch your damp sock gently in severaldirections to even out stitches and floats. How often to catch floats when working colorwork comes down to personal preference. I get this question a lot, and its a tricky one to answer. 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. We just don't get along. The basics of colourwork knitting How to read a colourwork chart How to hold two yarns at the same time Floats and tension Joining a new colour Increases and decreases Yarn dominance Blocking Tangled yarns Weaving in ends Yarn choices in colourwork Choosing a colourwork palette The basics of colourwork knitting If youve tried working colorwork on DPNs and found it to be too tight, try knitting a swatch on circular needles (eithertwo circsor with themagic loopmethod) to see if that changes your gauge or elasticity. Colorwork without stranded floats? Below is a video demonstrating my method for knitting colorwork sans floats. This tutorial will be all about the standard double knitting technique to created reversible colorwork. It produces intricate patterns usingjust two different-colored yarns per round and astraightforward chart. Lisas List: 10 Reasons Knitting Is Better Than Dating, Spurned Gifts: When Knit & Crochet Gifts Went Wrong. I work the cuff, heel, and toe ofmy socks at a smaller gauge, using a smaller needle, then changeto a larger needle to work the stranded portions. Please note: There are more than 2 ways to catch a float. 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. 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. My blue floating yarn is trapped on either side of the 6th stitch. The color changes in Fair Isle are close together. It can be tricky tovisualize, but with the work turned inside out, youre working on the far side of the tube, rather than the near side. A pattern like. 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. So, dont let the fear of making mistakes stop you from trying a new technique. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Im all about creativity. Here is a nice tutorial from Jimmy Beans Wool on how to catch floats. Now settled backin the mountains of Northern California, Terry enjoys thesocialization of knitting with friends once again. Privacy Policy. Tension will be easiest to tackle if you choose a pattern that doesn't require long floats. not stretched out), theres no indication of whether or not your knitting will be stretchy. If the pattern repeat for your sock issmallfor example, a four-stitch repeatyou can simply increasefour stitches after the cuff and work an additional repeat. CraftyGarden: N. 62 Condor's Croft and Garden 22K views 3. Instead of finishing the single crochet stitch as you normally would, take the color you are not working with (that is hanging from your work), put it on the hook. Make a swatch topractice spacing your stitches on the needle until youve had somesuccess and know how much space is too much. The two colours can be held on the same finger or two different fingers (say, index . Intro to Stranded Colorwork // Technique Tuesday Tutorials Catching / Trapping Floats Invisibly. trapping long floats in stranded colorwork. Tension will be easiest to tackle if you choose a pattern that doesnt require long floats. 4. You can read aboutcolor dominance here.). 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. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('interstitial-ad');}); Save patterns, share updates, and connect with your community. The color that isn't being worked is carried at the back, making a float, before being worked again. Colorwork Without Interlocking Floats - Technique Tuesday Alpaca Direct 8.4K subscribers Subscribe 1.1K views 1 year ago ALPACA DIRECT, LLC Kelley Hobart from Alpaca Direct shares tips on how. Simply pick up loose bars of yarn in the order they belong (according to your chart), and youll be back in business. 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. While cruising full-time on her sailboat throughout CentralAmerica and the Caribbean islands, TERRY MORRIS foundedthe Holiday Mystery Gifts Yahoo Group. 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. Thanks! After knitting this stitch, I have 7 stitches of my 21-stitch span knit. The charcoal grey isthe working yarnfor that length, while the light blue yarn is being carried across the back (the floating yarn). Needle material(e.g. The culprits are the strands, or floats, which are lengths of yarnnot being knitted and simply carried along the back of the fabric. This distinguishes it from other colorwork methods like mosaic knitting or intarsia. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Easy Trick To Catch Long Floats flynnknit 3.46K subscribers Subscribe 20K views 1 year ago This tutorial is designed to show you one easy trick for catching long floats when you're knitting. And you can see these steps in action here: trapping long floats carrying both yarns in your left handfromDiannaonVimeo. 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. 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. Longer stretches with more than one float tends to make the floats tight, but it's easy enough to pull a little. Colorwork and fairisle knitting offer a range of beautiful, unique patterns. I thought it would be a good idea to finally address this issue! Please note: Whether you're brand new to colorwork knitting or have years of experience under your belt, this innovative new way to knit colorwork will transform your knitting! You cant seemuch of a difference between the gauges, but it makes a differencein the elasticity of the fabric. Here are some things to consider: Smoother yarns are closer to the top of the list, while stickier wools are towards the bottom. 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. The pattern can have a million different colors included, but only two are used within a single row. Firstly:what is a float, and why would I need to trap it? wood, metal, plastic) andneedle type(e.g. Tension is the most difficult aspect to master in color work knitting. 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. Please confirm you want to block this member. Im off to knit all the yoked colorwork sweaters now! According to designer Courtney Kelley, This scarf was inspired by a picture in Handschuhe, a vintage knitting book from Germany by Eva Maria Leszner. One of the most common problems knitters encounter when starting to knit in stranded colorwork is tight knitting. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. . 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. Knitosophy Designs uses cookies on our site to improve your experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. If you want to knit more than 4-5 stitches in a single color, you will have to catch floats. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. You can always try going up a needle size, as well many people need to adjust needle size between stockinette sections and colorwork sections when using the same yarn. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? Holding the main colour in my right hand (English) and the contrasting colour in my left hand (Continental). 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. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. A float carried across five stitches in fingering weight is a much shorter float than one carried across five stitches in bulky yarn. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. 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. Part Three: Decorative Techniques fromThe Principles of Knittingby June Hemmons Hiatt, particularly pp. That being said, theres a great deal of variation in how stretchy colorwork fabric is from knitter to knitter. Focus on one section of the fabric at a time and knead it. A yarn like Quince & Co. Chickadee is smooth and springy, because its worsted spun with three plies. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Stranded colorwork gets its name from these strands of yarn, commonly called floats, that travel through the back of the work. Next, measure the circumference of your knitting while stretchingit out as much as possible. For more information, please see our We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. I am starting my second color work project. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? Thank you. Leave the color that is not on the hook hanging (keep it attached to ball of yarn or bobbin, don't cut) We'll start at the very beginning - with foundational principles of the strandless method, then take it further with intermediate and advanced techniques. Needle type and needle material. Whether youre working on double-pointed needles or usingthe magic-loop method, you also need to be careful when workingthe first stitch on a new needle. Kelley Hobart from Alpaca Direct shares tips for knitting colorwork inside out to see if it improves the tension of your floats + new Free Giveaways! I've tried twisting the yarn less often too. This means you have to anchor the unused yarn by trapping it in between the needle and the working yarn on the backside so you don't end up with super long loops on the backside that my mess up your knitting. Your email address will not be published. The project that that strikes my fancy for todays post is from Vintage Modern Knits by Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn. 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. In fact, for a single knitter, theres variation in how stretchy their colorwork fabriccan be, depending on: Its important to consider theelasticityof your colorwork fabric, and to remember that it wont necessarily correspond with yourgauge since gauge is measured with the fabric resting (i.e. the larger circumference). To do this, start by turning your sock insideout on the needles so that you can see the right side of the workinside on the needle farthest from you. 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. Thoroughly soakyour socks in water, then roll them up in a towel to squeezeout any excess moisture. 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. Gently stretch out the stitches on your right needle as youstrand the unused yarn across the back of these stitches(Photo 1 below). The wrong side of the sockwith the floats will be outside (Photo 3 below). Feel free to post questions in the comments, orshare other tips or methods you know of! Sue Blacker on Woollen vs Worsted mill spinningon wovember.com But knitting colorwork can be a challenge. A long float would be considered more than 5 stitches in a row of one color before changing. Lately I've been on a colourwork-knitting kick, and thought I'd share my favorite methods for catching floats. Then move on to the section beside it. It may take some trial and error to get the hang of it, but Ive seen this method yield results for several people. This pulling can also really tighten your gauge and make garments too small. For more information, please see our You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The long float pictured at the bottom of the swatch isnt trapped at all, so its floating across all twelve stitches. Please confirm you want to block this member. Knitting inside out. Its better to stagger the tension so you dont end up with one column of stitches pulling towards the inside of the project. With the sock inside out, you can easily see both thecolor patterning from the previous rounds and the behavior ofyour floats at the same time. 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. The reason for this is that the outer circumference of a tube is larger than the inner circumference perhaps not by much, but with the thickness of colorwork fabric, youd be surprised and turning your work inside out positions the floats on the outside of the tube (i.e. Typical stranded colorwork motifs are worked with two different colors per round, with the colors changes happening often (this keeps the floats short). A tightergauge means a tighter sockone that wont fit. Someday I may get to this, but as of now Ive never really purled colorwork (beyond a small swatch with short floats). 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! So Im sorry Im not the most helpful person for that! Next: choose a natural, non-superwash wool yarn. Not following a pattern, just my rough one I made. Knit a few small swatches with different needle types/materials and see if it makes a difference for you! Origins & Inspiration for Strandless Knitting, Part 1: Knit with Me - Step by Step Using the Strandless Method, Part 2: Knit with Me - Step by Step Using the Strandless Method, Part 3: Knit with Me - Step by Step Using the Strandless Method. Its a lot to read through, but I hope you find it helpful and please let me know if you still have questions about this topic by the end. 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 means you can get gauge for a pattern likeHearth Slippersbut still have trouble with the fit if your fabric is too inelastic. Tryfollowing the pattern for the next size up, decreasing stitch countsfor the cuff and heel to fit. Knitting In the Round 3 Ways: DPNs, Two Circulars, or Magic Loop? To create a float that is the right length, spread out the stitches on your right needle just before you change colors. 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. 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. Carrying yarn. 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. Any other tricks? ),there are more yarn ends to weave in when finishing a stranded-colorsock. Crafty Confessions: Do You Make a Gauge Swatch? I get this question a lot, and its a tricky one to answer. Holding both yarns Continental, and picking each colour off of my finger as I need them. How can one get a copy of the pattern? If theres one thing Ive learned from my students, its that knitters are all over the map as far as which method works best for them. 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). Heres a birds eye view to help you visualize the difference between normal (right side out) circular knitting and inside out circular knitting. Fair Isle knitting, also known as stranded colorwork knitting, is a technique for working two (or more) colors of yarn in the same row. I have always loved the look of all those traditional colorwork sweaters but they can take so much time and worried that in the end all that effort would be wasted because of my tension. If youre working on DPNs, you can do this at the end of each needle; if youre working with circs (or over a large circumference, like a sweater yoke) you may want to check it at even intervals: every 8 stitches or so (or 6 stitches, or 10 stitches; whatever works for you!). The most important thing is to consider what kind of item youre knitting, and whos going to be wearing/using it. All Rights Reserved. This post took a little bit longer to put together than I wanted, but its finally ready to go! The last step is towet-blockyour socks. 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!). Enjoy! You can clip off a little more after you block the piece. Colorwork can be stressful worrying about having the right tension and this new method takes all of that away! Although these tricks may sound intimidating, strandedcolorwork isreally funto knitand the results are incrediblyrewarding. So what do I do? To demonstrate the difference that needle type can make, I have two swatches that I knit: both are unblocked, but both were knit with the exact same yarn on the exact same needle sizes: While the difference isnt huge at first glance, and these measurements are pretty quick-and-dirty rather than precise, the swatch on top is noticeably narrower than the swatch on the bottom when both are measured flat. This means picking up the float in the back of a stitch to hold it in place and keep some tension in the floating yarn so it doesnt pull too tight or loosen up. 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!
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colorwork without floats