September 28, 2021 @ needle. colourwork, techniques colourwork, tutorial. 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. Weve got some handy tips on making this dream a reality. Stitches & Technique Check out the pics below for a little inspiration and click your favourite to get the pattern! Some knitters go up a needle size (or two or three) just for left-hand beginning projects for stranded colorwork. tutorials Andrea Rangel January 15, 2020 video, tutorial, . Some knitters like to wrap floats frequently and regularly, while others do so when the floats feel too The basketweave pattern is reminiscent of fishing nets, so I chose blue and natural colors to accentuate the ideas of sea and shore. A Super Clever Way to Deal with Long Floats in Colorwork - Knitting 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. September 29, 2021 @ It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Tips for Stranded Colorwork Knitting - The Spruce Crafts You can seein the photo abovethat Ive worked the first 5 stitches of my 21-stitch span. 7:56 am. One of the challenging things about colorwork is working with two (or more!) After steaming, the scarf is so cozy and warm! 1:35 pm. your hands from getting twisted, the yarn balls stay tangle-free, too. knitting words, by repeating the same word in a row, but then stacking the words in a quote, phrase or sentence. Ive knit for over 50 years and have just stuck my toe into colorwork. To keep the back of your work tidy, you may want to consider securing the longer loose strands, or If you finish knitting something and onlythenrealize that you should have trapped the long floats dont worry! When you join a new ball of yarn, just weave it in for 1 1/2 to 2 inches using the tacking technique. Ive found that this method of weaving in works best with worsted-weight and smaller yarns. Thank you for the idea of tying ends and letting them felt themselves over time. The unused yarn ends up floating behind the pattern. 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. Eva This is all very helpful information. (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. the colorwork portions of a garmentusing US 9 needles on a colorwork yoke of a sweater thats otherwise For keeping those floats nice and loose I recommend trying a longer cord to your circular needle (this spreads out the stitches and forces those floats to be nice and long) and spreading out your stitches on the right hand needle after a long stretch of one colour. 8:17 am, Ive been embarking on my first colorwork sweater and of course, accidentally chose one where a few times, there are three colors within the same row! Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. 10:53 am. September 27, 2021 @ Most often, knitters will "lock" these floats if they become longer than 3 or 4 stitches. dont. For just a few stitches, this is fine and tidy! I often stick with what I know instead of trying new things. 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. KnitChats - Tip to Keep Loose Floats in Stranded Knitting It can elongate the stitches a little bit because youre adding bulk as youre knitting the stitch, which is especially noticeable when using larger-gauge yarns. Theres only what you prefer. CARRYING YARNS WITH THE TWO-HANDED METHOD. And vice versa hold the Background Color in your right hand and strand it above the Dominant Color on the WS of the fabric. Winter begins to feel interminable around this time of year. 8:59 pm. I recently completed a color work sweater and the yoke is snugger than the body. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Here's a video from Tiara the Unicorn explaining three different ways to catch floats, followed by written directions below that. into stranded colorwork with confidence with a section on reading charts, working floats, and choosing colors. Step 1: Put the knitting thimble on like you would a ring so it rests firmly on the first knuckle of your index finger. Its important to draw this yarn LOOSELY across the back of the work. These cookies do not store any personal information. 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. That being said, if a rule doesnt jive with your personal preferences, thats perfectly fine! Colorwork without stranded floats? : knitting - reddit.com Thank you!! But after a couple of hours of practice, everybody manages to get the hang of it. Wool will naturally relax into a smooth, even surface after blocking to improve any tight or loose spots in your knitting. 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. 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. If you dont, its a good bet that youll pull the non-working yarn a little too tight, causing puckering problems. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge. Some folks will tell you to trap floats every 3, 5, 7, 10+ stitches, but we almost never do (mittens are the exception). I so appreciate it and YOU! So, dont let the fear of making mistakes stop you from trying a new technique. 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. But if you're not working one color for a longer bit, that float can get so long that it is at risk ofsnagging on things (like fingers or earrings) or pulling and stretching your work. Emily Wessel Not following a pattern, just my rough one I made. Hi. 2010 - 2022 Tin Can Knits. needle and wrap the yarn from your right hand around the working needle as if to knit itbut Great tutorial. tangled, then, is key to working with multiple colors. September 27, 2021 @ The floats across the back of the work need to be flexible enough to allow the front of the work to lie flat. 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. Bringyour float yarn (right hand) behind and aroundthe right needle as though you are going to knit but don'tcomplete the stitch. Like Alex I am interested in tidy float catching, working on a sock flat heel (stranded patterning a feature on it) ..so purling involved. According to designer Courtney Kelley, This scarf was inspired by a picture in Handschuhe, a vintage knitting book from Germany by Eva Maria Leszner. I'd start with something where there's only a few stitches between colors so you don't have really long floats. Thank you for the information I feel more confident about trying colorwork . 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. Why would the shape be different from the color dominance? Cut off the excess yarn, leaving about a 1/2-inch tail. sometimes called Scandinavian knitting, is the one endorsed by Elizabeth Zimmerman in Knitting This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Yarn floats, the strands of yarn you carry behind your knitting for some colorwork, are perhaps the trickiest part of knitting colorwork for beginners. Five beginner-friendly Tips for Stranded Colorwork Knitting Unknown Knitting Colorwork: Tips & Tricks - Ms. Cleaver Knitting colourwork (also known as stranded colourwork or Fair Isle knitting) may seem difficult, but its actually quite simple. The project is a scarf called the Ajiro Scarf. Mary could work with one color at a time, constantly dropping one and picking up the other and then back 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 . That will trap the float. This effect is referred to ascolor dominanceand is a result of how the yarns are stranded in relationship to one another on the WS of the fabric as you work. you get. For more information, please see our If you do want to trap your floats, its as simple as twisting your two yarns together. Thank you for the simple, easy to follow directions. 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. 1:50 am, Good luck! your contrast color (CC). There are two commonly used techniques for wrapping the unused color behind your work while you are You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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 like. What Im gathering is that the ease of the floats comes with practice. 9:28 am. You cant avoid them, but they need to be loose so they arent causing your fabric to pinch in. These non-traditional colorwork charts are perfect for the creative knitter . Then you finish with 4 rows of garter stitch. Maureen Murley First of all: choose the right pattern for learning to knit with two colors at a time. 6:08 am. again, this is a very slow method and one thats more likely to result in frustration. 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. can try both out on a colorwork swatch before you cast on to see which you prefer. There is enough of the contrast grey []. 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. No need to trap floats there. The project that that strikes my fancy for todays post is from Vintage Modern Knits by Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Colorwork garments are extremely warm because of 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). You can clip off a little more after you block the piece. When flipped to be a Background Color (right), these Hammock stitches become smaller and less distinct. I know its a slow work in progress. This is a great email, which I just found because it went to spam. 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. Suck it up, buttercup those yarn tails arent gonna weave in themselves! A quick little video showing how to cable without a cable needle. 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. Thank you again for all your beautiful patterns and knitting lessons. Check out our posts about: You sure you really wanna open that can of worms? making sure no floats are longer than 1 or something similar). Learn how stranded colorwork can be used in design with five accompanying projects including mitts, cowls, and sweaters. 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. The only Marie Wallin garment Ive knit, I adapted to be knit in the round and I steeked the armholes and front neck. 11:20 am. ), Heres the tutorial for you! 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. I have done very little colorwork but am working on a hat with some simple(ish) colorwork. You want the design to appear as if its laid over the top of the background color, rather than trying Colorwork Sans Floats I've made it pretty clear to the knitting world that when it comes to colorwork, floats and I are incompatible. 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. Thank you!! October 28, 2021 @ Colorwork motifs are often presented in charts, as this is an intuitive and shorthand way of showing how the motif builds round by round. 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). You may have heard of trapping floats, but Ill let you in on a little secret: Emily and I almost never trap our floats! Okay, excellent, so do I! Tacking Long Floats. Thank you Wrapyour working yarn (left hand) around the right needle as though to knit but don't complete the stitch yet. Hats or mittens are also great choices. This is convenient because youre always looking at the knit side of the work and thus can ensure that the pattern is forming correctly. One of the many reasons we love this technique is that it creates a visually intricate fabric, but is deceivingly simple to work. And before embarking on a sweater-sized project, its wise to do a swatch first. Sometimes the toughest bit is casting on :), askcarolynwarren 5:52 am. Stranded colorwork without floats in 3 minutes - THE KNITTING - YouTube Hi Eva This isnt the most satisfying answer but: if you have big Vs it probably means its a little too loose. [] used Dianna Wallas tutorials for dominant strands and trapping floats. Before you pull the left-hand yarn through, push the right-hand yarn strand back off the working No matter what you decide, the dominant color should always be held to the left of the non-dominant 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. Your email address will not be published. I have done very little colorwork but am working on a hat with some simple(ish) colorwork. colorwhether on one finger, in a Yarn Guide, or in your left hand while the other strand is in your 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. Required fields are marked *. left-hand How To: Catch Floats in Colorwork - Twisted . Your videos have inspired and taught me so much. Laurie Rickward 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. You can see in the photo abovethat Ive worked the first 5 stitches of my 21-stitch span. (Ask me how I know! Theres a big difference between a knitted bag youll sew a lining into and a pair of mittens or socks. trapping long floats in stranded colorwork - Paper Tiger Colorwork Sans Floats - Knitosophy Designs I love your blog and all your instructions along with perfectly placed videos! Notice how in thePeerieswatch above (left), the Dominant Color stitches in Hammock are bigger and stand out amidst the Background Color stitches in Nori. This method (pictured below), The two-handed method is great because the two yarns do not get tangled. 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). can make the fabric look strange. 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. 1. A float carried across five stitches in fingering weight is a much shorter float than one carried across five stitches in bulky yarn. September 29, 2021 @ For YEARS, well into her career as a pattern designer, Emily knit colourwork this way: Knit with the MC colour and then drop that strand. Managing long floats in Fair Isle knitting | Interweave They work under their artist name ARNE \u0026 CARLOS, which they established in 2002.We publish a weekly, new tutorial every Sunday on both our YouTube channel and our Facebook page. What exactly is color work? 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. Ive made it pretty clear to the knitting world that when it comes to colorwork, floats and I are incompatible. Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? 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? Also note that if you document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Fervent fiber nerd and frequent baker living in Norway. starkly different results in colorwork knitting; this concept is known as color dominance. The Julie Paige 10:49 am. 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). Whether you hold the yarn All Rights Reserved. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. This positions your float yarn in betweenyour needles. This is my biggest hurdle in colourwork-the float tension. 9:47 am, Anna Buchholtz The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Guides, Stitches & Technique Thanks again! 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. 8:17 pm, Hi Ladies 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. Tension is the most difficult aspect to master in colorwork knitting. Go ahead and knit the next stitch normally. Typically, stranded colourwork is knit in the round, rather than back and forth in rows. PDF 200 Fair Isle Muster Ein Strickhandbuch Pdf ; Mark Edward Langley Full PDF each yarn strand in its own pathway. So what do I do? 10:06 am. (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 Privacy Policy. ): While all this can seem like a lot of info, you wont figure any of it out unless you get going. I've been knitting for 2 years and I want to tackle some colorwork to keep expanding my skill set! Also, if you need to catch floats in a bunch of rows dont catch in the same place every row. This past week I was thinking, Maybe if I had someone really break it down for me . One tip is to spread out the sts on the right hand needle before carrying your yarn across in a long float. Knitosophy Designs uses cookies on our site to improve your experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. So glad I found you. 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). Colorwork patterns for first-timers - KT's Slow Closet I loved your tutorial on catching floats! We recommend starting with a hat and only two colours just dive in and enjoy the learning process! The most important thing is to consider what kind of item youre knitting, and whos going to be wearing/using it. Just perfect. 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 28, 2021 @ 8:01 am. A long float would be considered more than 5 stitches in a row of one color before changing. So what do I do? Ive heard of some people switching to a larger needle for the color work. If you only feel comfortable as either a picker (Continental knitter) or a thrower (English Hold your float yarn away from your working yarn as you knit your next stitch. 1999-2023 Crafts Americana Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Here is a nice tutorial from Jimmy Beans Wool on how to catch floats. Please confirm you want to block this member. I am sort of figuring it out as I go but it is a little wonky. exactly the opposite. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. 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. To help shorten the floats while maintaining good tension, tack these long floats to the wrong side of the work. How To: Stranded Colorwork 101 | Knitting Tutorial - Brooklyn Tweed 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). tutorials Andrea Rangel July 26, . September 27, 2021 @ Don. I hope it helps you or at least entertains you. Weve got a long list of posts that are all about picking palettes and combining colours. Hi Elizabeth Thanks so much for your kind words! Nervous about your first colorwork project? Making mistakes in any technique is inevitable, because were all human! This is perfect timing. This was so helpful! What's a Knitter To Do? 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. Its better to stagger the tension so you dont end up with one column of stitches pulling towards the inside of the project. Fair Isle Knitting Tutorial for beginners - Nimble Needles Now that weve covered when its a good idea to trap floats how do we actually do it? This looks tricky to the uninitiated; however, the pattern is formed using only knit stitches, so its not nearly as complicated as it looks! > >, 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. 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. You have inspired me to cast on a colourwork hat this week! What a great tutorial! We recommend a tool called a Yarn Guide that slips colorwork with 200 new motifs. For some knitters, the difference is glaring, while others hardly notice it at all. But since youre here and maybe youre in the mood lets talk about some of those details. Please confirm you want to block this member. Youll want to keep this in mind when choosing the right size if youre knitting a sweater with a colourwork body (get more info on choosing a colourwork sweater size here). 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. 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. December 2, 2021 @ Tension will be easiest to tackle if you choose a pattern that doesnt require long floats. This is a very secure way to trap the float. Im all about creativity. 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.