Stranded Colorwork Basics

For the longest time I was deathly afraid to knit stranded colorwork patterns.  The patterns look complex.  There are often charts involved, which I didn't feel confident about. Choosing yarns and colors is not terribly easy either, especially when the yarn specified in the pattern isn't available locally.  I don't like ordering yarn on line - I like to touch the yarn and see the colors in person.  And then there's the question of what the finished project will feel like, as many colorwork patterns result in a fabric that is at least two layers thick.  I was also reminded that most people knit colorwork at a different gauge than they would knit the same yarn on the same needles in a single color piece.  Sheesh!  Reading all of that, it's a wonder I ever started knitting colorwork in the first place.

And then, as happens, I found a pattern I couldn't resist.  I had to take the plunge.  There are a few tips I learned that made the process much easier, and a lot of fun, and I thought I'd share them here.

1. Choose yarns from the same line from the same manufacturer.  For example, use two (or more) different colors of Cascade 220 Superwash.  Yarns from the same line and manufacturer will be dyed from the same base yarn, and will exhibit identical characteristics.  If you choose two different yarns, they will differ in more than color!  They will also have different content, different finish, different dye processes, different diameters... The variables aren't worth trying to manage when your trying to learn colorwork. 

2. Photocopy the pattern chart, and use the copier to blow up the chart to a workable size.  Mark the chart off in increments of 5 stitches at a time in pencil.  Use Post-It tape to mark off one row at a time to keep from becoming confused.

3. Knit a colorwork swatch.  In fact, knit a couple.  You'll discover how the two strands stick to each other, slide on one another, and how it affects your gauge.  Most people have a tendency to knit colorwork tightly, causing the fabric to have lumpy surface.  Practice on your swatch until your piece lays smoothly.  Once the work lays smoothly, check out the gauge, and adjust needle sizes until you achieve the recommended gauge.

4. Carry one yarn "high" and one "low".  I usually choose to carry the first color used low, and the second color high.  What that means is that the second color will be introduced by carrying that working yarn over the first working yarn.  When it's time to use the first yarn again, bring it up from under the second.  This keeps your yarns from getting twisted around each other, and results in the smoothest fabric.

5. Don't get discouraged.  You will make mistakes.  That's good!  Most of us learn faster from making our own mistakes than from being told what to do.  (I tell myself this every time my teenagers do something ridiculous that I've asked them a hundred times not to do.)  So swallow your pride, and dive in.  It's fun!  Remember the first time you went miniature golfing?  Remember learning to knit in the first place?  There you are.

6. Block your work!  Nothing helps make colorwork look lovely like blocking.  It smooths the surface and makes so-so work look great.  No matter what you think of your finished project, block it before you give up on it.  You'll be glad you did.

Changing Colorway

This post will begin to explore the differences your color choices will make in your finished work.  If you've ever heard several versions of a favorite song, you know that musical arrangements make a huge difference in how a piece of music is perceived.  (Think "The Grammys", "Unplugged", or "Austin City Limits".)  The energy and even the message can change.  Well, so it is with knitting. 

The mittens above were both made with my "Mondrian Mittens" pattern.  The pattern is written with the suggested yarn colors of black and white.  Why?  Because much of Piet Mondrian's wonderful work is based in black and white, with hints of primary colors.   I thought that as the mittens were knit up, some people might choose to duplicate stitch in some of the boxes in some primary colors, and make their own personal tribute to this treasured modern artist.

Original Work by Piet Mondrian

As you can see from the photos at the beginning of this post, two people on Ravelry chose to work the pattern very differently.  The different effects are huge.  The one on the left, in black and white, looks beautiful, a bit formal, and possibly even masculine.  I'm imagining it in cream and chocolate brown, which would probably have a similar formal effect.  It is the pattern I wrote, and it's executed beautifully.

The one on the right is also beautiful.  I never thought of using a self-patterning variegated yarn to work this pattern, but now that I see it, I wonder why.  The result is cheerful and beautiful.  What a great idea!  This makes me wonder how it would look if the grid was knit in a bright, coordinating color, and the field was knit in a variegated.  Probably a very high energy look.  It's still the pattern I wrote, but it has evolved with the knitter's skill and imagination.

When you look for a pattern to make, what catches your eye?  Often for me I'll love the color, and then start noticing the design details.  Of course, this doesn't mean you have to use the recommended colors.  That's when we start to edit.

If you've every been in a clothes shop and asked the clerk, "Does this come in blue?", you know what happens.  You see something, you really like it, and then you start editing it in your head to make it work with the rest of your wardrobe.  Then comes the hunt for the right size/color combination.  When you find it, you bring it home beaming with pride.  For you, that color and design are the Grand Prize.

In my own little design world, my daughter and my assistant both chide me about my color choices.  In decor and wardrobe, I tend toward natural colors blended in traditional combinations.  I thrill at the artwork of Peter Maxx, Leroy Nieman, Alexander Caulder, and Andy Warhol.  I love the colors!  But somehow they aren't me.  In Colleen's world, my palette is "a little quiet".  In my daughter's opinion, it's downright "gloomy".  (And these are people who love me!)  My fans tend to use language like "classic" and "traditional", "timeless", and occasionally "elegant".  (I like "elegant".  A lot!)  Ok.  I'm content.

I love sorting through project pages on Ravelry, and seeing all the different choices the various knitters made as they worked a pattern.  I do it almost every time I'm considering making a pattern.  I've seen plenty of work that wasn't my taste, and a little that only a mother could love, but mostly I find all the different color and fiber choices really inspiring.  

Do you think outside the box when it comes to choosing colors for your knitting?  Do you look at photos in patterns and consider them like the "serving suggestion" on the cereal box?  Or are you happy to leave the choice of color and texture to someone else, and knit the pattern as written?  No matter what you do, what matters most it that you enjoy it.  I'd love to see your photos!  Tell me the name of the pattern, so I can look up the photo that went with the original pattern.  And thanks!

Colorwork 3 - Onto the needles

The very good news in most colorwork is: you nearly always cast on in only one color.  In the event that the pattern asks you to do something else, it's is usually explained in detail.

Okay, so you've cast on, and I know you're casting on a swatch.  Congratulations on your wise choice.  Now, there are a few simple rules for all stranded (not intarsia, slip stitch or two strands held together) colorwork no matter what style you're going to use: keep both yarns working with even tension, tack as you go, and bring the "new" yarn from underneath.  Let's take 'em one at a time.

1. Keep both yarns working with even tension.  Some folks have a tendency to knit much tighter when they do colorwork.  Maybe they're trying to make sure there aren't any gaps between colors, but trust me, it doesn't work that way.  When you knit colorwork tightly, you end up with a strange, ripply, bumpy fabric that won't smooth out for anything.

When it is time to introduce the second yarn, pick it up and knit as if you were using the first yarn.  That is, don't change anything except colors!  Really.  The best practice for this is two knit two stitches with color A, and two stitches with color B for several rows until you don't have to think much about it.  Then, move on.

This brings us to the next tip:  (You'll need a colorwork pattern for this one)

Floats on the back of fabric

2. Tack as you go. After three stitches in a row of one color, if there are more stitches of the same color coming up, twist the two yarns together.  The first color you used, A, should make one wrap around the color you're using now, B. That's one tack. Now knit more stitches as directed, letting neither color "float" for more than 3 stitches without  tacking. Each tack should be twisted in the opposite direction from the one previous, keeping the two yarns from getting twisted up.

I know, that sounds like a lot, but it's not.  It just takes practice.  It's a bit like tying your shoes.  It takes a little while to get it, but once you have it, it becomes easy and second nature, and honestly, you can do it.

Colorwork front of fabric

Why tack?  Because long floats mess with your tension, making some stitches really loose, and others really tight.  Then, when you try to put on the garment, fingers and toes get caught up in these long floats, and that's really aggravating.  What should the floats look like?  The floats above are neat and beautiful, and most important, all exactly the same.  That allows the front of the fabric to look like the mitten at right.

I suggest you knit several rows this way without adding rule #3, just letting your hands become accustomed to these two skills.  Once you're really comfortable, go on to #3.

3. Bring the new color up from underneath.  The trick of that is to bring it up from underneath the original color every single time you change colors.  This means the original color is always going to come in from over the new color.  This, along with the tacking twist reversals, does a pretty good job of keeping the yarns from getting very twisted together.

What about the loose yarn ends?  You'll weave them in, just as you would any other end.  If you don't want the ends to show through to the front, make sure to weave them into their own colors.  In the mittens above, green was woven into green, and brown was woven into brown. 

Play with this swatch until you're happy with the work you're doing.  If you learn as you make a garment, often your work at the end of the garment will look quite different from the work you did in the beginning!  And, as you become more comfortable with colorwork your gauge will change.  That's all for now!

Better Than Chocolate, Mr. Mittens

Better than chocolate, really.  Oh, man!  Epiphany by Cascade is incredible.  60% Royal Alpaca, 20% Cashmere / 20% Silk, this yarn is a worsted weight that comes in 12 beautiful colors.  Better than that, it is the softest, easiest to work with alpaca blend I've ever touched.  It's very warm, and due to the silk and cashmere contents it's strong and it doesn't grow! The price is good, too.  At Karma Knitting in Williamsville, it's $28 for 273 yards. Why better than chocolate? Delicious without calories!

The Mr. Mittens are going along nicely.  (See Manly Mitts in Free Patterns, above)  Making the substitution of needles has really done it this time.  The pattern is easy to knit and easy to follow.  I'm teaching a version of this pattern in a mitten class this Sunday as a "First Fair Isle" project, and wish I had started on something like this!  The carries are short (translation - easy) and the pattern is only 4 stitches wide and 2 rows long.  If Fair Isle makes you nervous, I would suggest these as a project to get over your fear. 

Most people worry about the pattern puckering, which is the most common problem for folks new to the technique.  I suggest you pay attention to your carries (the yarn of the color not used on a particular stitch is "carried" behind.)  Bring them along at the same tension you always would, even if you're just taking the yarn from one stitch to the next.  No tighter, no looser.  Your work will be flat and smooth.

Folks also complain about the two colors getting twisted up between the work and the skeins, but there is a simple solution.  Once you introduce your contrast color, choose one yarn to be "the bottom" and one to be "the top" yarn. (Usually the contrast color is used as the "top" yarn, as it will have slightly smaller stitches and therefore be slightly less prominent.)  As you drop the "bottom" yarn to knit with the "top" one, make sure you always bring the "top" yarn over your working yarn. Bring the "bottom" yarn up under the working yarn when it's time to use it again.  If you do this, your colorwork will be even smoother, and your yarn will twist rarely.

New Year's Resolutions

Knitting in 2011 is going to be different for me.  Resolutions have never been a process I've done, but I've seen it work for other people, so this year I'm in.  In 2011 I resolve to:

1. Knit during classier TV shows.  No more Ginsu Knife infomercials for me, no!  I'm going to knit during Masterpiece Theatre and Inside the Actor's Studio.  This will add an air of class and sophistication to my work, not to mention a pretentious accent.

2. Knit with more color.  I knit with subtle, muted earthy colors now (brown and black), and nature has shown us that this is a losing strategy in evolution.  Adaptability and bright plumage are what have allowed the alligator to make it this far, and I need to liven up my palate at least as far as the beautiful colors of the all-enduring alligator. I will branch out into green.

3. Knit every day. Right now I knit almost exclusively at night, and the knitting is getting self conscious about it, like I'm embarrassed to be seen with it or something.  No more.  I will knit proudly in the daylight every day.  In my house.  Alone.  With the curtains closed. (Baby steps.)

4. Knit with white wine.  White wine doesn't stain.  Need I say more?

5. Knit with more recycled materials. Right now I knit with my grandmother's WWII era needles as much as I can, and seam up with her tapestry needles.  (God, I miss her!)  I have since learned from a girlfriend that if you go to yard sales, you can get a whole bunch of used needles and notions for the change under your car seat!  New addi turbos are $15 a pop.  That would buy all the needles in a whole town of yard sales!   No more new stuff for me - recycling is in.  Oh, and it keeps stuff out of the landfills.

6. Realize that size doesn't matter. What are we, men?  We should not be so preoccupied about measuring things.  Gauge swatches, palm circumferences, chest measurement, yardage... All that is nonsense.  What matters is that I finish stuff. Who cares what size it is?

7. Come up with new knitting sayings.  Everyone knows "close knit" and "spinning a yarn."  How about "it's a wrap" - well, bad example.  Or "balls to the wall" - crap.  Or "stick it", "pins and needles", "coming unraveled" - um - on second thought, there are plenty of good knitting sayings.  I resolve to use them more often.

That's it.  This changes everything!  It's going to be a wonderful year. 

Variation on a Theme

Back to the Knitting as Art concept.  Monster Crochet is a fascinating blog by a woman whose creativity seems endless.  What I like most is that her sense of humor is a little bent.  Her photos are FAB, and her needlework is flawless.  My current faves are the Bacon Scarf and the Cherry Pie Beret. 

So gorgeous!  I can't crochet to save my life, but I surely appreciate the time it must take to chart these patterns, find the exact right colors of yarn, and work the right stitch combos to make it work.  My hat's off to Regina!  Keep up the beautiful (and inspiring) work!

Color Confidence

Sometimes when I want to make a colorwork pattern I have a hard time deciding what colors to put together.  A two color fair isle sweater looks great in black and white, or most any color and white.  What if I don't want white? What if the yarn I like doesn't come in the colors suggested in the pattern?  What if the colors I choose are great, but the garment doesn't go with anything I already own?

Different colorwork patterns require different color relationships.  A two color geometric might need contrast, but an intarsia flower may do well in more similar color values.  Maybe you need funky colors, maybe traditional.  One thing that helps me is to use colors from something I own.  A bookcover may have a terrific two-color contrast, a teacup may have a nice group of colors; even furniture upholstery works beautifully.  Or, just break out the crayons.  Really! They're portable, so find the colors you like and take them with you to the shop.

The yarn store staff is usually happy to help.  Ask if you can return or exchange any unused skeins if you change your mind.  Color is one of the great joys of  knitting.  Go get some!