This is the last bit of color work we are going to look at (this time around) and it is another method of doing stranding or fair isle as it is commonly called. Since I mentioned fair isle, yes, you can assume that we will be working with two colors. The concept of weaving your fair isle is actually quite simple, it is the practice that is not that easily learned. Once learned however, you will produce the most stunning fair isle projects that are almost reversible! In regular fair isle, you carry the yarn not being used along in the back. This is a great method if you are not carrying the yarn over more than say 4 stitches. Any more than that and you have floats. Floats are the strands of carried yarn that occur when the yarn is carried over numerous stitches. The generally accepted number of stitches to carry a float is 5, although it can be and has been more. The problem with having your float too long is that it can get stuck in all manner of things, especially fingers and toes.
In the past, the way to prevent really long sections of fabric without another color was to use a peerie stitch. It was simply a stitch of the contrast color to break up the main background and more importantly, break up the extra long floats. Now we have the weaving method of carrying along the contrast color that allows you to lock the color strand being carried by twisting it in the back as you go along. This has a few advantages:
- it allows you to carry a color along for as many stitches as needed without creating a float
- it creates a more even gauge in the work
- it prevents bunching or puckering of the work in areas of color changes
- it is much neater on the reverse side (almost reversible)
- it can be used to darn in yarn as you work preventing the need for doing so later!
The other advantage of this method though is it is really cool to watch someone do. If you want to impress anybody watching you knit, bust out some stitches using this method. I guarantee their jaws will drop.
So how do we do it? I will try and explain it and later on I will do a video demonstrating it as I have not been able to find a suitable one online. I’ll have to get a tripod so I can video myself as I do it. The first thing about this method is that you have to know how to knit using both the continental method and the traditional method. The left hand will be doing continental and the right traditional. Now with this technique, it is much easier to weave the color in the left hand. So if you have a lot of knitting with one color and very little with the other, put the little knitting color on your left index finger.
When weaving the color on the left hand, take your right needle and go through the stitch to be knitted AND UNDER the strand of color being carried (currently in your left hand). Using your right hand and the traditional (throwing) method, knit the stitch as you normally would. The strand being carried will slide to the back and be woven in with the strand being knitted. You’ve just woven color A.
To weave color B is a little trickier, but not too difficult to learn. With your right needle, go into the stitch to be knitted. Using your right hand, wrap color B around the right needle as if you were going to knit it. Now wrap the right needle around color A (using the continental method) as if you were going to knit that using the continental method, but don’t pull it through the loop yet. Now unwrap color B with your right hand. Now pull the right needle through the loop under the left needle, finishing the stitch in the continental method. You have just woven in color B.
Using this method you can weave the colors every two stitches at almost the same speed as regular knitting. With practice you will develop a rhythm that will seem effortless to you as you knit along. I apologize for not having pictures, but they will come, as will a video. If you are able to knit with both techniques, you should be able to follow along with the instructions above. If not, learn the technique you don’t know and give this a go. I promise that you will look at fair isle in a new light once you have mastered this technique.
Hugzzz 😎