Stranded knitting II
You may be knitting along and suddenly hit a bump in the road: you know that wool sticks, and you're using wool, but are your stitches really going to stay even when you've got to leap your main colour behind 10 contrast stitches?
That's when you need to know how to weave your strands as you go. As knitting tips go, this is up there in the big time. Knowing how to do this will help you make your knitting more even, help you bridge needle-gaps without ladders or too-tight turns, and keep you from snagging your fingernails in your selbuvotter. (HA!) You can use it to hide your ends as you go after joining a new colour yarn (provided the back side of your knitting isn't public), or even to hide your ends when you've changed to a new ball of yarn. It's endlessly useful and I hope it helps you.
So, here's a chart on how to do it. I'm loving my little comics and I hope I am not trying your patience by using them. This is the first of two; how to weave when you are holding one strand in your left and one in your right. Next up will be weaving holding two strands in your left. (That one is something I figured out on my own.)
Oh, and to answer from the comments - what to do with the purling when you don't purl well with your right hand? I would recommend using a strickfingerhut and purling from that (very easy) or to make it even easier, learn to Norwegian purl. It's *very* easy and if you Google around you'll see exactly what to do. Norwegian purling is a method of continental purling where you never need bring your yarn to the front. I think you will go much faster and enjoy your knitting more if you aren't always grinding your teeth at the purl stitches. (I'm not even sure I know how to purl with the yarn in my right hand!)
Comic! Right!
For another pictorial representation of this technique, click here. She has a few more pictures and also works through it using the same color yarns to join a new ball. Good stuff!
That's when you need to know how to weave your strands as you go. As knitting tips go, this is up there in the big time. Knowing how to do this will help you make your knitting more even, help you bridge needle-gaps without ladders or too-tight turns, and keep you from snagging your fingernails in your selbuvotter. (HA!) You can use it to hide your ends as you go after joining a new colour yarn (provided the back side of your knitting isn't public), or even to hide your ends when you've changed to a new ball of yarn. It's endlessly useful and I hope it helps you.
So, here's a chart on how to do it. I'm loving my little comics and I hope I am not trying your patience by using them. This is the first of two; how to weave when you are holding one strand in your left and one in your right. Next up will be weaving holding two strands in your left. (That one is something I figured out on my own.)
Oh, and to answer from the comments - what to do with the purling when you don't purl well with your right hand? I would recommend using a strickfingerhut and purling from that (very easy) or to make it even easier, learn to Norwegian purl. It's *very* easy and if you Google around you'll see exactly what to do. Norwegian purling is a method of continental purling where you never need bring your yarn to the front. I think you will go much faster and enjoy your knitting more if you aren't always grinding your teeth at the purl stitches. (I'm not even sure I know how to purl with the yarn in my right hand!)
Comic! Right!
For another pictorial representation of this technique, click here. She has a few more pictures and also works through it using the same color yarns to join a new ball. Good stuff!
Labels: knitting, stranded knitting, techniques, weaving
posted by Jen at 9:55 PM
5 Comments:
I've never been able to do satisfactory colorwork. Now, with your help, maybe I can!
I love the cartoons! Very helpful. I've tried this method, and it works for me when I am weaving in the contrast color. I can't get it to work if I am weaving in the MC, though. The stitch ends up twisted. I guess the problem would be reversed here if I held the main color in my right hand. If I have a string of 5 or so of the CC color, I'm not sure what to do :-(. On the Center Square hat I just made, I let it go without weaving. Egads!
Hey Jen, I love the tip and the way you've done it as a comic. Very cool. Any chance you'd let me include this in next month's Yarnival? Email me: domusarcanusATyahooDOTCALM
Sweet! That seems so simple and I love the comic. I need to rip a fair isle as I knit too tight, once I get around to that and restarting, I will give this a try. Thanks!
What a great tutorial - thank you so much for the time & effort in this!! Weaving always confuses me, I'll be back for help with my current colorwork project (which has looong floats!)
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