Stranded Knitting: a question.

Suirbunni project in progress

This week, I want to put down the needles and take a slight detour...

A question has come to my attention about why I do what I do. Why do I continue to work and design stranded knitting. It is very easy to say “because I love it”…but why specifically. Why stranded knitting as opposed to knitting in general.

Don’t get me wrong….I love knitting in general. We all do. Right?

But, I have done some thinking about this question of "why stranded" recently and have come up with a few possible reasons…

Color:  This is an obvious one for me. Color and color combinations are certainly an attractive draw to stranded knitting. Whether it is the high contrast colorations of some of the original/traditional designs of Fair Isle and Shetland or the graded color combination of the more painterly pattern offerings, color tops the list in my book for why I love stranded work. I just love playing with the combination possibilities. Shade cards or a wall of skeins graded by color is like the ultimate candy shop.

Saluda Sunrise shawl

Pattern: But it isn’t color alone, is it? If that were the case, we’d be all a flutter about stripes or slipped stitch work, or even intarsia. No…it’s the way the colors are placed in the pattern. It’s the rhythm of knitting the motifs. It’s the ultimate “just one more round” compulsion…just to see how that new color is going to look…how each motif band works with the one before. It’s the way the patterning creates bite-sized chunks that give an immediate sense of completion…even before the last cast off round. 

And if I can go a little further….I love the way each motif in traditional Fair Isle designs fits exactly into the circumference of the garment. The sanctity of the body patterns was absolute. No messy half motifs in the body of a Fair Isle sweater.

So you can understand why the decreases creating waist shaping in patterns like Autumn Rose upset my little orderly math brain. Short rows creating shoulder shaping were  also unthinkable. Ok, I know. Don’t fuss at me. I’m getting over it. Moving on.

Shetland Museum display

Shetland Museum display

History: I love history. I especially like the idea of connecting with the past through things we do every day. Granted we modern day knitters are not having to do production knitting for extra household money, but we are making some of the same decisions and mastering the same challenges with our knitting as our predecessors did with their projects. That’s kinda neat, isn’t it?

Sense of accomplishment: Admit it…you kinda like that feeling when you have completed a particularly challenging stranded project. That sense of pride. I did this. That project that everyone else is saying “Wow, you did this. That is incredible!” Makes you want to stand up straight, pat yourself on the back and smile. Pretty darned cool, huh?

So what do we call this feeling…this thing that makes up want more…more color….more pattern…more of those "pat yourself on the back" moments? Is it stranded ecstasy? Fair Isle heaven? Color and pattern harmony? 

What about Stranded Bliss? Have you found your Stranded Bliss? What cha think?

Next week: Adding in New Colors and Finishing old colors…I promise.

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Stranded Knitting: Post 7 - Reading Charts

Simple stranded motif with 5 colors

Reading Charts (for stranded knitting)

Reading charts for stranded knitting is a bit different than reading chart for other types of knitting. For one thing, most are set up for knitting in the round. Secondly, while one square still represents one stitch, that stitch will most always be a knit stitch….as opposed to purl stitch, twisted stitch, knit into the back loop, yarn over, or any of myriad of other types of stitches.

Ok, you will see indications for some of the shaping stitches…k2tog, SSK, or central double decrease…in some stranded charts...like hats, mittens or waist shaping of a sweater…but on the whole, most stranded charts exist to let the knitter know what stitch is worked in what color.

This can be accomplished in a couple of ways. Let’s take a look at some of them and talk about the upside and downside of each.

Simple stranded motif with colored squares

Color the square the same color as the yarn used to knit the stitch…i.e., if the round uses purple and green yarn, then the chart will have purple and green squares. 

Upside: No need to have a key to tell you what color yarn to use. Chart square is purple, then stitch is knit with purple yarn.

Downside: Works fine for simple patterns, but printing and computer monitors can sometimes be imperfect and colors can be hard to distinguish, especially if some of the colors are similar. Also, if you decide to change the colors called for…say from green to blue…it can be kinda hard to knit blue every time you see a green square. Another thing is that you will need a color printer to get a hard copy of the pattern.

Simple stranded motif with symbols

Use symbols for each color needed. Take that same motif, in this type of chart, the purple is represented by a small star, green is presented by a dot. Then there is a key to tell you what the star and dot represent.

Upside: Color substitutions are easy…just change the key. Also, no need for a color printer.

Downside: Sometimes with complicated, multi-colored motifs there are so many symbols that you can lose sight of the overall pattern…making it hard to get a big picture of what you are working on. Also with a large number of symbols, it can be difficult to distinguish similar symbols from each other. “Is that the large dot or the small dot?” “Is that the open square or the closed square?” You get the idea.

Use one symbol for the whole chart…with the indications for colors found to the side of each chart row. So, in our motif of purple and green, the chart would only have one symbol. (In the case above, a filled in square.) The two indication columns (to the right) would have either an abbreviation for purple or green (P or G), a symbol (number or letter) for purple or green, or the yarn company shade number.

Upside: Again, color substitutions are easy…and there is no need for a color printer. With only one symbols used, the overall pattern is easily seen and understood.

Downside: You will need a key if symbols or letters are used…and you will have to be vigilant at the beginning of each round to see if there are any color changes. With only one symbol, every round looks the same and it is easy to keep knitting with the same colors without realizing it.

These are just three of the various types of stranded charts. Which one do I prefer? If I am submitting a pattern to a magazine or book, then, of course, I will use whatever chart configuration called for. If I am designing and writing for my own patterns, I use the last one most often. It seems to be the most versatile for me. Will I change in the future if a better solution comes along? Sure. Have I prejudiced the "upsides" and "downsides" towards my preferred chart...either consciously or unconsciously? Maybe. But can you blame a girl for having an opinion. :)

But let’s move on to how to work a stranded pattern using one of these charts.

If you have worked with charts in knitting before, you know that one square equals one stitch….and instead of reading left to right, top to bottom, with knitting charts, you start out reading bottom to top, right to left….just like you knit. Add to that, with patterns that are knitted flat (knit one row, turn, purl one row), row 1 (right side) starts at the bottom right and moves to the left…but row 2 (wrong side) starts at the left and moves to the right…and so forth. In other words, all odd rows are read from right to left and all even rows are read from left to right. Add to that, the symbol for “knit” means “knit” on the odd rows, but the same symbol means “purl” on the even rows. On the wrong side, it can be as easy as “knit the knits and purl the purls” or it can be a bit confusing at first.

You will remember we discussed that most stranded work is knitted in the round….with the right side facing you…which means, when it comes to reading the charts, you will always read from the right to the left…always. It also means that all of the stitches are knit stitches. All you have to worry about is using the right colors at the right time.

A chart full of colors or symbols can be pretty intimidating. Fortunately, there are both digital and low tech solutions that help make things a bit more accessible and easier to work with. No matter what method you decide to use, essentially what you are trying to do is highlight the round you are working on so you can focus on that round only.

Some instructions say to put a straight edge (or digital line) under the round you are working on…putting the to be worked squares above the edge. This covers the completed rounds and reveals the rounds you have yet to work.

Some say to put the straight edge (or digital line) above the operative round…which puts the to be worked squares just under the bottom edge of the line….and reveals the completed rounds.

Some say to use clear highlighting tape to cover your working round…leaving both the rounds worked and the rounds unworked visible.

Digital solutions require loading a digital version (usually a pdf) of a pattern or chart into app. I’m sure there are more…but the few I can think of are JKnit and KnitCompanion which can help organize your pattern instructions as well as charts…and GoodReader which is an easy (and free) pdf reader app that allows annotation.

A low tech solution is to make a copy of your chart so you can make notes and still have a clean original. (You can also make it larger if you need to.) The copied charts are then put on a metal tablet with long magnets which act as the straightedge mentioned above. Highlighter tape, also mentioned above, used on the paper copy is a very portable solution and a perfect travel companion.

What do I use? For years I used the metal tablet and magnet solution and it worked well. Now, I load a pdf version of my chart into Dropbox and open it in GoodReader. Since the charts I use are usually in the design process, being able to make notes on the chart helps.

Oh, and as to whether I put the straightedge above or below the working chart round…I put it above the round so the squares I am working on are below the bottom edge of the digital line. I like to see the relationship between what I am working on and what I have completed.

So that's it. How do you organize your charts? What type of chart do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below....or in the thread in the Stranded group on Ravelry.

Next week: Adding in new colors and Finishing old colors...which means video, people!

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Stranded Knitting: Post 6 - Holding Yarn and Tensioning

A note before we get started....

As you might have noticed the post week is a bit late. What can I say...Life got in the way. Life and rainy weather. 

You see, I was planning to re-shoot some older photos on two haned knitting, but the overcast weather (I don't have big lights yet) during the time I had to shoot sort of foiled that plan.

So here's the new plan...I have put in the older photos here and then hopefully later this week, I'll get new ones done and edit this post.

...and with that said....

Holding Yarns

I wish I could do a series of videos showing you the various methods of holding yarns for stranded work, but the truth of the matter is that I really only am good at one….two handed. This means I knit western with my right hand and continental with my left as I work the round.

The down side of this way of yarn management is you have to learn either western or continental, if you don’t already know both methods of knitting.

In spite of this obstacle, this is the method I teach…at least introduce…when I teach stranded knitting. As you know, there is no absolute right or wrong way to knit. This is just the way I do it.

For equity sake, I do discuss the other methods in class….knitting with both yarns in your right hand, knitting with both yarns in your left hand, and the seemingly easiest, pick up and drop method.

This last method is the one most of my students opt for when the idea of using both hands overwhelms them. They soon discover, however, one of the major upsides of the two handed method…if you keep the yarns separated on either side of your lap, the strands do not get twisted while you work. Trying to manage a new technique which includes working with two yarns as well as reading a chart while your yarns are doing a combination of a tango and the twist can be daunting at best and infuriating at worst. IMHO.

Tensioning

If you think about it, there are two different types of tensioning when it comes to stranded work. One is the way you tension the yarns in your hands and the other is the tension of the fabric you are creating.

Since we were just talking about holding the yarns, let’s start with the first one…tensioning your yarn.

Again, I can only show you the way I wrap the yarn around my fingers…and continental knitters, gasp or laugh at will. I know my left index finger is WAY up in the air…but I can’t seem to help it. Chalk it up to everyone knitting a bit differently.

As an expository aside…I learned to knit when I was eight. Taught by a wonderful woman named Anne, who was a friend of my mom’s. She immediately started me off on a top down pullover of royal blue Red Heart yarn. She very patiently showed me how to wrap the working yarn around the little finger of my right hand. This seems like a mysterious ritual to me, but I eventually realized without the little finger wrapping, the yarn was too loose to work with.

As the years went by, and my knitting skills got to what I optimistically like to refer to as “reasonably passing”, I needed more tension in the working yarn…so I wrapped the yarn around my…wait, let me check…my middle finger. We all do that, right? Sit down to knit, wrap the yarn around whatever fingers it takes to make the tension “feel” right. We do it without even thinking…which is why I had to check just then. I seriously could not remember how it went…I just do it.

Anyway, when I started two handed stranded knitting, I was taking a class in the Outer Hebrides…with Alice Starmore no less. The class was on selecting colors and designing motifs….no instruction on how to hold needles or anything. Ok, I know I could have asked…but who wants to be the whiney American who can’t do something everyone else can...so I muddled through. Anne had taught me to wrap the yarn around my little finger on my right hand…so that’s what I did on the left. It seemed to work.

BTW...I have no idea why the left index finger stands at attention…it just does…or maybe the purpose is comic relief for the lifelong continental knitters. Sorry.

Moving on to tensioning the fabric. The predominant trouble here is too tight tension caused by the stranded yarn on the back being too tight causing the stitches on the needle to buckle.  

Here’s a mental image for you from one of my beginning stranded classes. If the class is large enough, I make them all stand in a loose-ish row, shoulder to shoulder, facing me...telling them they each represent a knitted stitch. Then I hand the ends of two heavy ropes of different colors…one green, one purple...to the person at the end of the row to my right, telling her to hold the ropes in her left hand at waist level.

My helper takes the green rope behind the group and holds it loosely across their backs. I take the purple rope and pull it loosely across the front…telling each person to grab on to it also at waist level. Holding the rope symbolizes knitting the stitch.

I then ask the group what would happen if I tell my helper to pull tightly on the green rope at their backs. The result is everyone moving closer together and/or bowing out towards me in a knitting example of the Battle of the Bulge.

In addition to making you just die to be in one of my beginning stranded classes ;), I am hoping you will see my point…keeping the back strand relatively loose will help give you a final product with even tension.

But how is this accomplished? Through the years, many knitters have developed several methods of solving the problem. Consciously making the strand carried across the back looser, inserting a finger between the back strand and the back of the knitting creating a longer float, stretching out the knitting on the right needle which pulls out the floats and evens out the tension, and knitting the garment inside out which makes the stranded yarns take a slightly longer route around the work…these are some of the methods employed to make stranded tension more even.

What do I do? I actually had to think about…because once you master (or at least, incorporate) one of these techniques, you will do it without thinking about it. I work a few inches of stitches…leaving them kinda all scrunched up on the needle….but not on the tip…and then spread them out down the needle every so often. It seems to work well for me.

Bottom line, though…as with any new technique, the more you knit stranded, the better your knitting and your tension will be…but you all knew that…right? It’s that old “practice makes perfect” thing.

How do you tension your yarns...or your stranded knitting? Leave a comment.

Next week: Yarn dominance.

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Stranded Knitting: Post 5 - Knitting in the Round

Knitting in the Round

As mentioned earlier, most stranded knitting is worked in the round. One possible reason is that apparently early knitters had an abhorrence of the purl stitch. Most likely because purling takes longer to work…or at least changing from knitting to purling takes that fraction of a second longer than straight knitting. This can add up…and when you have other household duties…or light is fading, any time saver can help.

Another reason…and probably more likely…the patterning is easier to read when the right side is facing you. Also, purling stranded work is a real bear…as mentioned earlier.

Another time saving advantage is construction techniques for knitting in the round require little, if any, sewing up. Piecing knitted garments is a relatively recent addition to knitting pattern construction. When you think about it, with the exception of knitted blankets or shawls, most things you knit are a series of tubes…hats, mittens, sweater bodies, sweater sleeves, socks, stockings. Just saying.

As you think through this “in-the-round” construction, two thoughts will most likely come to mind…

What about cardigans…and if you really think about it, you’ll ask…what about armhole openings or V-necks or round or scooped necks…how do you accomplish these things, Miss I-Love-Knitting-In-The-Round?

My answer to you is “steeks”…those ingenious stitches that serve as placeholders for all of those openings you just mentioned….and I hate to do this to you, but a discussion of steeks and the use of steeks is better left to another series of posts….which I will get to in the near future...I  promise…really. (What’s the count now…up to three “other posts”? I’d better get busy.)

The other thought when you have a chance to think about knitting in the round is you will quickly appreciate that mastering one of the techniques for knitting smaller circumferences will come in handy. Actually, even if you never knit anything using stranded techniques, working with small circumferences effectively is a good skill to have.

Ok, so let’s start with the obvious way to accomplish this.

Working with a circular needle with a shorter cable will give you a smaller circumference, right? If you can find one (they can be difficult to locate), even the shortest circular needle can only be used on limited circumferences. The 16" circular used below is just right for the body of this hat..and may work for the top of a sleeve, but what happens when you get to the top of the hat or closer to the wrist of the sleeve?

There are smaller circs, you say. The trouble here is that they usually include shorter needles as well as a shorter cable…which can feel a bit cramped to work with.

So moving on to the other techniques for knitting smaller circumferences....ones that can be flexible depending on the circumference you are working with. These involve using double pointed needles (dpns), 

two circulars needles at the same time (two circs),

and the Magic Loop method.

Ok, I know that Magic Loop is probably not the best solution for this moment in this particular hat. The method would probably be better used closer to the crown, but you get the idea.

I thought about creating a video for each of these methods, but after doing some research, I am rethinking the idea. My apparent part time job as “Google girl” turned up…

16,600 results for “using double pointed needles”

6,040 results for “using two circular needles”

58,300 results for “using Magic Loop”

…and those are just the video results on You Tube. There are scads of other non-video tutorials on these topics out there.

Somehow I do not think instruction using my hands and my voice (either spoken or written) will be necessary….and besides, odds are if you have knitted socks or mittens...or finished the top of a hat, you are familiar with at least one of these methods.

The question then is how to knit stranded work using these methods. As I see it, in addition to mastering holding the yarns…which we will talk about next…there are two issues to think about.

One is possible laddering (a column of lengthened strands that are surrounded on either side by normal stitches) at the joins between two needles or at the loop area of your knitting. The solution generally includes giving the yarn a bit of a tug when changing needles or rearranging the loop (Magic Loop method).

This issue can also occur with non-stranded knitting, but I think I have a solution which involves managing the back floats, which I will cover in a later post.

A second issue involves irregular tension at those same points…usually too tight tension.

I usually don’t have either of these issues…and before you said “well, good for you…aren’t you special”, let me explain what I do and maybe you won’t have the problems either. If it doesn’t work for you, then please know that I’m sure there are issues that I have that you don’t…so we’re even…right?

Anyway, we will talk about how I manage the tension at these points in the “Weaving yarns…while turning corners” section a bit later. The solution involves a discussion about sections of fencing.

And on that cryptic note, I'll close for now.

Oh...and just for the record...I generally use 2 circs when working on smaller circumferences. Mostly because almost all of my circular needles are 24" long...which is the result of something EZ suggested in one of her videos.

What do you prefer?

Next week: Holding Yarns and Tensioning

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Stranded Knitting: Post 4 - Needles Used and Casting On.

Needles Used

Various circular needles

I wish I could tell you a definitive needle selection for stranded work. “Use these needles and you will produce fabulous stranded work every time.” Sadly, this is not possible and the preferences for needles for stranded knitting is as varied as the selection of needles itself. You will have to try different needles out for yourself and see what suits your hands and needs. My only suggestion is wooden needles are generally appreciated by beginners…for the same reason they can help with arriving at the correct gauge/tension. When you are trying out a new technique, the last thing you need is the slick speed of highly finished metal needles.

As to my preferences, I frequently use fixed circulars with fairly sharp tips...and as smooth of a join as I can find between the needle and the cable. I seldom use interchangeables mostly because I usually work with US sizes 0-4 (2.0-3.5mm) needles. These sizes are rarely included in interchangeable sets.

As to brands, I’m afraid I use whatever brand I can get my hands on that suits my needs and is fairly affordable. I know there are those among you that swear by one brand of needle or another…but I just don’t. Sorry.

Casting On (including several two or more color edge treatments)

Decisions on how to begin a stranded knitting project are pretty much the same for stranded work as for single color knitting. There is a wide variety of methods out there…long tail, knitted, cable, the various forms of stretchy or provisional cast ons.

I have heard that the traditional way to cast on for a sweater or jumper is a cable cast on...but I think there are several definitions of "traditional". So...bottom line: Your job is to choose your favorite or the one that best suits the project you are working on.


What do I do...I'm afraid I pretty much cop out and use a long tail cast on in one color for about everything.

But that's just me....when it comes to beginning in more than one color, there are also a number very creative methods to you can use.

If you are interested in braids, there are several tutorials that recommend two color casts on to begin with in a variety of styles....whether one color for the foundation (the thumb color in a long tail cast on) and another color for the stitch (the index finger in a long tail cast on) OR alternating these two colors to get alternating stitches for your cast on round.

Braided edge. 

Two color cast ons can also be used for corrugated ribbing. Just in case you don’t know…corrugated ribbing is a rib sometimes used in stranded work. It is usually K2, P2 where the knit stitches are worked in one color and the purl stitches are worked in another color.

Sometimes the color for the knit stitches is fixed and the purl stitches are worked in a variety of colors.

Folk School original colorway

Folk School alternate colorway

Another variation is both the knit and purl stitches are worked in more than one color.

Weyburn

Eastlake

Criosanna

Wilkins

To be perfectly honest, I find the two color cast on for a corrugated rib extremely clever….but I rarely use it…preferring to cast on in the color of the first knit stitches. I feel this adds a foundation color to the edge. Again, tho, just the way I prefer.

Another option for edging is a turned hem with uses a purl round as the turning round. The hem facing is a wonderful place to add some additional colorwork….just in case you cannot get enough.

Also, you might need to know, this facing is sometimes worked in a slightly smaller needle as the circumference of the facing is slightly smaller than the body of the garment. This is especially true with a large garment like a sweater.

There is also a picot edge… which, when knitted in the round, is accomplished by knitting as many rounds as you want for the hem facing. Then, as the turning round, [k2tog (or SSK, I suppose), YO] to the end of the round. This creates a series with holes where the YO’s are….but when folded, creates a lovely scalloped edge.

One of my favorites is a picot edge where the color used for the hem facing and YO round is different than the front side of the garment…creating different colored picot “bumps” that peek out from the edge.

Maiolica

Saluda Sunset Shawl

But these are just a few options of cast ons and edgings for stranded garments. Go exploring. I am sure you will find a million more on line.

That's it for this week. If you have any favorite cast on or edge treatments....or any questions or gentle comments, please leave them below. I'd love to heard from you.

Next up: a brief look at knitting in the round.

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