Talking about stranded color work sleeve/shoulder construction

As some of you already know, when I started out designing colorwork patterns, I started with sweaters. That's all I wanted to do.

Later, I started working with various yarns companies who were interested in smaller garments...hats, mitts, and cowls. So off I went into the world of accessories. 

Now, I am returning to the land of sweaters..and have also returned to the dilemma of a pleasing sleeve/shoulder join for an over all colorwork garment. 

Below are two periscope broadcasts where I talk about that journey.

The patterns I talked about included...

Criosanna 
Wilkins
Autumn Rose

As you will see, the journey is continuing...so there will be more later.

Thanks for dropping by...

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Stranded Knitting: Post 10 - Weaving Yarns...to add new colors and finish old colors

Weaving yarns…to add new colors and finish old colors

Now that you have mastered weaving in long floats, you can use the same techniques to add in new yarns…at a color change or when you have run out of one skein and want to add a new one.

This can seem a little awkward. But if coming back and weaving in all of those ends seems daunting, this little fiddly bit will help. If you find the after-weaving a relaxing way to spend an evening…and some do…then you can skip this part.

Remembering this is the two handed demo…

To add in a new yarn….you actually begin 4-6 stitches before the end of the round (or skein). Place the new yarn between the back of your work and the working yarn….with a 3-4 inch end down and to the right. As you hold it in place with your left hand, go around the new yarn with the working yarn to make your next stitch….trapping the new yarn against the back of the work with the working yarn. Over the next few stitches, this new yarn becomes the left yarn momentarily in the catching the yarn with the dance. You will need to do the dance at least one more time before the end of the round.

I suppose you could use the catching the right yarn with the left scenario, but I just find the left with right less fiddly and therefore easier with new yarn.

But, you say, the last 6-8 stitches is a combination of foreground and background colors, how do I catch the new yarn? My response is…all you need is two stitches together somewhere in the last 6-8 stitches in the round. Odds are pretty good this will happen. Then you can use whatever yarn is working to trap the new yarn.

Now you might have guessed that you can use the same techniques to weave in old yarns…either the end of a skein or an old color which will not be used for a while. After you begin working with the new color/yarn, you can weave in the old color/yarn over a few stitches. Then break the old yarn leaving a 3-4 tail…and off you go.

We will talk more about this in the “Finishing” section, but I know there are those people out there that say to leave a 4-6 inch tail. I think this is because they are using a tapestry needle to weave in the ends and they need enough yarn to thread the needle. I get that…however, you will waste less yarn if you leave a shorter tail and weave your tapestry needle in the back of your work before you thread it.  Better yet, weave your ends in with a crochet hook. No threading of needles…which takes time as well. 

Even better yet...some people use the above techniques to weave in new colors and weave out old colors...and never worry about weaving in anything at the finishing stage. 

What do I do? I'm afraid I do a bit of both. I weave in and out colors leaving a 3-4 inch tail...or sometimes, a 2-3 inch tail...as I go as mentioned above AND then come back at the end give each tail a bit of a gentle tug and weave them in again with a crochet hook and then snip off any remaining length to about 1/4 inch. Overkill...maybe. Just what I do.

Note: If you are working a cardigan, weaving in new and old yarns is not so critical. For a cardigan your round begins at the center front steek section. It is just easier and neater to add and finish yarns in this section. The good news...you don't have to be too obsessive about it because you will be cutting this steek section to open up the cardigan at some point. I usually weaving in for 2 stitches or so just to make the center of the steek section not so “loosey goosey”. Makes cutting the steek a bit easier.

So that's weaving in new yarn and weaving "out" finished yarn. Next week: Using this same technique to put rope on a fence...and you'll just have to join me next time to see what that means. ;)

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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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Stranded Knitting: Post 2 - Yarns Used and Fabric Created

Yarns Used…and Fabric Created

Criosanna swatch - front

Criosanna swatch - back

No matter what yarns are used, the fabric created by stranded knitting was, historically…and is at present…created as much for warmth, as it is for colorful patterning. This warmth can be attributed to the non-working yarn stranding across the back of the knitting, trapping air between the plies.

It follows, then, that the fabric created will be doubled in thickness…and that the thickness of the fabric is dependent on the thickness or weight of the yarn used. Additionally, as we think about the way it is created…with one strand looped into knitted stitches and another strand carried across the back…that the resulting fabric does not have as much “give” as fabric which is created with only loops made of a single yarn. Put another way…the result is slightly less stretchy. Which means, when choosing a size, there will be less negative ease to figure in.

But this style of knitting is primarily about color and color patterning. These patterns can be striking with the simplicity of two or three colors per garment.

Granted, the examples below are my designs, I use them because I do not have to worry about copyright, but you get the idea...

West at Heart Hat

Knights Banner Cowl

The patterns created with two colors per round can be equally beautiful with gradual changes in color resulting in what has been called a more “painterly” style.

Sandbar swatch

Blue Flame Cowl

Ninian swatch

The weight of yarns used can vary from the single ply, lightly processed, bulky weight Lopi yarns…to “sticky” fingering weight Shetland wool…to the silk yarn used in the oldest example of Fair Isle knitting in the Shetland Museum. Your gauge will obviously be different with different yarns…as will the thickness of the fabric created as mentioned earlier.

Due to the warmth created by a double thick fabric, most stranded work is created using fingering or DK weight yarn. However, as mentioned above, there are some exceptions. Some of these exception-ed and exceptional garments are created from intentional, knowledge-enhanced design decisions. The gorgeous worsted weight Scandinavian sweaters come to mind or the stunning Icelandic yoked patterns.

Some exceptions are blundered into with all of the knowledge (or lack thereof) of a newbie stranded knitter...namely me. :)

Expository tale: I once made a stranded cardigan vest (sleeveless cardi) for my father using several shades of worsted (Aran) weight wool...more than three colors per row at a fairly tight gauge/tension. I had seen a Bargello needlepoint pattern in some magazine...and for no other reason except I liked the pattern...decided it would be great for a sweater for Dad. When it was finally finished, I swear that thing would have deflected arrows! ...and was WAY too warm for the South Carolina climate where we were living. Consequently, my father loved it, but from afar...i.e. it never left his closet.

Dad's vest - front

Dad's vest - back

Moving on...

In a discussion of yarn selection, it must be said here that there are those who will insist that when recreating different stranded traditions, the knitter must use yarns inherent to that tradition. Granted, as a lover of history and long standing traditions, I can certainly understand this reasoning. However, some quite lovely stranded work has been created using non-traditional yarns.  Obviously, this style of knitting can technically be accomplished with any yarn. That being said, the sometimes complicated patterning of stranded knitting is best displayed worked in yarns which show off these motifs. Bottom line: “Hairy” novelty yarns should probably not be considered. Just saying.

So when selecting yarns, look for lines that have enough colors to suit your pattern needs.

Color is a wonderful glorious thing. It is one of the reasons we love stranded knitting, but original color selection and color substitution can be tricky. I have a couple of ideas about color selection, but since this series is primarily about technique, a discussion of color should probably be left for another post. (That’s two “other posts” now.)

Next Week: Gauge/Tension

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Stranded Knitting: Part 1 - Introduction and a Non-definitive Definition

This post starts a multi-part series on stranded knitting. You might be an expert on this form of knitting and would enjoy reading another perspective on some of the techniques. Perhaps you have always wanted to try stranded knitting and need a place to start.  I am hoping over the next few weeks to bring beginner and expert something that will answer some questions and maybe spark some gentle discussion on this wonderful, addictive form of knitting.

There is certainly no one way to knit any garment…and definitely no one way to knit stranded or Fair Isle designs. To put it another way, as long as the outcome is what you want, I feel there is no wrong way to knit anything.

That being said, as I have taught stranded/Fair Isle classes, several questions have come up about how I do certain things in the course of knitting these patterns. I am, by no means, an expert on the subject, but I do understand when learning something new, having a place to start (i.e. my developed methods) gives a student a foundation on which to develop his or her own methods…methods that work best for them.

I am also an avid reader of other knitters’ methods. This study helps me to reevaluate and refine the way I do things. I am hoping this “tome”…as it is apparently growing in length the more I get into the subject…will spark further gentle discussion and we can all learn from each other.

So...over the next installments of this blog, I will attempt to discuss several aspects of stranded knitting. Along the way, I will include how I handle the topic at hand...again, without any declarations of this being the right way to do things…just the way I do them.

For the sake of organization, here is a list of the topics I will be discussing..

Non-definitive definition

Yarns used and fabric created

Gauge or Tension (including gauge swatches0

Needles used

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

Knitting in the round (including knitting small circumferences)

Holding yarns

Tensioning

Yarn dominance

Reading charts

Adding new colors

Finishing old colors

Weaving yarns…to catch long floats

Weaving yarns…to add new colors and finish old colors

Weaving yarns while turning corners

Using markers

Creating stitches for sleeves and/or ribbing

Centering motifs

Casting off

Weaving in the ends

Blocking

These will break down roughly as one topic per week…depending how much I ramble on about each topic. I am sure there will be some weeks when two or more topics will be covered.

So all that being said, let’s get started.

Stranded Knitting (a non-definitive definition)

The broad term of knitting which employs more than one color is generally referred to as colorwork or color knitting…and includes working with stripes, slipped stitches, mosaic knitting, intarsia, and stranded knitting…to mention a few.

I guess you could technically throw forms of knitting and/or knitting techniques which can be working in a single color as well as with more than one color ...entrelac or cables come to mind. The possibilities of adding color to your knitting are endless, thus rendering the definition of “color knitting” a bit muddy.

I can hear the uproar even now as there are various strong opinions as the definitive definitions of such things. So I will abandon that line of discussion and venture off to the subject at hand….stranded knitting.

Simply put, stranded knitting is knitting which employs more than one color per round…where the unused yarn is stranded behind the working yarn. That being said, I should mention that most forms of stranded knitting use only two colors per round.

You will notice I have said “per round”. While stranded work can certainly be accomplished by knitting flat (knit one row, turn, purl one row), it is most often worked in the round. This way the patterning is always facing you. Believe me, purling some of the more complicated patterns is not fun.

But what you call the various forms of this type of colorwork, you may ask. If you look at the outcome of this type of knitting in terms of the patterns and colors, the broad heading of “stranded knitting” can be further broken down into subsections…roughly, but not totally, by geographic traditions…which include Fair Isle, Norwegian or Scandinavian, and other knitting traditions from the Baltic Circle. (Please realize that is list is by no means exclusive.)

Because of the popularity of Fair Isle designs, there has recently been a tendency to name all stranded knitting…and sometimes even all color knitting…“Fair Isle knitting”. This is definitely not a correct practice and does a disservice to both the knitting traditions of Fair Isle and the other styles of stranded knitting. But a discussion of the characteristics of the various stranded knitting traditions is perhaps a discussion best left for another post.

For this series, I will talk about some of the techniques that are currently used to achieve the wonderful colorful patterning of this style of knitting. Please understand, though, I will largely focus on Fair Isle and Shetland Fair Isle because that is my interest and where I first started down this path of knitting in color.

It is also important to remember that like most things, there are no absolutes and the phrase “generally, but not always” should be applied liberally.

Hey…I did say it was a non-definitive definition. 

If you have any questions or gentle comments, please feel free to post them below. I'd love to hear from you.

Next week: Yarns Used and Fabric Created

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On the horizon - stranded shawl and stranded knitting discussion

Preliminary photos and no pattern written up yet...this is not an official pattern release yet...but wanted you guys to see what is most recently off of the needles.

I'm thinking of calling it Saluda Sunrise....because this is what we see most mornings.

Also, starting Tuesday, May 12...and hopefully every Tuesday for a while, I will be posting Stranded Knitting: a discussion which will cover some of the aspects of stranded knitting. I hope you will join me and add any gentle comments or questions you may have.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

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New Shawl Pattern

...in progress. Body is almost finished...then on to the edges and borders!

No name yet. Maybe when it is finished, something will come to me. Any ideas?

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Behind the Scenes: Teggala Hat and Mitts

I know I have talked about some of this before...but here is a more in depth behind the scenes look at the Teggala Hat and Mitts set.

April 17, 2014...I received an email from Claudia of The Yarn Sisters, the American distributor of Zealana yarns (New Zealand). Claudia is one of four women who are related through their love of yarn (one Irish, two Americans, one from New Zealand). 

As I read her email that Thursday afternoon, I found that Zealana had earlier requested a small project using multiple colors for an event called Sample It! at The National Needle Arts Association (TNNA) summer trade show. 

A little FYI, the TNNA trade shows are where the yarn shop owners meet with the yarn companies to order for their shops. The "market" opens on Saturday morning and is order only...no "cash and carry". However, on Friday night, vendors offer a sample of their products at highly reduced prices at a frenzied event called "Sample It!".

Apparently, the striped hat designed for the event was not exactly what the Zealana rep had in mind. Claudia's email was a frantic plea for help.

You should know here that in 2014, TNNA was held in Indianapolis...on May 1-5.

Have you done the math? In just a bit over two weeks...yarn sent, pattern designed, sample made, pattern written up, pattern tech edited, photos taken, pattern printed, and yarn and pattern packaged for sale. Don't know where my head was...but I answered that I'd try to put something together for them.

The yarn arrived the next day. Three special skeins of Zealana Luxuria Air (40% of down from the brushtail possum fiber, combined with 40% cashmere and 20% mulberry silk), 10 grams/64 yards each...lace weight!  This yarn is truly scrumptious! Light as air (pun intended) and really warm. A total delight!

I'm guessing there must have been a rip in the time-space continuum, because we made it!

On Friday evening, I was standing with Claudia at Sample It! with Teggala on my head. We completely sold out of the kits which included the three skeins of yarn and the pattern all nicely packaged in a small hatbox-type container. 

[Cue: self-congratulatory pat on the back. Then...ominous foreshadowing music.]

Next installment...remember the skeins for the whirlwind hat pattern? Luxuria Air 10g each..right? Those were a limited edition. The real skeins for Air are 25g.

So Claudia asked if I would designs mitts to go with the hat. The idea was the two projects could be made with three 25g skeins. The design was pretty much done. I only needed to adapt it to mitts. Easy, right?

Off I went. Adapted the design and then on to knitting up the samples. Because I didn't want to make one mitt and run out of one color or other, I decided to knit both mitts at the same time. 

It was like knitting in molasses. It took forever to get those things done. The tangles had a mind of their own. Weeks...months...went by. I had the hat completely finished in 12 days...but this was dragging out for millennium. So embarrassed.

That's what I get for thinking I was super designer. I could design and knit samples "faster than a speeding bullet". 

Story of my life...the minute I get cocky....out goes that rug out from under me!

Anyway, I finally got them finished. Claudia was extremely gracious.

So there you have it. The Teggala hat kit can be found here. I haven't seen the mitts yet..but they are out there.

Until next time..

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New Rav group

I've gone and done it now...

Brand new designer group on Ravelry...

Designs by Varian Brandon

Please come join me.

KKQ Preparation

Now that Christmas is over and 2015 is closing in on us, I am turning my attentions to a retreat that I coordinate in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

This January, participants at the Kanuga Knitting and Quilting retreat (KKQ) will meet at the Episcopal conference grounds near Hendersonville, North Carolina. Among those attending will be mothers and daughters, mothers and daughters-in-law, brothers and sisters, and good friends who for most of the year are separated by long distances. They come for the love of the mountains...and for the love of Kanuga. For opportunity to do something for themselves after a hectic holiday season...and to see friends they only see during this long weekend in January....but mostly they come for the company of friends who love to create with needles and yarn or fabric.

This January marks KKQ's tenth year...which seems remarkable to me. Yeah, I know we started in 2006 with 27 people and currently, we have over 100 participants registered...but the years have just gone by extremely fast.

At KKQ '15, there will be six knitting instructors and two quilting instructors...and each discipline offers something for all skill levels.

Most years I teach stranded/Fair Isle knitting. This year, I am giving a workshop on steeking. The project is a steeked cowl and includes instructions for a 3-color stranded version and a version with knit and purl stitches.

I call the class...No Alcohol Fortification Needed...since everyone seems to think you need to be heavily intoxicated to cut open a steek. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Anyway, the retreat is in a few weeks and I have spent the last few days putting my kits together for the class.

In less than three weeks, we will all meet again in front of the great stone fireplace at Kanuga for the tenth annual KKQ (January 15-19, 2015). Will you be there? It is not too late to join us this year...or maybe you would like to be part of the second decade of knitters and quilters at Kanuga in 2016. Hope so.

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Foggy Day Dreaming

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