Basics of Intarsia (color block) Knitting // Technique Tuesday

[@fluffymoonhair]

This was so helpful! I've been knitting for 19 years and somehow never tried intarsia before. I thought it would be a lot harder. 😅

[@judirod3168]

Thank you for the knot Tip when joining a new color I did not know that.❤

[@sylviamacdonald9475]

Thanks Roxanne, I'd got myself in a muddle and this video really helped!

[@newmoonjlp]

Very clear explanation! Sometime could you address strategies for working less regular intarsia shapes? Technique videos usually show very simple rectangular or triangular color blocks. What if you have a color change that begins several stitches to the right or left of where the yarn was dropped on the previous row?

[@adayperez6077]

9p

[@jubbins64]

Love your instructional videos! Clear explanations that are easy to understand at a moderate pace. 💯👍

[@aggierowe9574]

Thanks for this demo! My intro to intarsia always had loose stitches between the joining of colors. I loved your explanation, it makes so much sense (thread of yarn bet. the stitches!) I'm the type of knitter that needs to understand why I am holding one color over the other :). Cheers!

[@staciewaddell486]

Wow. I totally get it now! I feel ready to tackle some intarsia. Thank you!

[@maryannc7223]

Thank you , Roxanne! I haven’t done intarsia before but I’d like to try. I’m a lot less scared of it now!

[@evelynwald9132]

Thank you for your very clear instructions, you really provide great building blocks by helping us understand the why something is done, it’s easier to go to a more difficult pattern as a result.❤

[@kwosilait2855]

Your curlew decoy is gorgeous!

[@angelayarnivoregirl5009]

I have restarted this Intarsia project I am finishing through the Loose Ends organization so many times! Now that I have watched your video, I am getting it! I never would have thought of tying the new color on. Thanks for also showing how you undo the knot when you go to weave in the ends. My stitches are so even and are not bunching. I also watched your other video about keeping things neat when knitting Intarsia. I am using a combination of knitting directly from the skeins, a small ball of yarn, and bobbins. Turning away on a knit row and turning towards me on a purl row is saving my sanity! THANK YOU!

[@purlgirl49]

Thanks!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You bet!

[@KAR-5011]

Thank you once again! I swear you read my mind! Haha. You rock!!

[@CMeyer-ut3dd]

Good tips! Thanks

[@vickykylander1055]

Omg so helpful, thank you from a beginner!

[@danbev8542]

Thank you so much for this! I'm trying to work up the courage to try a simple intarsia project - had no idea what it was at all! You've given a perfect explanation.

[@beverlyhess611]

This was a great explanation of intarsia knitting! Thanks for sharing! I’ve knit intarsia before, but this really made a few things more understandable!

[@thomassmith6344]

Hello Beverly

[@beverlyhess611]

@@thomassmith6344 hello Thomas

[@thomassmith6344]

@@beverlyhess611 good morning Beverly

[@thomassmith6344]

How are you doing?

[@beverlyhess611]

@@thomassmith6344 I’m good, thanks!

[@theastewart6721]

How did I miss this video?😊 Great introduction to Intarsia! Very clearly explained. I really enjoyed this video! Thanks Roxanne!🤗

[@dianathorpe2280]

Hi Roxanne. I love your videos and I watch all of them. I have learned so much. I love to knit socks and I'm thinking of knitting argyle socks. I found an old pattern that uses this intarsia method to knit argyle socks and I was wondering if you have ever knit argyle socks in this way, knitting the leg flat and seaming it later after the rest of the foot is knit in the round. If not would you consider that for a future podcast? Thanks so much for taking the time to make these wonderful podcasts. I am making great progress on my Boneyard Shawl during Finish it February after watching your video on M1R and M1L. Great tutorial!!

[@thomassmith6344]

Hello Diana

[@fredquinn3919]

Hi Roxanne...A great video as always. Have you tried using "shaped intarsia" ? I recently completed Kaffe Fassett's "Tumbling Rectangles" which was my first ever intarsia project. When I was swatching it to make sure I could get it to work, I kept looking at the ragged edges of the angles thinking there has to be some way to improve on them. After a bit of research I came across a description of the shaped intarsia technique which uses increases and decreases strategically placed before and after angled color changes to produce a totally smooth transition. With a pattern that is practically 90% angles, I knew I'd found my answer. I know that your tutorial was an introduction to the basics of intarsia but maybe just a quick mention about shaped intarsia would help some others who are looking for that type of result. Thanks again for your fantastic instruction!!!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

In last week's Casual Friday (or maybe the previous week, I can't remember), I mentioned that there are at least 10 other techniques related to intarsia, included shaped intarsia. I will likely be doing videos on at least some of them in the future, although probably not all of them.

[@donatiennecaron6715]

Hello Roxanne, your videos always have been a great help to me! Tnx. I would like to knit a big one-colour flower in my sweater, knitted in the round. Do you have a video on this? (Intarsia flat is clear to me but not the technique for a large figure knitted with circular needles. Could you please help me? Tnx a lot. Kind wooly regards, Dona (from Belgium)

[@RoxanneRichardson]

There are various ways of doing "intarsia in the round," but the reality for all of them is that you will have to knit back and forth while working the motif, whether you do that flat, with selvedges that you later seam; or use a technique where you join the beginning of the row to the end of the row as you knit; or use a technique where the turning point is at a place where there is a color change (making the turning point vary from round to round). I personally hate trying to maintain a tube while knitting intarsia (I don't want to work the purl side from the inside of the tube, so I typically switch from working in the round to working back and forth when it's time for the intarsia, adding an extra stitch at one edge. Once I'm past the motif, I join back in the round by decreasing out the extra stitch, and later, I seam up the gap where I worked flat, using mattress stitch (1/2 st from each edge).

[@donatiennecaron6715]

@@RoxanneRichardson tnx a lot for your reply! It is not all clear to me… could your recommend a video on this? Tnx and kindest regards, Dona

[@RoxanneRichardson]

@@donatiennecaron6715 I don't have any videos on this. You'll have to search KZbin for *intarsia in the round* in order to find the various options, and then decide which one is going to work for you.

[@GrandmaMarlayne]

That is an adorable hat and mittens! I don't think I would ever do intarsia but I loved to see how it is done. I am working up to trying to do socks in a simple two-color stranded pattern. I think I probably should go up a size on the pattern if I do that style as it will be most likely a tighter knit.

[@thomassmith6344]

Hello marlayne

[@GrownToCook]

Thank you for another great explanation! If I remember correctly you once showed a sock pattern in one of your vintage knitting books for socks knitted sideways and mentioned that the reason for this was often because of using intarsia in the pattern. I am currently knitting my first sock sideways and struggling to get a good fit since the fabric behaves very differently (less stretch). I was wondering whether you could do a video on this method of sock knitting (not necessarily including intarsia)?

[@MurielLavoie]

Hello, thank you for this very enlightening video. I would like to know how do you figure the size of the balls that you will need for your different colors. Taking in account that you don’t want to run out of a color mid pattern. This when working exemple with 3 or 4 colors.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

The pattern will tell you how much you need. If you’re designing it yourself you’d have to calculate the total yarn you’d need whether it was one color or many. I’d calculate based on #sts/gm in a swatch and then extrapolate for each color, depending on how many sts each color will need.

[@thomasLMK]

The flat knitting join to the round is not very clear. Is it possible to do a video how to knit a wording like Hey! on a hat ( circular needle/DPN) using intarsia method, instead of easy duplicate stitch? Thanks in advance.

[@jennypenny516]

Thank you

[@nicolelafontaine1720]

Thank you so much for demonstrating using both continental and throwing method, this is quite useful. Question : how do you deal with the tangle balls of yarn ?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

That is the topic of a future video! :-)

[@nicolelafontaine1720]

@@RoxanneRichardson Looking forward for that one also. It must be quite early in Minnesota, I hope you sleep OK.

[@carolscott5903]

Thank you for this informative video. When splicing the yarn on the backside do I skim both plys or should I trim the larger ply and skim the skinny ply?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

After you split the plies, you'll weave in both halves.

[@mkeller18]

I'm curious, what are the red marks on the tips of your wood needles?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I keep a jar of similarly-sized dpns on my desk. The red marks tell me those are the size 7 needles, which I use most frequently for swatching.

[@mkeller18]

@@RoxanneRichardson makes sense. Thanks.

[@bridgetchristianson8706]

There is a way to do intarsia in the round but it’s a bit fussy. The Sockmatition has a video where he call it “Strandtarsia”. I knit a pair of socks with this method. Thankfully it wasn’t a very involved pattern. The technique uses reverse knitting and also slipping stitches as you go around then using the second color and slipping the opposite colors. A lot like some double knitting techniques. It was a while ago so hopefully I’ve explained it correctly. For the adventurous knitter it’s fun to try.

[@kayceegreer4418]

You just might make a Knitter outta me... From watching this and watching you switch from what you have identified as English and Continental I'm curious is it possible to knit anything from side-to-side from the front only? I'm ambidextrous enough that even though I am a crocheter and a right-handed one at that, meaning, left hand is the thread thrower, I was a beautician and barber for ages and I'm used to using both hands and all fingers for multiple tasks, I think I could switch from English to Continental if need be for front only as I think it would be more direct and more efficient; less time-consuming perhaps. Since I don't know squat about knitting in the first place - well, except one way of casting on, and that there are actually a few others for specific purposes - I'm hoping you will just spew a font of information at me because I can't even ask a better question after that to get to know what I want to know.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You're asking about how to knit back backwards. :-) It can be very handy for working very short rows (and bobbles) without having to turn the work. You wouldn't have to switch the yarn to the other hand, though. It can be done with the yarn in either hand, just as knitting the standard way can be.

[@kayceegreer4418]

@@RoxanneRichardson okay, still not enough information because when I asked the internet how to knit backwards it still doesn't tell me anything helpful

[@hannahkillian689]

Me: *has epiphany* SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING. HOW IN BLAZES DID I FIGURE OUT INTARSIA ON MY OWN. Edit: on second thought, maybe I did see something on intarsia and then forgot about it but my brain didn't...wait does that make sense

[@jonathanvalentine1325]

pr໐๓໐Ş๓ ?