Three Categories of Color Work // Technique Tuesday

[@TiffanyM3]

Wow thank you for this! Having all of the categories explained back-to-back like this really helps highlight the differences between them, and the benefits of using which and when. I'm not a new knitter, but in the past I've shied away from intricate colorwork. Now that I'm branching out with my techniques, I'm trying to keep it all straight. Your explanation has "cleared the colorwork fog" for me! ❤

[@anikabennett810]

Whenever I have a problem or question, I look for your videos. I love your logical approach and I can follow your instructions . I guess my mind loves the reasons you give for knitting a certain way. You are the best and…my favorite teacher!

[@katalinacs703]

Dear Roxanne, I love your videos. I've learnt a lot from you, I love that you arrange information in a systematic and analytic way. Thanks a lot :)

[@igorminevich2121]

Same! Thank you!!

[@shutupcaf]

So so helpful! I’ve never known the difference between say, intarsia & stranded knitting. This was such a clear explanation. Thank you 😊

[@maryalgar8779]

Very much like the effect you got with that yellow and blue sample. Great video Roxanne.

[@annmariebusu9924]

It would make a nice hat pattern 😁

[@romystumpy1197]

I agree I like this very much ,I would like to see how the pattern is worked written down

[@k.embers]

Thank you for this explanation! I was very confused about whether my current project was fair isle, intarsia, stranded, etc because the terms all seem to be used interchangeably, but I was inferring through various sources there are technical differences and I just couldn’t piece them apart. Now I know my project is just stranded knitting 😁

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Glad it was helpful!

[@janeschwarz2807]

Good Morning, I would love to know how to knit the blue and yellow slip stitch diamond pattern. I need to work in another color at the bottom of a sweater and this is lovely!! it is the stitch at 3:35 on the video. thank you!!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Source: Walker, Barbara. A Second Treasury, “French Weave, Plain.” pp 42-43.

[@theastewart6721]

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting! I love color work! As a part Armenian American I’ll have to check this out!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

It's entirely possible that the term "Armenian knitting" was made up. There was a famous sweater designed back in the 1920s that required this technique, and it was an Armenian woman who was hired to knit it, using this technique. When the design became popular, she found other women familiar with this technique to do the knitting. Here is a link to the sweater design with a bit of information. www.schoolhousepress.com/patterns/bowknot-sweater.html

[@Hezz6142]

I have 2 unrelated questions I hope you can answer. First when a knit wear designer designs a sweater pattern and they give the amount of yarn needed for the sweater does that amount include the swatch? Everytime I swatch I worry about this. Also I know that you are a fabulous cable knitter, do you use a cable needle or not and if so what kind? Thank you Roxanne you've taught me so much and I enjoy watching you.

[@claudiacano4916]

I love how you explain things, thank you for this video. I wonder if double knitting, and two color brioche belong to any of these categories.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Double knitting could easily fall into the alternating colors category, or the stripes category, depending on what you're doing. I'm inclined to put two-color brioche into the stripes category , as you are only working across the stitches with one color at a time. (There are probably exceptions in each case.) Thanks for bringing those up!

[@sokirasden6278]

I feel like double knitting and two-color brioche together can be lumped into a 4th category, where you create 2 layers of fabric together and symmetrically. (there are ways to do two-color brioche in 1 pass and the 2 pass method still needs both colors to complete a row). You can also do ANYTHING in double knitting in terms of color pattern (with only 2 colors, of course).

[@sokirasden6278]

For example, you can totally do color blocks in double knitting.

[@sokirasden6278]

I guess you can call this category "simultaneous", "double-layered", or "vertical stripes"

[@azarlohrasbpour8837]

Hello, can you please share the pattern for the yellow & blue slip stitch? It’s very nice. Thank you.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

It's from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. "French Weave, Plain" pp 42-43.

[@azarlohrasbpour8837]

Roxanne Richardson - found it online - thanks.

[@romystumpy1197]

Great you asked about this blue and yellow slip stitch

[@kensalaman3951]

Excellent content, Rox. thanks so much. :*

[@shawnapoudrier9921]

Do you have videos on how to knit intarsia or color block? I looked on your channel and I didn't find any except this one. Also I was wondering how do I determine which color work method to use for a given project?

[@sophieinspired]

I love that blue and yellow slip stitch pattern! Could you tell me the name? Would love to recreate it but sadly couldn’t figure it out by just looking at the swatch 😅💖

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Source: Walker, Barbara. A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, “French Weave, Plain.” pp 42-43.

[@sophieinspired]

@@RoxanneRichardson thank you so much! 💖

[@KLD521]

This video tutorial was very helpful, not too long ago I just finished a shawl with color work, but following a pattern. This will help me when I decide to make my own pattern, it's going to take patience and frogging as I temp to write my own design. Thank you so much for sharing. Respectfully, Donna

[@samuelajah8649]

Is the pattern for the intarsia sweater available?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You'd have to find a copy of the book it was published in back in 1987, or a copy of the magazine where it was published in 2011: www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/welsh-poppy

[@samuelajah8649]

@@RoxanneRichardson thank you!

[@jeribianca9013]

Thanks for the refresher!

[@kristinesvendsen7667]

As I don’t speak Finnish I an having a problem understanding the technique: tikapuutekniikka/ ladder back jackard. Do you know how to work it and could you make a tutorial video?

[@winningnumbers]

Is it possible to do reverse stockinette using 2 colors??? Thanks in advance for a reply

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Not without getting color "blips". I have a video that explains the interaction of purl sts with color changes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnXYioh-a7GsnZI

[@louisegordon5169]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do a video on TWO color DOUBLE KNITTING-thank you

[@sandygrogg1203]

Interesting information.. Thank you!😊

[@shoelessmonk1941]

hi roxanne, have you made any videos on garter tab knit. i found it interesting when i looked into it for the shaw i am making. i never knew until now why it was worked, as it was so difficult for me to figure out. but now i know why it is used in a triangle shaw, but is their any other way to begin it except the 3 stitches?....stacy

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Well, there are multiple ways of getting to the point where you have 3 sts ready to work in 3 different directions, but otherwise, I'm not aware of how else you'd want to set up a top-down triangular shawl. There are different choices for casting on/picking up, and different choices for provisional CO methods (vs regular CO), but they all end with 3 sts in each of 3 directions.

[@suewalan7635]

I really enjoy your videos! You have helped me so much. I am preparing to start a bottom up, knit in the round sweater that has 24 out of 52 rows in the yoke with 3 colors. (It also has 1 row with 4 colors, but I will modify the pattern to use 3 colors.) I knit continental with both colors in my left hand and do my color work in Armenian / weaving. What should I do with the third color? I only found one video where you mention three color rows in passing: "Three Categories of Color Work // Technique Tuesday •Jul 17, 2018" 263 6 SHARE SAVE

[@RoxanneRichardson]

There isn't any one method that is going to work in all situations. A lot of it depends on how evenly/frequently spaced the color changes are, combined with the knitting style. One reason I haven't done a video on it (and likely why it's hard to find much advice) is because there are so many variations on how this can play out.

[@suewalan7635]

@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you. It's an 8 stitch pattern repeat. On the rows with 3 colors - one color is occasionally carried for 7 stitches. I am practicing by making a hat (as my swatch) using about half of the colorwork pattern. I'll try the various things I've found, and I'm sure something will work.

[@suewalan7635]

@@RoxanneRichardson Make that half of the colorwork CHART.

[@ooohlaa13]

this is so helpful and clear, as is usual for your videos, you have such a gift for methodical information and wow, your workmanship is wonderful ... a little off topic on the sweater with the flowers, how did you get the pink edging, looks like maybe single crochet? When I do single crochet it comes out "wavy" but yours is so flat and neat. Is that what you used, or do you have a video on how to get such a "finished" look. It really makes the piece "pop". Do you use the same size needle?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I knit that sweater more than 25 years ago! :-) I just switched to the fuchsia for the final row of 1x1 ribbing, before binding off. Nothing special.

[@ooohlaa13]

👏thanx my color is also fuschia so .... perfect!

[@carlajewett1091]

I am new to mosaic knitting and plan to knit a hat using this technique. The tutorials demonstrate knitting each color for two rounds. I notice that this method produces an elongated stitch, which I find undesirable. There is only one tutorial demonstrating knitting one round of each color, which eliminates the elongated stitch. I am curious to know why other tutorials don’t mention ths method for knittng in the round in stockinette. Carla J nycSox

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Mosaic knitting inherently has elongated stitches, whether you change colors every two rounds or every round, because the color that is not worked has to span the row or rows from when it was last worked to when it is worked again. There are methods of working *stranded color work* that allow you to work the sts for one color as you work the round, slipping the other colors, and then work the second color as you work the round again, slipping those that were worked in the first pass, and knitting those that were slipped. That is, you work every round of patterning by making two passes, using one color each time. If that is what you are doing, that is not mosaic knitting, that's a slow method of doing stranded color work, taking two passes per round.

[@GrapeApe2018]

I have been researching color work again, now that I have actually learned to knit. I knew I wanted to use this technique as soon as it was realistic to try. I knew before I actually learned to knit, it was my number two motivator for giving it one more shot before giving up forever. Socks, colorwork socks was no. one. Anyway, in crochet color work, and in a lot of written materials, the use of bobbins is widely used/ discussed. Yet not one flesh and blood knitter or knitting teacher has mentioned them. Are they some big faux pa s in the knitting realm?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Not at all. Bobbins can be useful when working intarsia, but aren't really necessary for other forms of colorwork. For intarsia, some people use bobbins, others wind center-pull butterflies, and others just use lengths of yarn that are a couple yards long, and pull the correct one out of the tangled mess when it's time to use that color. Perhaps bobbins are easier to manage when crocheting, because you have a hand free (hook in only one hand)? Many knitters find bobbins aggravating when working with many colors at once, because of how the hanging strands tangle around each other.

[@Gertyutz]

I don't make bobbins, but center-pull butterflies. You can get much more yarn into a butterfly. I tie them with a slipknot of contrasting yarn, and tighten it just a bit every now and then.