What You Didn't Know You Needed to Know

After you've read through a few tutorials and books and selected your first pattern and are ready to begin, here are a few tips that I'd like to pass along which I hope you'll get the chance to read before knitting your first sweater. These are tips I've picked up from helpful knitters that were answers to questions I had that arose while I knit my first two color sweater. I mention these as tips because many of them are not documented in pattern books or they are scattered here and there and difficult to find all in one place for the beginner. If you find these helpful to read before you begin your first sweater, I hope you'll pass these along to the next knitter you meet who might just be getting started.

Tip #1: Jogless 2 Color Knitting
This is an all important little trick to pick up which helps make color changes look seamless when knitting in the round. I first discovered this when knitting a Christmas stocking in the round, with stripes, alternating between two colors. As you knit up any item in the round with circular needles (body of sweater, sleeve, etc.), you'll notice that if you change colors at the beginning of a new round the color &/or color pattern tends to fall out of alignment at the seam (where you begin and end your round). That is because when you knit in the round you are knitting a spiral, so the beginning and end of a round never perfectly meet. The way to correct for this was passed on to me by another fellow knitter however I believe the source is from Meg Swansen's Knitting:

Start your new color, knit one complete round, then on the first stitch of the second round of the new color, lift the stitch in the row below, put it on the left needle and knit two together.

Tip #2: Increasing in Pattern
Here is another nifty little trick passed along to me by another very helpful knitter. In many Norwegian patterns, the pattern will instruct you to make increases or decreases "in pattern." However, the pattern will rarely offer a charted design showing the increase/decrease stitches in pattern. (I have found a few rare exceptions, most notably, the book Norsk Strikkdesign.) You could chart out the body of your sweater, or the sleeve, with the pattern repeat, to create a colorized stitch chart, showing what colors to add or eliminate as you knit rows calling for increases/decreases. In other words, you would take your pattern repeat and use it to chart out the entire pattern of your sweater for the body and the sleeves row by row with knitting graph paper or on a computer.

Or you can use magnets placed vertically and horizontally on your charted design and proceed as follows:

When you are at the beginning of a round, work the increase in the color that comes before the first one that is on your needles.

At the end of the round, work the increase in whatever color would come next in the pattern.

.......4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7......

(Increase stitches in bold)

However, here is a faster shortcut:

Take your charted design and make multiple copies with the use of a color copy machine (or copy and paste on your computer). Cut and paste them together as many times as needed, and then draw a line with a fine tip black marker at the edge of each row based on the correct stitch count for the item you are working on (ie. sweater body, sleeve, etc.).

Tip #3: Working a Steek with a Sewing Machine
Alot of books will instruct you to sew down one side of a column of stitches, cross over, and sew up the other side, somewhat akin to a buttonhole stitch. Here are a few more details which were passed along to me that I had not read before in a book:

• If you are a quilter and already own a walking foot for your machine, this little gadget can come in handy to use when reinforcing your cutting line for your steeks.
• Set your stitch length to the smallest length possible.
• Sew directly on the side of the stitch (one half of the "v") rather than between stitches.
• Sew two lines for extra insurance.
• Always test your yarn with a test steek if it is not 100% wool.
• You can also develop your skills at steeking with an old sweater that you can practice with.

Tip #4: Purling in Two Colors:

If you are working on Fair Isle corrugated ribbing where you need to knit and purl on the same row while knitting in the round, it will be very helpful to learn how to purl in two colors. Its also important to know if you are creating a stranded project that is knit in flat rows. The technique is fairly straightforward - you purl in two colors the same way that you knit in two colors, with one exception: you must return the pattern color to the back of your work before proceeding with the next color.

If you knit in two colors with one strand in each hand, you will need to learn how to purl continental style when you purl in two colors. There is a great video tutorial for continental purling at knittinghelp.com. When you first learn how to purl in two colors with one yarn in each hand, your purl stitches may be on the loose side, which can cause your ribbing to become wavy so its good to practice first. If you are finding it difficult to do, another alternative to purling in two colors is to Knit Back Backwards (see Tip # 11 below).

Tip #5: What Method of Cast on to Use?

This tip comes from Meg Swansen of Schoolhouse Press. In order to counteract the tendency of corrugated ribbing from curling upwards, she recommends avoiding the 'long tail' method of cast on, and instead advises using the German Twisted cast on method. There is an "awesome" demonstration of this on the DVD, Fair Isle Vest, available through http://www.schoolhousepress.com/ If you've already cast on and have noticed curling, there are two ways I have come across to fix it, either sew in a very thin piece of elastic or a decorative piece of ribbon along the lower bottom edge of the ribbing on the private side of the sweater.

Tip #6: When to Change Needle Sizes when Knitting in 2 Colors

If you are working on a Norwegian style sweater that calls for straight stocking stitch in one color over a large section before beginning your two color knitting design, it is a good idea to change to the next needle size up, when you begin your color work (and vice versa). This will help you keep your tension the same across both sections. This is especially important for yoke sweater patterns. Two color knitting has a tendency to have a tighter gauge as compared to one color knitting, so if you don't change needle sizes, your one color section may become wavy underneath a two color section. Moving up a needle size when you begin your pattern, and then switching back to the needle size you began with when you return to one color knitting after your color work is complete is a good rule of thumb. Some patterns will tell you this, and some don't, assuming that you already know to do this. If you don't like the results you achieved, don't be afraid to rip back and try again to get it just right. If changing the needle size doesn't work, try to regulate your gauge by changing your tension (how tight or loose you are holding the strand of yarn as you knit).

You can also try another approach offered in Sweaters from Camp; knit your single color section with one strand of the same color in each hand, the same as if you were doing stranded knitting with two colors. In this case, you would continue to use the same needle size as the one you used for your two color section.

Tip #7: Buying One Brand of Needles for Your Entire Project

As you can imagine, the number of needles to buy for one project begins to add up fast. One for the ribbing, 1-2 for the body, 3-4 for the sleeves (1 dpn for ribbing, 1 dpn for bottom of sleeve, 1 circular for top half, another circular if adding colorwork or switching to plain one color knitting), and 1 more for cardigan and neck ribbing. Thats a possible total of 8 different size needles. You can begin to see, the cost can add up quickly, especially if you have never purchased needles before. I started out with 2 Addi Turbo needles to begin, and thought I could save myself some money buy switching to a cheaper brand for the other sizes, only to find out that the sizes are not comparable from one brand to another. So another lesson learned, try to begin with one brand, and acquire all the needle sizes you need from the same brand, because even the slightest difference in size can cause a change in your tension. Its also a great idea to try the brand out before you invest in several pair to make sure you like it. One option for knitters are interchangable needles which can save on the cost of buying many different wire lengths.

Tip #8: Lesson on Yarn Dominance

This tip comes from Pine Cone Lodge which is such an important piece of knowledge to have in hand for two color knitting when you begin your first project. To help get a very even, smooth knitted fabric, and to help show off the design so it is very neet and crisp, it is very important to hold the pattern color in the same hand consistently, not only across a single row, but throughout every row in the sweater. In this case a picture communicates a thousand words so please visit Pine Cone Lodge and see for yourself and enjoy the beautiful designs! For more research, check out the article, "Working with Two Yarns" by Beth Brown Reinsel in Interweave Knits, Summer 2004 edition.

Tip #9: Color Swatching 101

Many times a Fair Isle or Norwegian pattern will call for yarn that is no longer available, or dye lots change and the same colors used by the original designer are just not the same and you may feel disatisfied with the difference, and or you might like a design but you don't like the colors and would like to rework the pattern with your own color scheme. Here is some advice from Deborah Newton's book Designing Knitwear. Start out knitting a swatch of your motif in just two colors that work well together which you like. Create the motif a second time adding a second pair of colors, making sure that one of the two is similiar to the first two. Then add another two, gradually increasing the number of colors in the design until you achieve the effect you are after.

It can seem like a great expense ordering a test batch of yarn skeins for swatching purposes. But I think its well worth it, especially if your pattern is older and you can't be assured that the colors called for in the pattern are still available or the colors have shifted quite a bit over time due to dye lot variation (which can be considerable). If you've been knitting for a long time with a favorite brand of yarn used in two color knitting, chances are you already have quite a bit of colors left over, which can be useful for testing swatches. But if you are just getting started, one way to save on costs is to try swapping/trading or just good naturedly gifting color samples with friends online until you can accumulate your own stash of leftovers for testing. If you do purchase test skeins, it might not be possible to use them in the final project because the dye lot might not be the same when you order your final color choices for your full project, but you can always put them to good use making small projects in the future such as ski headbands, hats, mittens, felted tote bags, knitted toys, doll clothes etc.

The Art of Color Shading in Fair Isle Knitting

This last tip on color swatching for Fair Isle knitters comes from a personal observation of Alice Starmore designs. She has a very clever way of setting up color changes in her designs. She never drops both background and foreground colors on the same row when making a transition to new colors in the design. She'll drop only one color at a time so that the 'other' color is always dropped on the next row. Additionally, she will also use 'graduated' colors as she moves from one color to the next. The overall effect of these two techniques is that you never get an abrupt color change so the transition in color is always subtle and when the yarn is heathered the effect is even more subtle, very mesmerizing and magical.

Tip #10: Two Color Knitting, One Color at a Time

If you are having difficulty knitting with two colors at the same time, here is a method that I had not heard of before, nor have I tried, but came across in this book, which offers an alternative method to traditional two color stranded knitting. If you really love the look of two color knitting but just can't get the hang of knitting with two colors per row, this is an alternative that might be an option for you.

• Knit all of color A stitches and slip all of color B stitches on row 1.
• Slip all of color A stitches and knit all of color B stitches on two 2.

Tip #11: Knitting Back Backwards in Color Pattern

If you have chosen to knit something based on a two color charted design that is not knit in the round, and requires you to knit in flat rows, such as a potholder, afghan squares, or a pillow cover, you can purl your way across the purl rows, purling in two colors (see Tip #4) -OR- you can knit back backwards in two colors, avoiding purling all together. To see a video of the technique using one strand of yarn, click here. It is also discussed in Sweaters from Camp by Schoolhouse Press and The Knitting Experience: Book 3 - Knitting in Color by Sally Melville. Neither book provides a lengthy, detailed description with a step by step photo tutorial, but you can see Meg Swansen knitting back backwards on several of her DVD's including this one.

Tip#12: How to Finish Cardigan Edges with "Attached I-Cord"

Sometimes a stranded color sweater pattern will call for finishing the edges with attached I-cord. This is the best written description I've come across so far from KnittingHelp.com:

Knit all of the i-cord stitches in the row, except the last stitch. Slip the last stitch. Knit a stitch from the garment (or pick up a stich along edge, if no live stitches). Passed slipped stitch over garment stitch. Prepare to work the next row, by sliding stitches to the other end of right needle (on a DPN or cable needle), or slipping all stitches from right needle onto left needle. Repeat from *.

To see a video on how to knit I-Cord, click here and scroll down to the middle of the page.

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