Adventures In Knitting - Part 3

In my past two posts.  I discussed learning to knit in the round using two circular needles and knitting a piece in  double knitting.  This week's theme is Intarsia.

Intarsia is also called color block knitting.  It differs from Fair Isle, which I've never done but is next on my list, in that you do not carry the yarn behind the piece as you knit.  In intarsia knitting, you drop one color yarn and pick up a new color, making sure that you wrap the old color with the new to help lock it in place.

I chose a simple skull to start with.  How hard could it be simply using black and white yarn in this piece.  Boy, was I wrong!  I started out by casting on the required number of stitches with the black yarn.  As I wanted a piece that I could show a customer, I wanted the skull framed by a black square.  I used the skull pattern I had graphed out for my double knitting piece with a few modifications.  I had prepared small amounts of yarn wrapped around pieces of recycled cardboard.  I had one white and one black.  It wasn't until I actually started knitting the skull that I knew I had underestimated how many small balls of yarn I needed.  If I thought this project was going to be simple, I was sadly mistaken!

It turned out that for this simple skull, I needed 4 balls of white yarn and 4 balls of black.  I stated in my first post that learning to knit in the round using the two circular needle method was like knitting with an octopus, my first experience with intarsia was like trying to knit with an octopus which was fighting with a squid!

The instructions I was following stated that you simply leave all the tails of the yarn hanging behind your piece and weave them in when your through.  So I not only had the 8 balls of yarn dangling behind my work, I also had at least 7 tail ends to get in the way!

I can't count the number of times I grabbed one of those tail ends and started knitting with it or I grabbed the wrong ball of yarn to knit with.   Often, by the time I realized what I had done, I was either halfway across the row or on the next row.  Now, if you read my other Adventures, you know what my response was.  If you haven't read them, I can tell you there were a few choice expletives and many throwings of the piece against the nearest wall.  Then , when I felt better, I would unpick all the stitches and continue on.  I finally finished the piece:

  I didn't take a photo of the back because I hadn't woven all the yarn pieces yet and it was a total mess.  Considering the frustration I sometimes felt while knitting this piece, I think it came out pretty well.   Currently, I'm making a pair of boot toppers featuring  this same pattern and I have  learned my lesson.  I wove all the yarn tails in as I went along and I was careful about which strand of yarn I picked up next to knit with.  I'm happy to say that is current experience in Intarsia is much better than my first!

Adventures In Knitting - Part 2

Last week, I described my adventures in learning how to knit in the round with two circular needles.  This week, it's time to describe my adventures in learning how to double knit  and knitting an intarsia piece. 

First let me say, that these particular experiments were at the request of a customer who bought a bracelet from me on Wyvern Designs on Art Fire  and said, "Oh by the way, I see that you knit.  Could you knit a scarf with a hood that lays flat under my coat?  And has skulls on it?"  I said, sure I'm game and went off to  try and teach myself how to do this!

I have never knitted using either of these methods but I figured how hard could it be?  So off to the internet to see what kind of instructions were out there.  I found many different videos and written tutorials.  After watching lots and lots of them I sat down and graphed out a skull pattern. I started with double knitting.   I searched for some scrap yarn with which to create my masterpiece, grabbed some needles and started to cast on. 

Now, there are several different ways to do this.  One tutorial instructed to cast on with both yarns at once, making sure that the two colors lay in the correct alignment.  I cast on using some hideous turquoise blue and bright yellow yarn I had.  I figured I was never going to use either for anything else so why not use it in this piece.  Half my double stitches came out Turquoise-yellow and the other half, yellow-turquoise.  So I ripped that out and tried the other method which entails casting on with one color and then knitting the second color as you go  along in the first row.  This proved to be so difficult that I threw the piece at the wall, which if you read my last adventure, you'll realize is my method of relieving stress.  After I picked the piece up and untangled the yarn, I ripped all those stitches out.

After several more tries using both methods, I decided to invent my own method.  I cast on the stitches using both yarns at once and went back and positioned the stitches by hand so that they were in the right order.

I started to knit.  With double knitting, you follow a chart, knitting with the appropriate color yarn to make your "picture".   The piece is extra thick and double sided, hence the term double knitting.  In my case, one side had a turquoise background with a yellow skull and the other a yellow background with a turquoise skull.  But I soon realized that I can't even read my own chart and I had messed up several times.  So I ripped out that piece and started again.

I decided that since I, apparently, couldn't read a chart, I would have to have written instruction for my pattern.  I spent some time counting out how many turquoise and yellow stitches in each row and finally sat down to knit.

This time there was no more flinging things against the wall and things progressed nicely.  I kind of like double knitting.  You have to be mindful to knit the main color stitch of the side you're working on and purl the stitch for the other side.   And as long as you follow the pattern, it turns out really well.  I only did a swatch but I think it would make a nice warm scarf which is double sided and whose edges are sealed.

Here is my first attempt at double knitting.  Don't mind the bilious colors.  My daughter said it looks like something out of the seventies, which is probably when I bought the yarn.

                                          











I had intended to tell of my adventures
in Intarsia in this post, as well.  but it ran a little long and I think I'll leave it for My
Adventures in Knitting-Part 3.