I have found that all the ends make for an UNPLEASENT experience when Intarsia knitting, and being that I am somewhat weakened at this time, I am looking to make things a bit easier. I was wondering, since I know you can "tack-down"/"catch" the stitches when there are more than 5 consecutively in Fair Isle, then couldn't you also do this when doing designs when using the Stranding technique??? Even possibly with more than 2 colors???
2006-12-31 17:23:52 · 3 answers · asked by Sophie D S 2 in Games & Recreation ➔ Hobbies & Crafts
Yes you could. However, I think knitting Intarsia in the round would be better. For a really great online video of advanced knitting, go to knittinghelp.com
2006-12-31 19:31:37 · answer #1 · answered by Yarnlady_needsyarn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have done several in-the-round Fair Isle stockings this Christmas, many of which incorporated "catching" stitches because of blocks in the pattern larger than 5 stitches across.
From personal experience, let me tell you that this may seem easier than Intarsia and all the stupid ends, but TRUST ME it is not. If you are talking about a medium-sized motif (10, maybe 15 stitches), you might could do it, but if you are talking about doing a whole sweater, tacking the stitches every 5 or so for 20-80 stitches across would be knitting suicide. Also, when the knitted fabric is stretched, my catches show up on the right side (could be because I am doing this wrong... lol).
My suggestion would be to try adapting or finding a pattern that you want to work in Fair Isle. I'm sure that Fair Isle can be done in 3 colors/row but would be significantly more difficult than 2/row. All in all, I would say that you're a lot better off either just using a regular Fair Isle/Stranding pattern or doing Intarsia than trying to mix the two up. You might end up with a much bigger headache that you were trying to avoid!
2006-12-31 20:44:05 · answer #2 · answered by Megan N 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could strand, but it uses up a lot of yarn and makes for a lot of strands on the back of your piece, especially for large areas of intarsia. You also need to tack each color every third or fourth stitch, which could lead to color *bleed* on the front and bulkiness rather than a smooth surface, especially if you are stranding several colors. It might be better to weave the ends in as you knit for large color blocks and for those two or three stitches of one color areas to duplicate stitch them in at the end.
2007-01-01 02:01:55 · answer #3 · answered by mickiinpodunk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋