Related Posts

26 comments on “Carrying Colors for Stripes”

  2. Another wonderful tutorial. I’m in the home stretch of completing a project with a two-row color repeat where I’ve carried the yarn. I’m wondering what the limit is in carrying the yarn. Is it three rows, four or some other higher number? At some point does the carried yarn, even though it’s twisted, become too easily snagged on things such as fingers?

  3. Hi Tamara – it really depends on your project and the yarn you’re using. For instance, I probably wouldn’t carry yarn for too long on something that will have a snug fit, like gloves (easy to snag fingers on any loops). But carrying yarn up four rows usually isn’t a problem.

  4. I subscribe to your Blog via Google Reader and watch all your tutorials. I have been knitting on and off since I was about eight years old but I always learn something new or refresh a technique by watching your videos. Just thought I’d say a heartfelt Thank You!

    P. S.: Which pattern did you use for that awesome kerchief you are wearing in this video clip? It’s gogeous! Can’t find it on your ravelry project page.

  7. Great timing. Just saw a pattern to a scarf that requires striping in 2 Noro colorways. Thanks as always!!!

  10. I purchased the ebook, but due to a computer problem, I have lost the download. Is there a way that I may download it again?

  11. Hi Staci,

    I love your tutorials, I watch them all the time. I’m relatively new to knitting, but have been crocheting for 25 years. I’m curious how this technique would work with more than 2 colors.

  12. Hi Julie – working stripes with more than two colors will be the exact same technique. You’ll just want to do the “flop over” wrap with all of the working yarns, keeping them neatly strung up the side of the work.

    S t a c i

  13. Hi Staci,
    First I just want to say how wonderful your site is. I have been knitting since I was very young, however, nothing very fancy or challenging. I was recently asked by my girlfriends daughters to make “socks”. I had never used DPN before but I thought how hard could it be….I will just go on YouTube & see what I can find. That is how I found you. Thanks to your site & easy videos, I have 2 pair of socks and a pair of sock/slippers (w/moccasin soles) under my belt. I am now working on a sweater for my grand daughter which involves (5) colors (after the socks I’m feeling like a pro ..lol). Would I run all the colors up the side? Seems like it would be extremely bulky. Please don’t every delete your site. I have learned soooo much from you.
    June
    Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada

  14. Hi June – thank you for the nice note! I’m glad my videos have helped you!

    Regarding your question about carrying 5 colors – it depends, and you’ll have to use your judgement here. If the yarn is really thin, you might get away with it. But I think I’m agreeing with you when I say that 5 strands is probably too much bulk, especially on a little sweater for a kid. Your best bet is probably to break the yarn so you’re only carrying two or three colors at a time.

    Hope that helps!
    S t a c i

  15. Staci, you’ve re-introduced me to making dishcloth via your video.
    Love it ! !
    I’ve been knitting sox 2-a-a-t magic loop and have knit over fifty pair.
    At present I want to knit a pullover sweater in the round.
    I plan on using indie dyed-yarn and would like to alternate skeins every other round to compensate for the variation of skeins.
    One or more of the video podcasters have reported this method leaves a ‘seam’ where the colors are changed.
    What technique can I use to eliminate leaving an indication that yarn balls have been changed at the end of the round?

  16. Hi Gerry – thanks for the note! Wow – 50 pairs of socks!

    I’ve never found there to be anything so noticeable that I would call it a “seam” when I’m carrying two balls of yarn for stripes. It’s really just one extra strand of yarn, and I don’t find it distracting at all. You asked for advice on how to eliminate any indication of this – there isn’t really anything you can do. But I really don’t find it significant enough to worry about, anyway.

    🙂
    S t a c i

  17. Hi Staci,
    Thank you so much for showing me this technique. I really love your videos and they are very helpful. I have just completed my very first scarf with an added fringe. 🙂 I am now ready to try another with stripes using this technique. Before I saw this I was going to break the yarn and then have to weave in like 80 million strands but now that I’ve seen this technique this is going to be super simple. 🙂

  18. Love your extremely helpful videos! I’m assuming this method is mainly to be used on a piece that is to be seamed or when it doesn’t matter about the wrong side. Is there a way to carry color up the side for something like a striped scarf, where I don’t want the extra to show like it does when using this method, or would I just need to break the yarn for each stripe and weave in all those ends?

  19. Hi Catherine – this same method can be used to carry the yarn up the work for any project, even if there is no “wrong side”. If you are careful and consistent about how you carry and wrap the colors, it ends up looking like a twisted twill edge, and very nice.
    🙂
    S t a c i

  20. When I did mine by following your video my Cast on yarn tail and my contrast color yarn tail are both on the same side. I changed the pattern from a 5 row stripe to a 6 row stripe since you said to do them in even numbers. I’m just curious as to why my yarn ends are both to the right when I’m looking at the right side of my work. On yours, the purple tail is on one side and the yello tail is to the other. Many thanks for you time 🙂

  21. I think I know what you’re saying – in my example, my cast-on tail is on the left, and my two working yarns are on the right. That is because I did the long-tail cast-on, and I counted the cast-on as the first row. You don’t ever want to count the CO as the first row unless the pattern tells you to…in this case, I did, because I prefer to consider the 1st row after the CO the wrong-side of the work.

    After you finish an even number of rows of either color, your two working yarns should be on the same side.

    S t a c i

  22. Thanks so much for addressing this, not many people do! Two quick questions:

    1) every time you knit back to the side that has the first color of tail hanging, do you twist it again to keep carrying it up each row? I assume you would have to, but you don’t really say and I am a total novice, so I just want to make sure I am doing it right. 🙂

    2) what if I am doing a stitch like garter or seed where there is no wrong side…..I am currently working on a scarf that has 10 rows of seed stitch in each stripe and I am finding that one side of the work looks a little…. More colorful than the other side. Lol! Is this normal? Is there any way to avoid this other tha going ahead and cutting the yarn and weaving in all the ends?

    Thank you so much!

  23. Hi Sarah – to answer your questions –

    1. When you knit down and back (two rows), you’ll be back at the spot where you have the other color hanging and waiting. If you’re knitting more than a two-row stripe, it is a good idea to wrap the two working yarns every two rows, to smoothly carry the unused color up the side of the work.

    2. Ten rows is a long way to carry an unused color! Even with careful wrapping of the working yarns, I probably wouldn’t do this technique for more than a six-row stripe. That said, the unused, “carried” yarn color will show on the work, so it has to show somewhere. If it’s appearing more on one side than the other, I think that’s probably just the way it is. I’m sure we’re talking about millimeters here…but if it’s bothering you, you can try wrapping the two yarns the opposite way of the way you’ve been doing it, and see if you like the look of that better.

    S t a c i

  25. Hi, I am knitting a stripe scarf with 3 different colours. Would you suggest carrying the wool for this? Thank you

  26. Sussan – depends on the weight of the yarn and the width of the stripes…if they are narrow stripes and lighter-weight yarn, it will work better.

    S t a c i

Comments are closed.