Colorwork
Colorwork is an umbrella term for techniques like Fair Isle and intarsia, where multiple yarn colors are knitted within the same row to form patterns.
Explanation
Colorwork is the umbrella term for techniques where two or more yarn colors are used within the same row or round to create a pattern. The two main categories are Fair Isle (stranded colorwork), where multiple strands are carried across the whole round with floats on the wrong side, and intarsia, where each color block is knitted with its own bobbin without floats. Colorwork is classically used in Nordic-style cardigans and sweaters, and takes some practice to keep an even gauge, since tight floats easily pucker the fabric.
Also known as: Color knitting
The three main methods
Fair Isle and other stranded knitting use two colors per round and carry the unused strand loosely across the back. Intarsia uses a separate ball per color block with no strands carried, suiting large motifs. Mosaic knitting uses only one color at a time and creates the pattern by slipping stitches.
The motif decides: small, dense patterns suit stranded knitting, large areas suit intarsia, and geometric patterns suit mosaic.
Gauge in colourwork
Stranded knitting produces a denser, less elastic fabric than stockinette in the same yarn, because the floats on the back bind it. The gauge is therefore different — and the swatch has to be worked in pattern, not in plain stockinette.
Many knitters go up half to a full needle size in the colourwork section to compensate.
Managing tension in stranded knitting
The single thing that separates good stranded colorwork from puckered colorwork is the length of the floats on the back, and floats are almost always too short rather than too long.
When you carry the unused colour across the back of several stitches, the strand must span the same distance as the stitches it crosses on the front. Knitters instinctively pull it tight, which draws the fabric in and produces the puckering that will not block out. Spreading the stitches on the right needle before carrying the yarn across forces the float to the right length. Where a float would run more than about five stitches, catch it behind a stitch mid-way — but not in the same place on consecutive rows, or the catches show through.
Common mistakes
- Measuring gauge in stockinette and applying it to the colourwork section.
- Pulling the floats tight, which draws the garment in across the pattern.
Keywords
- colorwork
- stranded knitting
- fair isle
Frequently asked questions
Which method should I start with?
Stranded knitting in two colors with short runs between color changes. It is the foundation of most traditional patterns.
Why is my colourwork tighter than the rest?
Because the floats on the back are pulled tight. Spread the stitches out on the right needle before each color change.
Should I hold both colors at once, or drop one and pick up the other?
Dropping and picking up works and is how many knitters start, but it is slow and makes consistent float tension harder. Holding one colour in each hand, or both in the same hand on separate fingers, is faster and gives more even results — and it has the useful side effect of keeping each colour consistently dominant, which subtly affects how the pattern reads.