Multi-color Knitting -- What I didn't Know // Casual Friday #15

In this week's Casual Friday, it's all about multi-color knitting, and the revelations I've had from the Latvian Mitten class I've been taking; what knitting manuals say and don't say about multi-color knitting; and how a retired Swede with a passion for knitting has rocked my world with his master's thesis.

To jump right to a specific point in the video, click on the adjacent timestamped link.
Introduction 0:00
Bad News/Good News 0:29
New yarn to experiment with 2:30
Yarn shops come and go 4:45
Latvian mitten class update 6:20
Quest for 3-color information 13:30
A different approach slowly dawns 16:21
Enter Olle-Petter and his master's thesis 25:25
Color value dominance vs yarn dominance 35:50

[RoxanneRichardson]

Many people have asked if I have seen Arne & Carlos's video regarding the lack of dominance in Norwegian knitting. Please read through the comments to see my responses to those comments/questions.

[Clubkidknitter]

Two things: First, THANK YOU so much for doing this video as it was very helpful! I knit Latvian mittens and I use the technique of twisting in one direction for first half and then in the opposite direction second half. Ultimately, this untwists your working yarns - GENIUS! Second, three-color knitting: When I knit with two colors, I trap floats (by twisting) every four stitches. I keep my rotating floats that short to keep them from snagging on a ring until the floats eventually felt to one another. Now, three colors. Using this method of twisting when you pick up a new color, but ALSO twisting to trap a long float will ultimately braid your working yarns. Twisting in the opposite direction on needles three and four will not unbraid your yarns and you'll end up with a big old mess. What I do is change the "trapping by twisting" to every eight stitches. This accomplishes two things: because you are working with three yarns, extending your float length will keep this section a little more stretchy (less tight) as long as you are putting a tad more slack in those floats. Because those longer floats are up against two other yarns, they actually hide within them, ultimately. They'll also eventually felt with the other two yarns. How do I avoid the braiding? I work the section like I would intarsia. A lot of times - not always, but seems so with mittens - three or more colors are only used in a section. Rather than attaching a third color as an entire ball, I make a butterfly with the third color. This way, it's way easier to keep it untwisted from the other two colors as you go. Ultimately, you're back to only managing the twists of two yarns. You should then be able to go back to twisting the two yarns in one direction on needles one and two and then the opposite direction on needles three and four. Those two colors can remain attached as two full balls of yarn. This method also works with four colors. Simply join colors three and four as butterflies and untwist those as you go. The benefit to this method is it allows you to knit all colors as rotating foats, thus allowing for all stitches for all colors being equal and tidy in size and appearance. Trapping floats for a third or more colors using the "weave-in" method ends up creating wonky stitches because trapping via this method makes certain stitches larger or uneven. I hope this all makes sense. 😀 Again, thank you for this video and for the information about the Swedish man's thesis! Profoundly interesting!

[jimmydoesknitting]

This is deep in the weeds stuff. I feel like I should have been bored, but I'm totally fascinated. Oldie but a goodie.

[nadiarogo]

I feel like english-style knitters always overthink it :D

If you knit continental with all fingers resting on your knitting (no stretched index finger), you would not even ask yourself how to knit stranded 3-color colorwork, because it would be obvious and very comfortable/intuitive to you. You keep all 3 strands on your left index finger (resting on the knitting), most dominant color closest to your heart (your finger tip being the most far away place from your heart). The yarn tales are separated between pinky, ring and middle finger, but lie next to each other on your index finger.Then you just pick the strangs as you go, nothing ever gets twisted and strands will never "pool" and catch on each other (they only do that if you stretch your finger). When you need to catch floats you go over-under and they never twist, because you twist-untwist them each time, twisting one way and then immediately the other way. And if you do eastern purling, you would not have any issue purling with 2 colors or doing 2-color ribbing. Latvia being in the east, that would have been the technique to look into, in order to know how it's done. In short: continental with resting fingers + eastern purling solve all tension issues.

With 4 or more colors per row, I actually rather just knit the row twice, once with 2 colors and slipping "inactive" stitches and the second time with the other 2 colors, slipping stitches that were already knit.


:)

2 cents from an eastern knitter

[onwardbe]

Wow so much here .. I will be watching again to digest all the amazing information. thank you so much

[stephanieselb]

I’m binge watching your videos today! Your technical content makes me appreciate knitting so much more. Knitting is science and art, not just a simple craft. I’m preparing to do a simple color work project and this video is just what I needed to see. Thank you!

[okdubunf]

You're geeking out and I love watching it 😂

[Cyndance]

Isn't it wonderful how people have been knitting away, doing what they do for hundreds (thousands?) of years, doing what they do, and now with internet and especially YouTube we all get to learn so many new things from people all around the globe? Thank you SOOO much for showing us so many tips today. So, yeah, who knew? Well you did and now I do.

[sandygrogg]

Watching a second time, because even though it’s over my head, snd out if my league, I find the topic to be fascinating.. Probably because I am so in awe of knitters who do this complex work.. It’s almost like magic to me..

[robinmccamont]

Really fascinating discussion, Roxanne...! I love your enthusiasm for the subject, and I appreciate you taking us with you on your "learning journey"! I'm keen to hear more, and to watch any / all technique videos you may publish on this topic, too!!! Take care!

[fitchery]

Thank you so much for sharing your discoveries with us! I have benefited immensely from every single video of your's I've watched. They are like straight shots of competence. You are the best teacher any growing knitter could ask for. This video in particular was just incredible. I cannot get over how much I learned and how the sense of wonder wasn't just palpable but totally infectious. Shortest 40 minutes of my life. I cannot wait to read that thesis and do some swatches!

[harrietyarmill]

I am fairly new to colour work having studiously avoided it for about 50 years. I have fallen in love with it and you cannot imagine how much I appreciate your coverage of the topic of handling multiple yarns ( Fair isle, move over)
Without reading the thesis, and being a strictly parallel knitter, I have arrived at holding the dominant in the left and the 2 non dominant colours in my righthand. Keeping consistency in the right hand.
I am planning to try the rotating colours at my earliest chance.
Thank you so much!😊

[conniehunt]

I watched the video day before yesterday. I’m working on test knitting for a project called Reindeer tracks (a cardigan). It has a 12 row 3 color section with long floats. This video gave me some terminology to google (managing yarn, long floats, etc, ) and I started reading, Last evening saw a post on a Facebook group- stranded knits, about ladder back knitting, Never heard of it, Googled that and watched some videos, got up this morning and knitted a swatch using a combo, twisting floats on two of the colors and working ladder back on the third and mostly unused color. Although I need to do another test swatch, to tighten up my tension (I overcompensated keeping things loose), this method worked great and I’m super happy with how it turned out. I’m keeping some project notes on my ravelry project and will be posting more pictures of the swatches as I work them, This combination of videos really gave me a leg up on managing my yarn with 3 colors and extremely long (for me) floats.

[DawnBurn]

I'm still so new to knitting but this is such a lovely discussion of knitting and learning and being open to ideas and researching and geekery. Love it.

[tracemoriarty]

First video I've watched on this channel. I had to bow out 18 minutes in to go look up "yarn dominance, " to figure out what you were talking about! Watched your other video, and AH-HA! I've been knitting for 18 years, and I do a lot of colorwork -- but I don't know the correct name for anything at all. I learned from my mom, who learned from her grandfather, and we don't know the right names of anything! I learned to do colorwork with rotating floats; I never knew there were other means of colorwork. I've always been bewildered by other knitters talking about yarn getting twisted when mine doesn't twist at all, and how could it? Now this opens my eyes, and there's a whole new world out there! Thank you for this!

[mariaandharold]

so, so informative !! love the multiple angles to address one point of view; love the way to present that each way to knit multiple colors has its pros & cons. Knitters do profit from thinking "outside the floats"

[Ynnsie]

You are a gifted communicator. I too followed what you laid out and it's been years since I did colourwork. IF I'm ever ambitious enough to do colourwork again (and there are so many great motifs out there that I'm tempted) and IF I'm crazy enough to attempt 3 colours .... I'll remember this. Thanks very much. Carry on.

[robertmae]

"Casual" Friday??? This was pretty intense and very fascinating. Maybe "Fascinatingly Friday". I'm certainly motivated by your discovery. I have so few people to knit for now. So - I'm going to knit for myself and to be come better educated about this topic, for sure. Thanks so much.

[claudiahagel]

I just fell in love with you and your passion, so good to find people that are able to feel same ☺️❣️

[robynkirk]

I enjoy your enthusiasm and I thank you for sharing all that you discover.