Holding Yarns for Stranded Colorwork: Three Methods
Stranded colorwork is a knitting technique that uses different strands of colored yarn on the same round to create simple to highly complex geometric or naturalistic color patterns. Many knitters shy away from trying this technique because of the multiple colors involved. However, it looks more complicated than it really is. Let me show you a good way to begin learning stranded colorwork.
Stranded Colorwork Basics
First, stranded knitting is usually worked in the round, so you work only in knit stitches. Second, the right side of the fabric is always facing you, making it easier to follow the design.
To create a design, the colors are switched from stitch to stitch according to the pattern (usually worked from a chart) with the unused or idle strand carried along on the wrong side of the fabric until it’s needed again. The unused colors form “floats,” or strands, on the nonpublic side, creating a thick, double-layered fabric.
Related: The Basics of Stranded Colorwork
Holding the Yarn
Although you can drop the yarn every time the pattern calls for a color change, doing so can slow you down significantly, making a whole sweater worked in stranded knitting a huge time commitment. For a more efficient method, I encourage you to experiment with the following three ways of holding the yarns for Fair Isle knitting:
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Two yarns held in the right hand (for throwers, flickers; English method)
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One yarn held in each hand (combining throwing and picking; Combination method)
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Two yarns held in the left hand (for pickers; Continental method)
In addition to speed, another advantage of holding both yarns between working the stitches is that the yarns remain in the same position. You don’t need to constantly check whether you’re picking them up from below or above to maintain yarn dominance.
So, give all of the holding methods a whirl to find out which one works best for you. You might feel awkward at first, but with practice, you’ll soon smooth out the kinks and enjoy much faster knitting speeds.
Related: Tips to Improve Your Stranded Knitting
Yarn Position and Yarn Dominance
In Fair Isle knitting, the colors are usually divided into background colors and foreground colors (also referred to as the pattern colors). As you strand the colors along your work, you’ll notice that one color (left strand) will be carried below the other and that stitches made with this color will be just a tad taller and more prominent than the ones worked with the upper strand (right strand). This difference is caused by the upper yarn having to travel a minutely longer distance, leaving less yarn for the stitch and pulling it ever so slightly into the fabric.
If you hold your yarns consistently in the same positions, you can use this difference to your advantage. By always holding your pattern color to the left of the background color, you ensure that it comes from below, thereby elevating its stitches ever so slightly and making the pattern color stand out more.
Related: Understanding Yarn Dominance in Stranded Knitting
Even if this difference isn’t important to you, be consistent in how you hold your yarns. Keeping them in the same position while you knit your piece makes your color pattern smoother and crisper.
Stranded Colorwork Methods
Two Yarns in the Right Hand (English; throwing or flicking)
This method may be most comfortable for you if you’re an English knitter or thrower because you’re already used to holding and tensioning your yarn in the right hand.
For Fair Isle knitting, you hold both yarns in your right hand, with the foreground color typically to the left of the background color so the foreground color becomes more dominant.
Position your yarns either by guiding both yarns over the index finger or by splitting them between two fingers, the foreground color over your middle finger and the background color over your index finger.
Both Yarns on Right Index Finger
Click the arrows to left and right on the slideshows below to see the steps.
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Both yarns over right index finger: The foreground color comes first and sits toward the tip of the finger, followed by the background color to the right. Note: I like to use my finger joint as a natural divider.
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To knit a foreground stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, wrap foreground color (left yarn) around needle. The yarn will come from below the background color (right yarn). Knit stitch with foreground color.
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To knit a background stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, bring needle over foreground yarn, wrap background yarn around needle. Background color will come over foreground color. Knit stitch with background color.
Yarns Split Between Index and Middle Fingers
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Yarns split between right index and middle fingers: The foreground color runs over middle finger and the background color runs over index finger.
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To knit a foreground stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, wrap foreground color from middle finger around needle. The yarn will come from below the background color on index finger. Knit stitch with foreground color.
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To knit a background stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, wrap background yarn around needle. Background color will come over foreground color. Knit stitch with background color.
One Yarn in Each Hand (English and Continental)
If you have trouble managing both yarns in one hand, you might want to venture into Combination knitting, for which you hold one yarn in each hand. The added benefit of holding your yarns in separate hands is that they won’t tangle—unless you switch their position and change the yarn dominance.
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Setting up with one yarn in each hand: The foreground color is in the left hand for picking; the background color is in the right hand for throwing.
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To knit a foreground stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, pick up foreground color (left yarn). The yarn will come from below the background color (right yarn).
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To knit a background stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, wrap background color from right hand around needle. The yarn comes over the foreground color.
Two Yarns in the Left Hand (Continental; picking)
If you usually knit with the yarn in your left hand, then holding both yarns in this hand might be the most comfortable for you. Just as for holding both yarns in your right hand, you’ll hold the foreground color to the left of the background color so that the foreground color becomes more dominant.
Both Yarns on Left Index Finger
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Both yarns over left index finger: The foreground color comes first and sits away from the tip of the finger, followed by the background color to the right toward the tip.
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To knit a foreground stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, pick up foreground color (left yarn). The yarn will come from below the background color (right yarn). Knit stitch with foreground color.
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To knit a background stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, reach back and over background color to pick it up. Background color will come over foreground color. Knit stitch with background color.
Yarns Split Between Left Index and Middle Fingers
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Yarns split between left index and middle fingers: The foreground color runs over the index finger and the background color runs over middle finger.
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To knit a foreground stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, pick up foreground color from index finger. The yarn will come from below the background color on middle finger. Knit stitch with foreground color.
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To knit a background stitch: Insert right needle through next stitch, reach back and over background color on middle finger to pick it up. Background color will come over foreground color. Knit stitch with background color.
I hope that the next time you admire stranded colorwork and consider trying it, you will. I know you’ll be comfortable with one of the three holding methods, and approaching this technique by first using two colors will give you a sense of its exciting possibilities.
Related: Interweave’s All-Time Top Stranded Colorwork Patterns
What method do you use when knitting stranded colorwork? Share in the comments below!
Daniela Nii is a longtime multicrafter who likes to use a diverse range of techniques to produce designs that highlight simplicity and elegance. She learned to knit, crochet, and sew in elementary school in Switzerland more than 30 years ago and still enjoys learning something new with each project. Find her on Ravelry as NikkisStudio and at Nikkis-studio.com.
Originally published in Interweave Knits Spring 2014.
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