![]() ![]() If my yarn supply for one segment runs out, I just add another length. I actually use simple one-yard lengths of yarn, which are easy to untangle when necessary. Some knitters like to use store-bought bobbins for each yarn supply unit others prefer self-made yarn butterflies. Some areas will be large enough to require a full ball of yarn others will be smaller and can use partial balls. (At the top of the heart, the white section in the center will be added later using duplicate stitch.) To knit this heart, you’d need to prepare one yarn supply unit of red but two of white because the white yarn is not carried behind the red when you work intarsia. The heart chart below shows one section of red in the center, two sections of white at the bottom, and three sections of white at the top. Take a look at your pattern to determine how many yarn supply units you’ll need. The most important part of intarsia colorwork is prepping the yarn. For intarsia motifs to stand out against the background, the colors need to have enough contrast so they don’t blend together. What looks good when skeins of yarn are held together doesn’t always work when the yarns are knitted up. The Jigsaw Top uses bright, contrasting colors in a fluffy merino/camel blend.īefore beginning a project, make a swatch with your chosen yarns and colors to see how they work together when knitted. However, you’ll be sure to have success if you choose yarns that are similar in weight and gauge. It’s possible to mix yarns of different fibers and structures, for example a mohair, a bouclé, and a single-ply. Select a yarn brand that comes in all the colors that you want to minimize any differences in gauge. Yarns that are very smooth or tightly spun are less forgiving and will show any uneven stitches and gaps at the color changes. ![]() When selecting yarn for an intarsia project, stick to yarns with a little fuzz. Each isolated area of background color requires its own separate bobbin, butterfly, or strand of yarn. Another important thing to note is that although the main color is often referred to as the background color, in intarsia knitting, an unused color is never carried horizontally across the wrong side of the work, even if it is needed several times across a single row. Overlapping the yarns catches the old color as the two strands “link elbows” and prevents a gap at the color change. Then, the new color is picked up from under the old color and worked from there. At each color change, the old color is brought over the new color. The key to working intarsia is to interlock the yarns when it’s time to change from one color to the next. The instructions should tell you where to position it. If only one area of the project features an intarsia motif, then the chart will usually show only the stitches and rows used for the motif itself. Charts for very large intarsia projects can even show every stitch of an entire knitted piece. ![]() ![]() Each stitch is represented by a colored square or a square containing a color symbol. Intarsia patterns are generally worked from a chart. When a color is not in use, it is dropped to the wrong side of the work until it is needed again on the next row for its designated stitches. Each area of color is worked from an individual ball, bobbin, or length of yarn. Unlike stranded colorwork, in which small, repeating patterns are created by alternating two strands of yarn in different colors across a row, intarsia colorwork designs are generally larger and more free-form. Intarsia patterns can be worked in as few as two colors or as many as needed for a given design. Learn some intarsia basics along with us and get some pattern ideas to get started.Ībove: Jigsaw Top by Melissa Leapman What Is Intarsia Colorwork? While there are very advanced applications of intarsia colorwork, the core technique is fairly straightforward. It opens up a whole world of possibilities in your knitting. Intarsia or “picture knitting” is a colorwork technique used to create basic geometric shapes or complicated pictures in knitting. ![]()
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