INTRODUCTION

Hey, Try This!

Lots of trapping

Of all the stranded colorwork projects on this issue, I’d like to spend some time with you on “Rain, Rain, Go Away”, a hat by Laura Reinbach. I find it so charming! I suspect many of you who are drawn to it might lose your nerve to cast on when you see those long floats on the chart. That would be a shame, so let’s take a look at a way to handle those floats in an expedient fashion.

In this first video, we plan our attack and learn how to have the contrasting color leading, stretching ahead of your knitting so it can be trapped as you go along.


Trapping your yarn in colorwork
Editor's Note: The chart that Lorilee is using for demo purposes is slightly different than the published version of the hat pattern. The chart we published is a simplified, slightly unconventional variation where slipped stitches are used to reduce the amount of stranding. Lorilee is demonstrating the general technique, which is important in a couple of key rounds, and helpful with all sorts of stranded colorwork projects. We will have an updated video as soon as possible.

Certainly there are many ways to hold the yarns that will work, but I am going to show you what makes the most sense to me, and why. Give it a whirl. Then you decide.

How to hold your yarns

Once your umbrella is complete and the last of the raindrops have been knitted, it’s time to secure the remaining stitches. Have you ever fastened off the top a hat and found one naughty loop sticking its tongue out at you? Do you know what I’m talking about? In this next video, we fasten off stitches and get that stitch to behave.

A tidy finish to your hat

For help with the other stranded colorwork patterns in this issue, you’ll find a thorough tutorial in the Knitty archives.

The yarn used in this tutorial is Skacel Collection, Kenzie by Hikoo, 50% New Zealand Merino, 25% Nylon, 10% Angora, 10% Alpaca, 5% Silk Noils; 160 yards per 50 gram skein, kindly provided by the sponsor of this column, Skacel.