First Foray Into Fair Isle or Practice Makes...Better?
Okay. So I am attempting to practice Fair Isle before my mitten kit comes, and it's more difficult than expected. Below are some photos of my first attempt at a diamond pattern. I should note that I am doing several things for the first time here: 1. fair isle knitting 2. knitting with two hands 3. knitting with my left hand 4. weaving. Making the process more difficult is knitting in the round with three dpns for my first attempt at this method. It's like trying to juggle raw eggs drunk. Not that I've ever done that, but it seems like it would be similarly difficult.
So far I find that I just cannot get a uniform tension. It's too tight, as can be seen at the bottom of my swatch below, too loose, or just all over the place. The back of my work looks pretty messy too. What I'm really not sure about is how to do "overs" and "unders" when changing colors. Do I religiously stick to alternating "over" and "under" regardless of the color changes that are happening and use the appropriate method of weaving the yarn depending on whether it is in my right or left hand? Does that make any sense?
My other obvious option is to forget about weaving for now and try stranding (is it easier? it seems like it has to be) for the mitten, but the whole idea of weaving appeals to me more. Does anyone with more experience with this, i.e. any, have any suggestions? Besides having awful tension, am I doing anything blatently wrong in how I'm weaving the yarn in the back?
So far I find that I just cannot get a uniform tension. It's too tight, as can be seen at the bottom of my swatch below, too loose, or just all over the place. The back of my work looks pretty messy too. What I'm really not sure about is how to do "overs" and "unders" when changing colors. Do I religiously stick to alternating "over" and "under" regardless of the color changes that are happening and use the appropriate method of weaving the yarn depending on whether it is in my right or left hand? Does that make any sense?
My other obvious option is to forget about weaving for now and try stranding (is it easier? it seems like it has to be) for the mitten, but the whole idea of weaving appeals to me more. Does anyone with more experience with this, i.e. any, have any suggestions? Besides having awful tension, am I doing anything blatently wrong in how I'm weaving the yarn in the back?
posted by katie at 2:02 PM
1 Comments:
I'm a strander/floater. But I always make sure that one color stays above and the other stays below. That ensures that the floats don't get twisted in the back. Of course, if I knit more than 5 stitches I weave the other color in the middle of those stitches, just so the wearer won't snag the long strand.
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