Knitting Colorwork

There are several ways to knit colorwork and many special names they are known as. For this project we are going to do stranded colorwork with only two colors, to explore the effect of color dominance in the knitted fabric.

For reference: the stranded colorwork I’m going to talk about it’s a type of Jacquard knitting that falls in the Fair Isle knitting subcategory.

We will end up this deep dive into colorwork with a free cowl knitting pattern where you will be able to put the theory to the test.

What is color dominance and how does it work?

For color dominance to be present in your knitting you must do the stranded knitting with parallel floats method, regardless of how you hold your yarn (will come back to this topic later).

The color dominance makes your dominant color pop to the forefront with bigger stitches while the non-dominant (often referred to as background) color recedes… yes, you guessed it, to the background! This effect is caused by the way the yarn strands travel on the wrong side of the fabric. 

On the wrong side, the non-dominant color strands travel above the dominant color strands, going straight to the next non-dominant color stitch, that means it’s pulling at the stitches and making them retract and be less noticeable. Meanwhile, the dominant color strands travel below, going down and up again to the next dominant color stitch; which means taking a longer path that uses up more yarn, some of that extra yarn transfers into the stitches and so they are taller and end up being bigger, really popping in the design.

The color dominance effect is more noticeable when you change yarns frequently, which is why this cowl pattern is perfect for testing that theory.

• right side
• wrong side

At the bottom half the dominat color was the green, while at the top half the dominant color was the mustard yellow and the green receded to the background.

As you can see in the photos avobe, there is a distinct horizontal line on the right side of the cowl, that matches the horizontal mustard line on the wrong side, that’s where I fliped which one was the dominant color.

At the bottom half the dominant color was the darker moss green, while at the top half it was the mustard yellow. Can you see how they pop and/or reced?

How to hold your yarn to knit stranded colorwork

When knitting colorwork patterns, it’s possible to hold both yarns in either the left or the right hand or, to hold one yarn in each hand.

One yarn at a time

If you are completely new to colorwork, you might want to start by working with one yarn at a time, while the other yarn hangs at the back waiting its turn. If this is the case for you, it is imperative that you keep your yarn balls organized, with the dominant color ball to the left and the background color to the right, making sure that your strands don’t get twisted when picking them up and putting them back down again.

This method is great for beginners.

Learn how to knit stranded colorwork one yarn at a time with this video.

Both yarns at the same time

Knitting holding both yarns at the same time can be faster, but it requires a bit more practice. It can be done with either your left hand (continental style for pickers) or with your right hand (English style for throwers).

In either case both colors are held on only one hand, but they must be positioned with the dominant color to the left and the background color to the right. When you go to knit a stitch you pick only the color you are going to use with the tip of your needle, alternating between colors as needed but without changing their position (left and right) on your finger.

With your left hand (continental style for pickers)

Both colors are held on your left hand, but they must be positioned with the dominant color to the left and the background color to the right. When you go to knit a stitch you pick only the color you are going to use with the tip of your needle, alternating between colors as needed but without changing their position (left and right) on your finger.

Learn how to knit stranded colorwork continental style with this video.

A Norwegian thimble can be a nifty little tool to knit colorwork with the yarns on your left hand.

With your right hand (English style for throwers)

Both colors are held on your right hand, but they must be positioned with the dominant color to the left and the background color to the right. When you go to knit a stitch you pick only the color you are going to use with the tip of your needle, alternating between colors as needed but without changing their position (left and right) on your finger.

Learn how to knit stranded colorwork English style with this video.

With both hands (picking and throwing)

The left hand should hold the dominant color, knitting continental style, while the right hand will carry the background (non-dominant) color, knitting English style. This set up makes both yarns travel the lower and upper path they are meant to follow naturally.

This is by far my favourite method but it is mostly a matter of personal preference. The best method is the one that works best for you, so I encourage you to try them all and pick your favourite. With enough practice you’ll soon become very proficient with it.

Learn how to knit stranded colorwork mixing styles with this video.

Which color should be dominant

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It all depends on what traditional style you want to follow.

On the Fair Isle tradition, the MC is always held to the right and makes the receding background. Meanwhile the CC is held to the left, becoming the dominant color that pops.

Cool reasons to knit colorwork

(in no particular order)

• The extra layer given by the colorwork provides more warmth to your knitted items.
• You can practice new techniques, going as far as knitting continental and English style at the same time!
• You can easily customize any given item, once you start playing with colorwork the possibilities are endless.
• You don’t have to settle on just one color.
• You can use up leftover yarns this way.
• It’s fun!
• 
  

Tips for success

Keep your balls separate

Keep your yarn balls separated, the dominant color always to the left and the background color always to the right.

Be consistent

Sometimes which one is the background color and which one is meant to pop is fairly obvious, but that’s might not always the case. Other times it is just a matter of preference, but regardless of whichever color you choose as your dominant color and which one as a background color, be consistent! Always handle them properly to get a neat result, especially if you are making something that comes in pairs, otherwise you’ll end up with weird different looking socks, or mittens, or sleeves…

An added bonus of being consistent is that it makes the reverse side of your knitted fabric neat and tidy too!

Choose colors with high contrast

Since you are making the effort to knit with more than one color, you want the colors to be different enough from each other that the pattern will be easily seen. A very bright paired with a very dark color will undoubtedly make the design show up, so they are always a safe bet. If you are in doubt about whether a pair of colors provide enough contrast you can take a picture of both yarn together and apply a black and white filter to check.

Check your gauge

It is common to knit colorwork a bit (or a lot) tighter than plain stockinette stitch, so if you have a lot of both in a pattern it might be worth checking to see if you need to go up in needle size for the colorwork sections.

Other tricks that help maintain an even tension are

Put more space between your stitches

It is quite common to knit near the tips of the needles, for colorwork you need to avoid that and spread your stitches further apart from each other than you normally would. It is important to have a loose enough tension for floats traveling behind your work so the fabric retains some elasticity. If you are finding that your work is still too tight, consider spreading them by hand every so often.

Knit inside out

If you find that your colorwork sections are too tight and have no give, knitting inside-out will help loosen up your floats and add an overall stretchiness to your garment.

Choose a pattern that for knitting in the round

It is a lot easier to knit colorwork when knitting, as opposed to purling. So, at least at the beginning, choose patterns that are designed to be knitted in the round, like this easy cowl.

Block your knitted item 

You will be surprised by how huge a difference blocking will make to the overall look of your knitting. This is especially true for colorwork because your tension might vary greatly from color to color and from colorwork sections and plain stockinette sections, blocking will take care of that. Don’t rely on it completely though, you knit to have a somewhat even overall tension for it to work its miracle.