pattern help

[Chris]

Hello, I have a question...my hat pattern reads....
Work 3 1/2 inches in stockinette ending with a purl row. With color B
K1, slip 1 across row. Does this mean slip as if to knit or slip as if to purl??
As a novice, I dont know which instructions to follow....
Shed a little light for me anyone????

[amy]

According to Vogue Knitting, the rule is:

If it doesn't specify, slip it purl-wise, UNLESS you are working a decrease, then slip in knit-wise.

It sounds like you're doing mosaic knitting, where you only carry one color at a time, across the row and back, but it gives the effect of two colors in a row. In this case the rule is correct, you want to slip it purl-wise.

Amy

[Chris]

Man, Amy you are amazing...I believe you are right about the mosaic, when I look at the finished picture, it looks like a stitch of the 2nd color is visible on the first...is this mosaic??
I am knitting the hat as a rectangle and I dont have a decrease until the 3rd color...so I will try the purl-wise
Thank you sooo much

[amy]

Your welcome, Chris! And thanks again for the contribution to my tip jar!

Yes, that's mosaic, exactly. It's a cool technique for using more than one color in a row, because you don't have to struggle with two yarn strands at a time. I just discovered it while researching for this site. I haven't tried it yet. Let us know how you like it!

Amy

[Chris]

Amy...before I attempt to felt my new color...how to I know how much yarn to leave...ie if I want to change at the end of a row, how much tail should I leave???
I guess I am afraid that I will get some stitches of the old color on the new row....
Thanks for all the help
Chris

[amy]

It's inevitable that you will have a couple of stitches with both colors showing on one of your rows if you use the felting method. In the video, I show what this looks like.

If you want to be precise about where those stitches are, knit to where you want the overlap of one color to end. Cut the yarn, and unravel several stitches to give yourself some room to work with, and felt this end to the new yarn.

Did you try a sample yet with some scrap yarn? You might want to try this first, in case that 25% wool won't felt! (In which case, you'll need to leave extra yarn and use the other technique of weaving the tail into the back of the work.)

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Amy