Intarsia Is Harder Than It Looks

Knitting_Guy · 12-31-2007, 11:34 AM

I'm working on my first Intsarsia project, a hat knit flat. It's a lot more complicated than it looks.

All of those crazy bobbins love to tangle together and just crossing the yarns at each color change is an exercise in patience to untangle them.

I'm doing this because I wanted to learn to work with more than one color, as well as to learn to seam as I have never knit anything that needed seaming.

I have to admit that I am not really liking the way it's looking, but I'm plugging away at it anyway as it's more of a learning exercise anyway. It's definitely not going to be my best work.

I wonder if Fair Isle would be any easier?

Ingrid · 12-31-2007, 04:48 PM

Do yourself a favor and take the yarn off the bobbins. It's much easier to pull strands up one at a time to untangle than to untwist the bobbins. You can't avoid twisting, since you have to twist the yarns, but this makes it easier.

Sometimes you can just hold the yarns and let the project spin to untangle, too.

FairIsle is probably less attention-sucking, and if done right there's no real twisting, but each creates such a different look.

Rhea · 12-31-2007, 04:51 PM

I prefer Fair Isle for the way it looks, but I agree with Ingrid, it's easier off the bobbins.

WildMountainHoney · 12-31-2007, 05:24 PM

Oh, I shouldn't have opened this - I'm really liking stranded knitting, think I can avoid intarsia forever? (answering myself - no, I'll want to try it eventually)

Good tip on the no bobbins, if (when) I ever try it, I'll just the yarn dangle free.

Knitting_Guy · 12-31-2007, 05:32 PM

Hmmm, so winding it into center pull bobbins is a bad idea?

OK, I can see how pulling loose yarn would be easier.

The shapes I was trying to make still look like crap though. I have no idea what I did wrong but what were meant to be diamond shapes look more like blobs.

Spikey · 12-31-2007, 05:36 PM

Braden is an advocate of Armenian Knitting. He can obviously explain it better than I, but basically my understanding is that you carry the colors along and trap the floats as you go. Uses more yarn, but eliminates the hanging pieces and all of the weaving in of ends. I just know those would drive me insane so I'm going to try this technique.

I've ordered the EZ/MS dvd A Knitting Glossary which teaches Armenian Knitting (among the other 129 techniques!). Can't wait to try it out.

knitpurlgurl · 12-31-2007, 05:51 PM

Is Armenian knitting the same as color stranding?

knitrageous · 12-31-2007, 05:57 PM

I always wondered about all those strings inside. I realize they are carried but it seems like in gloves your fingers would get stuck and even in a hat that you might get your fingers tangled up in the thereads and pull something that wasn't meant to be pulled. Maybe I'm just challenged when it comes to putting on outerware...