Ever wondered how we to easily elevate a basic stitch pattern to give it a one-of-a-kind gorgeous look? One of the ways to achieve this is to work with two colours alternating those colours in every row or round.
If you are after a funky look, choose a flashy combination of bright contrasting colours, but if you want to make your project more elegant, pick two colours that are close in shade.
When we use this method on a seamless project, the task of alternating colours in every round is very easy – we simply pick a strand in a different colour every time we start a new round.
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When we want to pull this trick off on a project worked back and forth, things get a bit more challenging. More challenging, but not complicated, as long as we follow three simple rules.
The first rule is to use only double-pointed or circular needles. This ensures that we don’t have to cut the yarn producing a gazillion of tails that we would need to weave in later on.
The second rule is to change the colour after every row. That means that as soon as we finish working a row with a strand in colour A, we drop that strand and pick up a strand in colour B to work the next row.
That leads us to the third rule – “follow” the strand. This rule brings together the previous two rules, and makes the process of adding one-row stripes to a project worked back and forth quite effortless.
Because we change colours in every row (rule #2), in every other row the strand that we need to use in the next row will be at the other edge of the fabric. To get to that strand, we will slide all stitches to the other tip of the double-pointed or circular needle (rule #1) instead of turning the work.
Let’s see how we apply these rules as we make a simple swatch in a basic stockinette stitch.
With colour A, use any cast on method you like to cast on any number of stitches. Because I use a thick yarn, 8 stitches will be enough to make a small tester swatch. I cast them on using the slingshot version of the long-tail cast on.
Arrange the work so that the working yarn is at the right-hand side of the fabric. If you used the long-tail cast on method as I did, you will need to turn your work.
The cast on edge is made in colour A. To make the colour pattern balanced, we should work the first row of the swatch in the other colour that we plan to use in this project.
Take the strand in colour B and tie it to the strand in colour A with a simple knot. Then move the knot as close to the bottom of the first stitch as possible.
This is the easiest and most convenient way to attach a new strand of yarn, but if you have your favourite way to do that, feel free to use that method.
The first row is a right-side row. Because we work in stockinette stitch, we knit all stitches using the strand in colour B.
According to rule #2, the next row should be worked with a strand in colour A, but this strand is at the other edge of the swatch right now. Turning the work won’t bring that strand any closer, so instead, we “follow” that strand and slide all stitches to the other tip of the needle.
Now the strand in colour A is exactly where we need it, so we take it and use it to work the next row. Because we didn’t turn the work, we are still facing the right side of stockinette stitch. That’s why we knit all stitches just as we did in the previous row, but this time, we use a different colour.
After this row, both strands are at the same side of the fabric. No need to slide the stitches. We simply turn the work, pick a strand in colour B and work the next row. This time, we are looking at the wrong side of stockinette stitch, so we purl all stitches in this row.
Now, the strand that we need to work the next row is again at the other edge of the swatch. We “follow” that strand and slide all stitches to the other tip of the needle.
Then we take the strand in colour A and purl all stitches because we are still looking at the wrong side of stockinette stitch.
To make the next row, we turn the work, pick a strand in colour B, and knit all stitches.
We continue to work in this manner for as long as we want to decorate our project with a lovely one-row colourwork.
After you finish several rows, you will see that we alternate sliding the stitches and turning the work. This sequence makes us work a right-side row twice – once with each colour – before we turn the project and work a wrong-side row twice – once with each colour.
It is a simple sequence, but you don’t need to keep track of your “slides” and “turns”. All you need to do is “follow” the strand and everything will come together automatically.
Before you know it, your project will boast a gorgeous two-colour texture that works equally well with basic patterns like stockinette stitch, textured patterns like brioche stitch, and slip-stitch patterns like cartridge belt rib.
Even a humble garter stitch gets an upgrade.
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A word of caution – when you apply this method to a stitch pattern, make sure you know this pattern well and understand how its texture is built. Sliding stitches after every other row makes it difficult to follow written row-for-row instructions. It is much more reliable to work each row depending on the way the stitches are positioned, and the way the texture is being formed.
Aside from giving our projects an instant upgrade, this method also works well for using up leftover yarn. If you don’t have a full amount of yarn for a project you want to make, you can easily use “half-quantities” of two yarns in matching colours.
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This and 31 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #8.
