Why Does Yarn Tangle When Knitting Two Yarns Together?

Cats are not the only reason yarn gets tangled.

Knitted fabric can be full of texture, with cables, bobbles or ribbing. Or it can be open, airy or lacy. Or it can be full of color. There are several color techniques that combine different colors of yarn in one project. Knitters that try these techniques often find their yarn tangled into a huge mess. But don't give up. You can get untangled.

Intarsia

Knitters use intarsia to create independent blocks of color. For intarsia you need separate balls of yarn for every color in the design. To prevent holes when changing colors, you twist the two strands together, which results in a tangled mess on the wrong side of the fabric. One method to keep the tangles under control is to use short lengths of yarn, less than 1 yard, and let them hang on the wrong side. To untangle the yarn, comb the yarn free with your fingers.

Fair Isle

Traditionally Fair Isle garments are knitted in stockinette stitch, in the round. To create the color design, the knitter uses two colors for every round. When knitting with one color, she floats the other along the back of the work. The yarns become tangled when the knitter exchanges colors. One way to keep the yarns straight is to carry one color of yarn in each hand. Since a knitter usually holds the yarn in her dominant hand, this technique takes some practice.

Mosaic Knitting

Another color knitting technique uses slip stitches to create geometric shapes that resemble mosaics. These designs can be two or more colors, but the knitter uses just one color per row. Changing colors at the edge of the fabric causes the yarns to tangle. To keep the yarns free, put one ball on your left and another on your right. Also, when you turn the work around, avoid moving the fabric in a circle. Instead, think of the fabric as hinged, like a car door, and move it open or closed.

Stripes

Stripes are perhaps the simplest color technique. To make horizontal bands of color, knitters change yarns at the edge of the fabric, which causes the yarn to tangle. Like with mosaic knitting, separate the colors, right and left, and use the car-door technique to move the fabric. Also limit the number of rows that you carry an unused color, as long floats cause tension problems as well as tangling.

Yarns Held Together

For some projects, you hold two strands of yarn together, knitting them as one strand. The yarn's twist is a factor in tangling in this situation. Highly twisted yarns will twist together and get tangled up. However, this is a good thing in this situation, as you want the two strands to act as one.

References

• "Knitter's Handbook"; Montse Stanley; 2007
• the purl bee: Intarsia Knitting Tutorial