How to Do Swiss Darning

While there are techniques and stitches to add variety to a single-color knitting project, adding colored elements and patterns can enhance the style of a piece. You can work in different-colored yarn as you knit, but this can become awkward when the colored elements are far apart and sparse. Swiss darning represents an easier way to add small sections of color after you complete an item.

Things You'll Need

• Contrasting colored yarn
• Tapestry needle

Instructions

1. Insert the needle at the beginning of the stitch. Bring the needle into the piece from the back to the front at the bottom of the stitch.

2. Add the embellishment while replicating the stitches you're covering. Swiss darning should look as if it were knit seamlessly into the piece. Using the tapestry needle, follow the yarn path of the original stitches. To do this, loop the needle thread around the back of the stitches above the target, bring it out through the front, and then insert the needle from front to back at the base of the stitch.

3. Repeat the previous step for all the stitches you wish the duplicate. You can do this in a straight line or a pattern. If the yarn must skip a few stitches, bring the yarn past the stitches on the wrong side of the piece to keep the front side neat.

4. Finish off the Swiss darning. After completing the embellishment, secure the stitches before trimming the excess yarn. Either weave the end into the piece or tie the yarn to the base of the last stitch on the wrong side of the piece and trim it closely

Tips & Warnings

• You can also use Swiss darning with matching thread to hide mistakes and blemishes.