How to Begin Intarsia Knitting
Intarsia knitting allows you to knit designs of different colors into a piece without using a stranded technique. Unlike fair isle knitting, in which you carry multiple strands of yarn along the back of the work, the fabric created by intarsia is no thicker than fabric knitted with a single yarn. Intarsia requires slightly different techniques, depending on the slant of the colors and orientation of the stitches, which can make the technique seem intimidating at first.
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Instructions
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Changing Colors in Vertical Columns
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1
Knit to the point where you want to change colors on knit rows. Fold the new yarn so that the tail hangs down and the fold goes over your needle. Pull the new yarn up from underneath the old and knit the stitch with the new color. Leave the tail hanging down to be twisted in later. The stitch will be loose because it is not secured, but maintain the tension as best you can without pulling the tail through the knitting.
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2
Purl to the point where you want to change colors on purl rows. Pick up the new yarn from underneath the old and purl the stitch with the new yarn. Work purl rows exactly like knit rows, with the exception of the fact that you are making a different stitch.
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3
Twist the yarns around each other (new under old) with every row when working a color change in a vertical column.
Diagonal Color Changes
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4
Knit to the point where you want to make a right diagonal color change. Fold the new yarn, lay the fold over the needle on top of the old color and continue knitting until it is time to change colors again or turn the work.
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5
Purl to the point where you want to make a right diagonal color change. Lift the strand of the new color from underneath the old color. Purl the stitch and continue purling until it is time to change colors again or turn the work.
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6
Knit to the point where you want to make a left diagonal color change. Lift the new color from underneath the old color and continue knitting until it is time to change colors again or turn the work.
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Purl to the point where you want to make a left diagonal color change. Lift the strand of the new color over the strand of the old color. Purl the stitch and continue purling until it is time to change colors again or turn the work.
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8
Join new yarns by folding the new yarn over the needle and knitting (or purling) the first stitch with both the new and old yarns. Work the double stitch as a single stitch in the next row.
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Tips & Warnings
Wind the yarn colors on separate bobbins to make them easier to work with. Keep the strands coming from the bobbins as tight as possible so there is less chance of them tangling.
