Stripes are just about the easiest thing you can do with color in knitting: Start with a different ball of yarn at the beginning of a row or round, and you get a horizontal stripe. You can make vertical stripes simply by knitting your project from side to side instead of from bottom to top (or top to bottom). Diagonal stripes take a bit of shaping at the edges, but are worth the effort.
Stripes can be exciting or reserved; their colors can be bold and vibrant or subtly blended. Use just two colors or collect as many as you can get your hands on. You can knit stripes in a completely consistent pattern, introduce random widths and color changes, follow arithmetic rules, or knit a code. To accomplish all of this, you just need to know how to start knitting with a different ball of yarn. Isn’t it amazing that the possibilities are limitless?
Techniques for working stripes vary depending on whether you are knitting flat or circularly. We’ll look at these first, then move on to the real fun — designing stripes.
When you work back and forth in rows, it’s easy to develop stripes of any width. Your main challenges will be planning when to change colors and whether or not to cut the yarn each time you begin a new stripe. Let’s take a look at how the width of your stripes, the number of colors, and textured patterns affect your knitting.
There are a number of simple ways to handle your yarn when you start a stripe in a new color. At the beginning of a row, stop knitting with the old yarn, pick up a new color, and start knitting with it. When the distance between stripes is too long, you must cut the yarn between uses, or the edge won’t stretch. If, however, you have main color and narrow stripes of contrasting colors, you may be able to leave the main color attached while cutting the other yarns.
Starting a stripe. Leave the ends of both yarns hanging down to be dealt with later. Keep working until the new stripe is as wide as you like.
Carry it along. If you plan to use the same yarn every few rows, you don’t need to cut it between stripes. Just carry it along the side of the knitting between uses, leaving it loose enough that the knitting can stretch naturally.
Give it a twist. If you think carried yarn looks bad, and the edge will be visible, you can secure the yarn by twisting it every two rows with the working yarn or cut the yarn between stripes.
As you knit, plan ahead and cut your tails accordingly. If you intend to weave the ends in on the back of the knitting, 4"– 6" (10 –15 cm) tails work perfectly. For fringe or braids, you may need longer tails. But if weaving in all those ends seems like too much work, you have quite a few options.
When you’re making striped fabrics, there are a few tricks that will make the process more efficient and minimize the need to cut your yarn so there won’t be so many tails to weave in later. The best approach will vary depending on your choice of pattern stitch, the width of your stripes, and the number of colors of yarn.
STOCKINETTE. If you always begin a new color stripe after completing a pair of knit-purl rows, all of the ends will be at the same edge of the fabric. This allows you to bring the yarn up along the edge rather than cutting it, as long as the stripes are not too wide. Stripes of 2, 4, and 6 rows easily allow the knitter to carry the yarn along.
GARTER STITCH. An even number of garter-stitch rows creates neat ridges between color changes on the right side. You can make the stripes as wide as you like, as long as you use each color for an even number of rows.
When you’re knitting flat and you want single-row stripes with just two colors, you can use a circular needle and work from either end, enabling you to avoid cutting your yarn at each color change. Alternate colors, sliding your knitting to the opposite end of the needle when necessary so that you can knit across twice on the right side, then purl across twice on the wrong side. This technique can be used whenever you want to work single-row stripes with an even number of colors.
ROW 1: Knit on the right side with the first color, then slide the knitting back to the other end of the needle.
ROW 2: Knit again on the right side with the second color, then turn your work.
ROW 3: Purl on the wrong side with the first color, then slide the stitches back to the other end of the needle.
ROW 4: Purl again on the wrong side with the second color.
If you have an odd number of colors, it’s also very simple to work single-row stripes. For example, with three colors, work stockinette stitch, making a single row with each color, turning at the end of each row. After the first three rows, each time you reach the end of the row, pick up the yarn already attached at that edge and work with it. You will always use your colors in the same sequence. This technique works with as many colors as you like, so long as there is an odd number. Just pick up the lowest yarn at the beginning of each row. This is how swatch A (below) was made.
ROW 1: Knit with color 1.
ROW 2: Purl with color 2.
ROW 3: Knit with color 3.
ROW 4: Purl with color 1.
ROW 5: Knit with color 2.
ROW 6: Purl with color 3.
When you’re working with more than a few colors, whether in odd or even numbers, the strands of yarn will travel too far up the side of the knitting between stripes, so you’ll probably have to cut them anyway. And, if you’re cutting your yarn, you can use any number of colors to make single-row stripes.
Stockinette stitch has a definite right and wrong side. When you change colors, the stripe has a smooth, solid edge on the knit side (A). On the purl side, you see a broken, speckled edge (B). If you like it better, the purl side can be the “right” side of your fabric, in which case it’s called reverse stockinette.
Like stockinette stitch, garter stitch lends itself most easily to changing colors every two rows, because you can be sure the yarn will be attached at the edge where you need it. When you work two rows in garter stitch, you make one single-color ridge (C). The reverse side of the fabric is noticeably different (D).
Diagonal stripes take a bit of shaping, working increases at one end of a row and decreases at the other, but they are definitely worth the effort. Here’s how to do it:
Start with just two stitches and work in garter stitch, increasing one stitch at the beginning of every row until one side of the triangle you’ve made is as wide as you want your knitting to be. From this point on, continue to increase at the beginning of each row at one side, but decrease at the beginning of each row on the other side. This makes the two edges of your knitting parallel, while the grain of the knitting continues on the diagonal. When your knitting is long enough, shape the final corner by decreasing one stitch at the beginning of every row until three stitches remain. K3tog, cut the yarn, and pull through the one remaining stitch. Note: Work your increases and decreases at least one stitch in from the edge to prevent the edges from being too tight.
Sometimes you want additional control over the way the colors appear at the beginning and end of your stripes, for example, when making a reversible fabric in garter stitch or a neat striped ribbing.
Color changes in ribbing look messy on the purled ribs, where the color change is broken (A, top). This is not so noticeable in K1, P1 ribbing, especially in fine yarn, but it is very apparent in wider ribs. When you change colors on every row, you can’t do much about this. If you are making wider stripes, though, it’s easy to disguise the color change. On the right side, just knit the first row with the new color (A, bottom). Or, if the first row is on the wrong side, purl. On the following row, return to your ribbing pattern. The more rows there are between color changes, the more successful this will be.
THE TOP FOUR STRIPES of this swatch were worked K2, P2; in the bottom stripes, the first whole row of each new color change was knit.
If you’re making a scarf, you’ll want both sides of your garter stitch to look the same. To put half of the color changes on each side of the fabric, work an odd number of rows in each stripe (one, three, five, and so on) (B). Or, on the first row of a new color, instead of knitting, work K1, P1 all the way across, then knit all the other rows of that color (C). This works best for wider stripes because it affects the overall texture of the fabric; if you do it every other row, you won’t have garter stitch.
HALF THE COLOR changes were made on each side of the fabric.
THE FIRST ROW of each color change was worked K1, P1.
Stripes are just as straightforward in circular knitting as in flat knitting. In fact, it’s easier to make single-row stripes when working circularly because the yarn from earlier stripes is waiting for you at the beginning of every round. But if you’re a perfectionist, you probably dislike the way the stripes shift at the beginning and end of each round, and the way the stitches are distorted when you carry the yarn up across contrasting stripes (see below). There are several techniques you can employ to overcome this problem, either while or after you knit.
THE UNWANTED JOG. Working stripes circularly results in a jog and distorted stitches at the start of each new round. These can be hidden very successfully using slipped stitches, knitting below, and duplicate stitch.
While knitting stripes wider than one round, it’s possible to disguise the jog by making some adjustments while you knit and then using duplicate stitch to weave in the ends. Knit the first round in the new color. When you come to the first stitch of the next round, use one of the following techniques.
SLIP THE FIRST STITCH of the second round purlwise, and then continue knitting the rest of the stripe as usual.
SLIPPING STITCHES tends to make the knitting tighter. If you knit tightly to begin with, knit into the stitch below instead (see Knit Below), then continue knitting the rest of the stripe.
Each time you start a new stripe, use one of these techniques on the first stitch of the second round. You may do this on stripes as narrow as two rounds, but it works best when they are at least three-rounds wide. When you weave in the ends, use the duplicate stitch on the purl side to align the colors at the beginning and end of each stripe. (See Fixing the Jog with Duplicate Stitch)
This technique eliminates the jog in single-round stripes and helps to disguise it in multiround stripes. You must plan ahead and cut the yarn at the end of each stripe, leaving a 4–6" (10–15 cm) tail. When you are finished, turn the piece inside out and duplicate stitch the yarn ends across the end of the round and directly behind the stitches of the same color. As you work, be careful to adjust the tension of the last stitch attached to the tail so it is the same size as its neighbors. Duplicate stitch can be time-consuming and can make the fabric thick. Speed it up by working just a couple of stitches in duplicate stitch, then quickly weave in the rest of the tail using any other method.
Simple textured patterns, those with just a one- or two-row repeat, work well in combination with circular stripes. Pick a pattern stitch you know by heart, though, so it’s easy to continue working it while changing colors. If you’re unsure of yourself, work the pattern circularly with just one color until you could do it in your sleep, and then begin changing colors.
RIBBED STRIPES.
SEED STITCH. Standard Seed Stitch is shown in the lower half of this swatch. If this looks too busy to you, try an exploded version, as shown in the upper half: knit a plain round between each knit and purl round.
Stripes are the most straightforward of the knitted color-work techniques, but there are endless variations. It can be great fun to incorporate stripes into other pattern stitches. It may require experimentation to find the best place to change colors in a more complicated pattern stitch, such as the cable pattern shown (see below ). Look for a row that is plain knitting or plain purling, which frequently forms a visual break between sections of the pattern. For projects using various stripe techniques, see Reversible Scarves.
You can do several simple things to make stripes more interesting. Instead of using your colors repeatedly in the same order, making stripes all the same size, vary the width of the stripes and use the colors at random.
ADD TEXTURE by making your stripes in simple pattern stitches. Change the pattern each time the color changes. The wide stripes above are worked in Seed Stitch and rib patterns, while the narrow stripes are worked in garter stitch.
USE VARIEGATED OR SELF-STRIPING YARNS with solid yarns for complex-looking results. Or try two multicolor yarns together (see chapter 4 for some examples). If you’re planning to use lots of colors but aren’t sure how to manage them, take a look at chapter 1 for suggestions.
SEED STITCH SPECKLES. Changing color every row or two in Seed Stitch produces a speckled effect, especially when the colors are subtly different.
BASKET WEAVE STITCHES lend themselves to changes after each half of the pattern repeat. Changing on a plain knit or purl row will produce a fabric with a definite right and wrong side (right side shown in top half of the swatch). Changing on the rows that combine knits and purls will make a reversible fabric (bottom half of swatch). Choose the effect you like best.
CABLE OR TWISTED-STITCH PATTERNS may actually look best if you start your new color on the row where the cable is crossed or the twist is made. The swatch shows the difference in appearance when the color is changed halfway between the cable crossings (top) and on the same row as the cable crossing (bottom).
SLIPPED-STITCH PATTERNS can make it look like you’re doing complicated color changes. These are so versatile that I explore them extensively in chapter 3.
Just for fun, randomize your stripes using a pair of dice, which will need to be two different colors so you can tell them apart. Before you start, decide which die will determine the yarn and which the number of rows. Collect six yarns you like together and number them 1 to 6. Roll the dice. The number on the “yarn” die indicates which yarn, and the number on the “rows” die indicates the number of rows to work with it. Cast on with the yarn whose number matches your die and work the number of rows indicated. Don’t cut the yarn yet! Roll the dice again. If the yarn number is the same, continue with the current yarn for the number of rows on the “rows” die. If the yarn number is different, cut the yarn, change to the new yarn, and work the correct number of rows. Continue until the piece is as long as you need. It’s best to have lots of extra yarn in each color, just in case that color’s number comes up more frequently than the others. If you do run out, just continue with the other five yarns or substitute a new ball in a similar color.
You can also collect lots of different yarns and arrange them in six groups, based on color, texture, contrast value, or any criteria you like. Put all the yarns in each group into a bag labeled with the number. Start with a set of six empty bags, also labeled 1 to 6. Each time you roll the dice, pull a ball at random from the correct bag. When you’re done with it, put it into the empty bag with the same number. Whenever you empty one of the bags, trade it for the full bag with the same number, and use those yarns over again at random.
Base repeating stripe patterns on a name or a code word, with the width of each stripe determined by the letter. This is especially appropriate when you’re making a gift — use the recipient’s name: for example, Amanda. Assign a number based on each letter’s position in the alphabet. A=1, M=13, N=14, D=4, which tells you how many rows will be in each stripe. If you are using only two colors, just alternate between them (below). Since there is an even number of letters, begin again with the first stripe and repeat this pattern until the piece is as long as you need. If you have an odd number of letters, reverse the colors the second time through.
“AMANDA” coded in two colors. Note that you “read” this from bottom to top (the order in which it was knit).
You can also choose one color for each letter of the alphabet. Amanda would require 4 colors. A=pink, M=burgundy, N=purple, and D=lavender. Note that the first and last A stripes fall together to make a two-row stripe. Avoid this by using six colors and assigning different colors to each occurrence of each letter: you’ll have colors A1, M, A2, N, D, and A3.
“AMANDA” coded in four colors.
Put arithmetic to work to design a pleasing progression of stripes. Many designers use the Fibonacci progression, where each number is added to the number before it to get the next number in the series. Use the numbers produced by this progression to dictate the number of rows in each stripe. Start with the number 1: make the first stripe just one row wide. After that, the width of the next stripe is determined by adding the widths of the two previous stripes, like this:
FIBONACCI SERIES. Read from bottom to top.
Depending on how big your piece of knitting will be, you may want to stop before the stripes become too wide. You can also start the sequence over with a one-row stripe or reverse it, as shown in the chart (above).
Or, use just part of the sequence, starting with a three-row stripe, for example, instead of the narrower ones. Depending on how many colors you’re using, it may not be at all obvious that you’re repeating the same sequence over and over.
A four-stripe progression for a vest. The progression in this segment of a vest is just four stripes, from a one-row to a five-row stripe, but five different colors are used repeatedly in the same order. Each time the progression begins again, it is with a different color. The result is that equal amounts of each color are used overall, and each color is emphasized in succession in the widest stripe of subsequent progressions.
These scarves are knit with lengthwise stripes, leaving the ends behind, so that you can tie them off and incorporate them in a colorful, luxurious fringe. No ends to weave in when the knitting is complete!
For each of these scarves, when you begin a new color, leave 7" (18 cm) tails of both the working and the new-color yarns. Loosely tie these tails together in an overhand knot, sliding the knot as close as possible to the edge of the fabric. When the scarf is complete, you can use additional lengths of yarn to create thicker fringe. (See Finishing Off with Fringe for additional information.)
NOTE: See Preparing for Fringe (above) for technique for changing colors. Although this scarf is knit almost entirely in garter stitch, the color-change rows are worked K1, P1, which makes the scarf reversible.
SETUP ROW: Using C1, loosely cast on 240 stitches.
ROW 1–4: Knit.
ROW 5 (RIGHT SIDE): Leaving a 7" (18 cm) tail of both colors, change to C2. Loosely tie these tails together as described in Preparing for Fringe. *K1, P1; repeat from * to end of row.
ROW 6–8: Knit.
ROW 9: Leaving a 7" (18 cm) tail of both colors change to C1. *K1, P1; repeat from * to end of row.
ROWS 10–12: Knit.
NEXT ROWS: Repeat Rows 5–12 until piece measures about 6" wide (15 cm). End with Row 12, having just finished 3 rows with C1.
Using C1, bind off loosely. Add more fringe to fill out both ends of the scarf evenly, as shown in the photo on facing page.
NOTE: See Preparing for Fringe for technique for changing colors. The technique for making this scarf reversible is to make the color changes on alternating sides of the piece — the first color change is done on the “right” side, the second on the “wrong” side, and so on.
SETUP ROW: Using C1, loosely cast on 240 stitches.
ROWS 1–3: Knit.
ROW 4: Leaving a 7” (18 cm) tail of both colors, change to C2, and knit to end of row.
ROWS 5 AND 6: Knit.
ROW 7: Leaving a 7” (18 cm) tail of both colors, change to C3, and knit to end of row.
ROWS 8 AND 9: With C3, knit.
ROWS 10–12: Repeat Rows 4–6.
Continue in this manner, knitting three rows of each color in the same order (C1, C2, C3) until the piece measures about 6” (15 cm) wide. End having just finished 3 rows with C1.
Bind off using C1. Add more fringe to fill out both ends of the scarf evenly, as shown in the photo above.
NOTE: See Preparing for Fringe for technique for changing colors. This scarf gets its textural bang with wide, alternating stripes of Seed and Moss Stitch, separated by narrow ridges of garter stitch. This scarf is not truly reversible.
SETUP ROW: Using C1, cast on 240 stitches.
ROWS 1 AND 2: Using C1, knit to end of row.
ROWS 3 AND 4: Using C2, *K2, P2; repeat from * to end of row.
ROWS 5 AND 6: *P2, K2; repeat from * to end of row.
ROWS 7–10: Repeat Rows 3–6 (Moss Stitch).
ROWS 11 AND 12: Using C1, knit to end of row.
ROW 13: Using C3, *K1, P1; repeat from * to end of row.
ROW 14: *P1, K1; repeat from * to end of row.
ROWS 15–20: Repeat Rows 13 and 14 (Seed Stitch).
ROWS 21 AND 22: Using C1, knit to end of row.
ROWS 23–42: Repeat Rows 3–22 one more time, continuing with the same color sequence.
ROWS 43–52: Repeat Rows 3–12.
Bind off loosely using C1. Add more fringe to fill out both ends of the scarf evenly, as shown in the photo above.
