I've always been a bit intimidated by fair isle. It looks so complicated, and was something else that I thought only really accomplished knitters could do. But I had some yarn for a fair isle hat that I won in a giveaway and decided to add "colourwork" to my crafting goals for this year.
So, I cast on just to test the water. And it wasn't as hard as I expected. I got this far pretty quickly:
I was amazed at what I was achieving *grins* It looks like it should and everything.
So I carried on, and tried a few tips I'd received through some comments on my first post about it. My tension was pretty tight, but for my first attempt I was amazed that I was doing it at all. And when I blocked it, everything seemed to even up nicely:
I started with my usual style of knitting (English), and dropped the colour I wasn't using as I went. After a while I got a bit sick of picking up and dropping the yarn so I tried holding the contrast colour in my left hand. Incredibly, I got the hang of it and could knit with yarn in each hand. I felt like a bit of a superhero when I managed that *laughs*
As you can probably tell, I am pretty proud of myself at this point. But the fact is, it really isn't as hard as I expected. I picked up a load of new skills (fair isle, picking instead of throwing, reading a chart) which felt fantastic, but I felt like I was cheating - it really is simpler than it looks ;)
This discovery of course meant that I started looking at loads of colourwork patterns. I have yarn to make another hat first, for practice and to improve my tension, but then I want to move on to exciting new things. I can try things with more than 2 colours, for example.
And then I remembered putting a pattern on my "one day, when I'm good enough" list. Little Birds, by Ysolda Teague:
I love the shape and the simplicity of this pattern. Now I feel like I can actually make it *grins*
Well done! Can't wait to see the whole hat, but the little bit you show looks really awesome.
ReplyDeleteJust a word of warning, doing flat colourwork is a LOT harder than colourwork in the round, because for half of the chart pattern you kind of feel back to front. Before casting on Ysolda's pattern, I would try a few swatches worked flat to see if you are going to hate it or not.
ReplyDeletebeautiful! someday I will try working with more than one color yarn :-) Just not now :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I enjoyed my fair isle knitting project.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! It looks wonderful and you have every right to feel proud of yourself. You really have inspired me and I can't wait to try myself.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I can't wait to watch you knit the sweater:)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I tried doing my first colorwork on a mitten that used 5? colors. Not exactly sure what I was thinking...but in the end it worked out, and I really believe it's SO much easier than one might think! Can;t wait to see the whole hat :)
ReplyDeleteOooh a new addiction! There are a lot of really cool fair isle patterns out there. Check out SpillyJane's designs. So cute!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! I was astounded how easy it was when I started doing it and your post last week has given me the confidence to try socks. Any thoughts on the ease of cables?
ReplyDeleteI love it when we find out things aren't nearly as hard as we thought they would be! You're doing great.
ReplyDeleteThat looks lovely - can't wait to see tomorrow's post! Colourwork is definitely something I want to try this year, but because I knit Continental, I'm more worried about having the yarn in my right hand! Your stitches look lovely and tidy - definitely inspiring :)
ReplyDeleteYippee! Your colourwork skills are super, looking forward to seeing the hat in all its glory.
ReplyDeleteBlogger has not been letting me comment on your posts for a while, am pleased it is letting me again :)
Wow, I'm impressed. I've been thinking about trying color work but have been too intimidated. Perhaps I' ll summon my courage and try it. Thanks for your encouragement.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I tried to knit with two colors once and it seemed I had grown four more thumbs on each hand. I have some videos bookmarked I'll take a look at before I try next time!
ReplyDeleteThat sweater is so pretty. I love it when I learn a new skill and it isn't as hard as I thought. I always thought color work looked hard. It sounds like it isn't had difficult as I thought.
ReplyDeleteWell done, I'm still putting off dipping my toe into colourwork. I should really just jump in like you have.
ReplyDeleteWay to go! I love colorwork knitting, although I haven't tried more than two colors at once. I don't know if I could ever do a colorwork sweater on that thin of yarn, though.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look like there's a single thing wrong with your tension, the clockwork looks great. And that cardi's on my one day list as well!
ReplyDeleteIt's looking fantastic! Great job...I just finished my second socks...and hey you should have gotten a letter from me on Rav...welcome to Nerd Wars! I love it! I'm on Team Stargate and this is my third tournament...
ReplyDeleteThere are some amazing fair isle patterns out there. They are definitely worth the pain they can bring. Your swatch looks so perfect!
ReplyDeleteI want to make Little Birds too! Love that sweater! You can do it...I have full confidence in you.
ReplyDelete–Cassandra