Am I correct that Intarsia knitting does not result in a maze of strings on the back side of the knitting, i.e./ it is suitable for a scarf?
When doing Intarsia knitting do you cast on each color (change) separately after the preceding one?
Cheers,
Lando
Intarsia does result in the maze of loose ends to be woven in, Fair Isle does not (you carry both colors along the way).
Depending on the pattern you do and where the color changes occur will determine how you CO.
Looking at the videos of each technique on this site, it appears that Intarsia yields a clean back (assumin that one changes colors but once or twice per row); whereas, Fair Isla (Stranding) yields a very busy, messy back side. Am I confused?
Cheers,
Lando
No, Lando you’re pretty right. Fair Isle CNA be done to look very neat, but there will always be a definite “wrong side” to anything knit with that method. It’s good for tubular things like sweaters, hats, gloves, tea cozies, socks… A scarf with fair isle, on the other hand, will definitly show right and wrong sides.
Ah well, so much for vertical striping in my scarf. I’ll have to go with a horizontal stripe. That’s enuf to keep me thinking for sure.
Cheers,
Lando
you can still vertical stripe your scarf… the intarsia will be the same on both sides.
Or you coul dknit a bunch of long strips like I suggest in the other thread…
I did diagonal stripes with fair isle. It worked fine, but remember to keep it on the loose side.
It’s the purple and gray hat on the left.
Sometimes intarsia can look messy, especially if you have lots of colors. For a single stripe, though, it might look ok–not exactly like the front because you’ll see the twisted stitches on the edge, but otherwise it should be ok.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and examples. I need to get this scarf done for Xmas gift, but will start an Intarsia 2-color version as soon as this one is done.
I am always at least somewhat in over my head.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
Grace and Peace,
Lando 
You can also do vertical stripes via the slipped stitches method. No ends to weave in, but the reverse side will look different.
Diane
P.S. Good Luck finishing!
If you want a scarf with vertical stripes you could knit it “sideways” or the long ways. For example you would cast on a large number of stitches, depending on your gauge, and you could knit 5 rows with one color, knit the next 5 with another color, etc.