Keep on Truckin cardigan knit

I need some good tips on knitting Intarsia. I did buy bobbins to prevent tangling, but if there is any other advice , I’d welcome it.

Now that you have bought bobbins you probably want to use them but personally I wouldn’t bother.
I’ve done intarsia with dozens of strands across a row and still didn’t use bobbins.

For this sweater I’d likely strand the background colour behind the wheels as there are only a few stitches to strand across the back. I’d use 1 strand of the tyre colour to go across 2 front tyres and ise stranded co,our work technique for the couple of stitches between those 2 tyres, another 1 strand for the 2 back tyres. I would just cut 1 metre of yarn for each of those and just let it hang.
The main colour blocks of 4 balls, 2 in the background colour, 2 in the truck colours, I would work from full balls and keep 2 on my left and 2 on my right as I sit.
On my left I’d put Background, back of truck
On my right I’d put front of truck, 2nd background
When I have 4 balls I also order them back and front of the sofa where I sit, the first colour would be back right, next front right, next front left, last back left, so they are kind of in a circle around me.
Then I leave them there.
Some people like to keep each ball in a container or box and this does stop them rolling around and tangling.

The best tip I’ve seen on a tutorial and I use this method is to pay great attention to how you turn your work at the end of a row.
Many knitters turn the same way every turn and this will tangle the yarn balls. Instead after a RS row turn your work clockwise. Do not move the balls of yarn. After WS row turn your work anticlockwise. After 1 turn you look tangled but after the next row it all untangles.
When I pack up I generally wind up the balls so there isn’t a great deal of loose yarn and lay the balls on top of the fabric keeping right balls on the right, left on the left, which makes it easy to get back out again.

Looking forward to seeing the progress of this cute sweater. I wish I’d been khitting my my son was much younger so I could make lots of these cute kid sweaters I keep seeing.

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Thank you I’m not so sure that the bobbins are helping me much, either. Is it ok to carry the yarn if you only have one or 2 stitches of a new color ? And will the back be a mess when I’m finished with the truck?

It’s personal preference as with so many knitting things. I would carry across for a few stitches like carrying the background colour across behind the tyres because there’s a couple of background stitches between the tyres. As it’s just a few stitches you don’t need to trap the floats behind. Have you carried floats with colour work before?
Alternatively, some people would rather every part in intarsia, no floats at all. That’s fine too (and is prrhaps what is described in the pattern) but you would need more strands/balls/bobbins:
Background, first tyre, background, second tyre, back ground, third tyre, background, fourth tyre, background - so 9 yarns balls across those rows.

The thing with bobbins is they can weigh down a bit on the fabric and you have to undo some yarn to work with it and then rewind it after using it, if you leave the yarns long between the fabric and the bobbin whilst working the rest of the row there is more chance of them tangling.
If you have loose yarn for those middle 7 colours (keeping beginning and end background as full balls), say a meter for each, and just ignore the slight tangle around the tyres you’ll find that as you come to the next colour needed you can gently draw it out of the tangle from the needle/fabric end and it will just slip through the tangle and appear nicely because there’s no knots or bobbins to jamb it up.
Also this is very few rows so I think you will not get in a mess.

The back will look neat either way. Lots of sweaters have a little carried float behind for some colour work and the main blocks of colour in this are clean shaped and they will have the 2 yarn colours with a little cross over holding them together in the back, it will not be messy. The yarn ends can be woven in on the wrong side into their own colour area and will be almost invisible.

There is the cab window too where I would carry the back ground yarn across the couple of colour stitches if you are on a right side row. If you’re on a wrong side row the background colour will be coming from ahead of you rather than behind but actually you can still float it over and use it just make sure you check the tension and cross the yarns.

If you aren’t used to colours it can be daunting but it’s fun and makes an interesting knit.

There is an alternative option for the tyres which are the most fiddly bit in this, which is to knit plain background colour and then after finishing the knitting you can work a duplicate stitch over the background colour to create the tyres. It would raise them just slightly from the fabric surface which would be nice for tyres anyway.

Thank you so much for your advice That’s a good idea about doing the tires in duplicate st later , but I already completed a couple rows. I think that once the tires are done, I’m not working with too many other colors, actually, just 2. So, it won’t be as messy with tangles.

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Also, what do you suggest to prevent tangling while working in Intarsia. Bobbins don’t seem to help much .

Some people cut a length of yarn for each color and just let it hang without a bobbin or making a butterfly. I’ve played with intarsia and used it once for a different color on a cat belly. That once I simply left the colors attached to balls. If I decide to do it again I think I’ll try the ‘just let it hang loose’ method with no bobbins which I hated or butterflies that didn’t stay butterflied and see how that works. I think the recommended length for just leaving the yarn hanging is about a yard.

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This is a great video where you can see the methods i use which I described before (full balls and turning the work one way then the other and also the lengthmof yarn and letting it tangle method, because it pulls out so easily). Rox also shows bobbins ans butterflies.

Thanks so much These are great ! I actually find that bobbins are more of a pain than letting the yarn dangle , or using full balls .

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I have some intarsia tips!
When you are making the color-join, pull ALL tails in the area snugly BEFORE you make your stitch AND AFTER your stitch. Also make that stitch itself nice and snug. That will keep a nice line at the color joins, and will prevent wonkiness or holes in the work.
I like to use the method of “Old over New” and moving the “Old” yarn to the left, as shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO-4ZpxFCf8&ab_channel=ACTechniques

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I also have a giant tip about keep all your yarns organized and tangle-free. I guess I invented this method myself, as I have never seen anyone else do it. I’m kind of a perfectionist, and I like to keep my knitting very orderly, so I came up with this. It’s very long and detailed because it is difficult to explain with just words. But it’s not that hard to do, once you understand it!
So here it is:
I’ve worked out a system to keep the yarns very organized with no tangling. It works perfectly when the colors stay the same; it just needs a little adjusting when the colors change.

Here’s my attempt at a quick explanation. lol. [I used to be an engineer, where I did technical writing. Please forgive the length, but I tried to make it as understandable as possible for everyone]

I knit on the couch so I have some room on my right side. That’s the space I keep all the yarns.

The basic gist is this: You will be creating Two lines of yarn balls in an “L” shape – (90 degrees to each other) starting at your right hip. The HORIZONTAL line will be your WORKING yarns. And the VERTICAL line will be your USED yarns. From an overhead view, it would look something like this:

             O_I

… where the circle is YOU; the horizontal line is the WORKING yarns; and the vertical line is the USED yarns.

To start, line up all your yarns, in the order they will be used, in a HORIZONTAL line starting at your right hip. The first color will be right next to your hip. The rest of the yarns will be lined up along the back edge of the cushion where it meets the couch-back. These will be your WORKING yarns.

For your FIRST Knit Row: Knit with your first color as normal up to the first color-CHANGE. Now you are done with the first color, so it now becomes the OLD yarn. And your second color will be the NEW yarn. Add in your new ball (the 2nd color) with the tail in the front and the working yarn coming from the back. (The tail will be pulled thru to the back side for weaving-in, once you are finished) Then move the OLD yarn over the NEW yarn, and to the left side. Now knit with your 2nd color. After a couple stitches w/the new yarn, the yarn on your left side is now done being used, so I’ll call that your USED yarn. So now your USED yarn can be put back on the right-hand side, since you’re done with it. You need to create a line of USED balls on your far right side. The line of USED balls will be a VERTICAL column, starting at the TOP. So place your first USED ball near the front edge of the couch cushion to start the top of your vertical column of USED yarns.

At the second color-change, move OLD (2nd color) over NEW (3rd color) & to the left. After a couple stitches with your NEW (3rd color), move the USED (2nd color) yarn on the left side back over into the VERTICAL column of USED balls on the right side, just underneath the first one. Continue in that manner.
As you continue on, your HORIZONTAL line of WORKING yarns will keep growing smaller, as your VERTICAL line of USED yarns will keep getting larger. When you finish the row, place the last ball of yarn on the right side, at the bottom of the vertical column of used yarns. All the yarns will now be in a vertical line.

Now it is time to turn your work. Make sure all your yarns are on the correct side of the needle (back side for knit, & front side for purl), and everything is orderly. Your work must be turned the proper way. One way will keep everything lined-up and untangled, but doing it the wrong way will make a giant mess. So, after completing a KNIT row, turn your needle in a CLOCKWISE direction (when looking from above). There should be NO tangles in your yarn now.

Once you’ve turned your work correctly, now take all the USED yarns in the VERTICAL line and turn them into your WORKING yarns in the HORIZONTAL line. Start with the bottom yarn in the USED column, and place it next to your right hip, to become the first yarn in your HORIZONTAL row of WORKING yarns. Then move the rest – 2nd from the bottom of the VERTICAL line becomes 2nd in the HORIZONTAL line of waiting yarns. And so on. When finished, all your yarns will be lined up horizontally, ready to begin the next row.

For all the PURL SIDEs: Continue similarly, starting with the first color closest to your hip. At the first color-change, do the OLD over NEW and to the left. Then after a few stitches, move the USED yarn back to the top-right to start a new VERTICAL column of USED yarns. Continue until all yarns are used. ALL your yarns should now be in the VERTICAL, USED column. Now is time to turn your work. After completing a PURL Side, turn your knitting needle COUNTER-CLOCKWISE.

IMPORTANT: For the rest of the KNIT rows, you need to slightly change the way you move the USED ball of yarn back to the right side and into the VERTICAL column of USED balls. The ball of USED yarn needs to go UNDERNEATH all the strands of all the WORKING yarns in the HORIZONTAL row!
All the strands of WORKING yarn should be fairly parallel to each other, so just slide your hand underneath them all and lift them up a bit, creating a “tunnel”. Then move the USED ball through that tunnel underneath all the strands, and place it into your VERTICAL column of USED balls, starting at the TOP.

That’s it! lol

***Don’t let your yarns get tangled around the bottom of the knitting needle. And keep your yarns on the proper side of the needle (back side when knitting & front side for purling). Keep everything as neat as possible.

So, to sum up (TL,DR version):

FIRST (KNIT) ROW: Place all your WORKING yarns in a HORIZONTAL row, starting at your right hip. Knit to the color change. Add in your new color. (Place OLD yarn over NEW yarn, and move to the left). Knit with the NEW yarn. Move the old, USED yarn back to the right-hand side by creating a VERTICAL line of USED balls, starting at the top of the line. Repeat until all balls are used, and they are ALL in the VERTICAL line on your right. Now TURN YOUR WORK in a CLOCKWISE direction.
Then move your entire VERTICAL line of USED balls down, and turn them into your new HORIZONTAL line of WORKING balls. Start with the BOTTOM USED ball and place it right next to your hip to become the FIRST WORKING ball. Then move the next bottom USED ball to become your 2nd working ball. And so on, until they are all now your WORKING balls in a HORIZONTAL line, ready to start your next row.

ALL PURL ROWS: Work your first color until the color change. Do OLD over NEW and to the left, to make your color join. After a few stitches move your USED ball back to the right-hand side to the TOP of your new VERTICAL line of USED balls. Continue until all balls are USED and in the VERTICAL line. Now turn your work in a COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction.
Move all the USED balls down into the HORIZONTAL WORKING position for the next row.

ALL REMAINING KNIT ROWS: Are worked the same as the first KNIT row, EXCEPT: you must place each USED ball of yarn UNDERNEATH the strands of the WORKING yarns, when you are moving it back to the right-hand side and into the VERTICAL line of balls.
When all balls are used, and in the VERTICAL line, then turn your work in a CLOCKWISE direction.
Move all the USED balls down into the HORIZONTAL WORKING position for the next row.

It’s harder to write and read all this, than it is to do it!!! If you try it, it will make more sense than just reading about it.

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Thank you! I wish you could come to my house and show me ! Lol Luckily, with this pattern, the only part that changes colors often is the tires .

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I’m going crazy! I had to rip this out twice already! I need a simpler way to manage all the tangling! Help!!

Are you using small balls of yarn or small holders (see video)? I usually untangle the crossover after I’ve knit one or two sts with the new color. That way most of the yarn stays relatively tangle free.
Since you’re knitting back and forth, the cross that you make on the knit side undoes itself on the purl side without having to untangle at each cross.
Here’s two suggestions from Eunny Jang:

Thank you I think I will forget about using bobbin s. I’ve done this before, I think the wheels will be the biggest problem with tangling .

Does the idea of duplicate stitching the wheels not appeal? You could then leave them out until the truck is finished.
Alternatively you could strand a single strand of the white across the entire 4 wheels and maybe use 2 strands of black to work the 2 sets of wheels (stranded knitting rather than intarsia).

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I’m fine with the idea of duplicate stitching For the wheels That might be easier , since that’s where I’m getting messed up . I’ll look at the videos you sent me , and I’ll be ok . You might hear from me again. Thank you so much

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@steve,

I find there are two processes that can lead to tangled yarn. The bigger effect comes from turning your work at the end of the row while working flat.

The pages of the book.
If you always turn your work as if you are turning to the next page of a book then you twist (all) your yarn like it is one bulky strand plied from many colors.

The single page turn and turning back to the pervious side of the page:
Remember after purl rows to turn (the page) back to the front side in the opposite direction to prevent plying your yarns together.

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That’s a good way to remember it, like a book.

@steve sorry to hear it’s driving you crazy. We all get frustrated from time to time with knitting and a challenge pitched just right can add interest to a project but it needs to be fun too and not just a pain hey?

Did you try the wheels with just a meter of yarn not on a bobbin? Whether for 2 wheels (doing a little stranded work) or just 1 wheel, I really think it’s so much easier than bobbins. I just pull the strand I need out of whatever tangle there is, pulling it from the fabric end attached to your knitting, it will just kind of fall out of the tangles.

If the whole project drives you mad you could knit up separate colour squares for the truck and sew them on top of a plain sweater. The added thickness would make it a bit 3 dimensional and look cool. The main truck could even be a pocket with the top left open.
Don’t forget you can design as you wish.
My son would have loved a pocket truck when he was little…
…actually he’d still love it now!

Thank you so much I think I’m ok now I stopped using the bobbins My other question is: Won’t the inside of the truck look bad , after weaving all the strands in?