Something about Fair Isle with no floats?...

How-to Questions
1

My aunt told me than my grandmother used to knit in a way that would leave no floats in fair isle. Probably some way to catch all the yarn constantly as if you were catching floats.
She said it looked like she was just bringing the yarn from the top for each stitch instead of keeping one color as the top and the other as the bottom. However, I’ve tried that and it makes the yarns go around each other and tangle.
Do any of you know what it could’ve been, or any similar method?
I knot with both colors in my left hand, so if you know anything that will work with that it would be even better (also, If you have a good trick for catching floats in general with both strings in the left hand, that would be helpful too)

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

2

You can knit fair isle with any method that works for you. I prefer the two handed method myself.

I don’t think there is any specific method for catching floats with which knitting method you choose. You do it the same way. If you knit with both yarns in one hand it may take some fiddling or practice, but I’m sure it’s doable.


This video is for two handed fair isle, but the float catching method is the same regardless of your knitting method.
https://www.philosopherswool.com/Pages/Twohandedvideo.htm

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3

I use one finger and pick the strands with a guide. I made my own guide but am now using one from KnitPicks (not exactly sized for guy fingers), having 4 slots instead of my 2 makes me want to do multi-color.
I admit I originally made my guide for double knitting but have used it for colorwork and it works great.

http://www.knitpicks.com/accessories/Yarn_Guide__D82659.html (they have others too)

I don’t recall what I did with catching floats (or if I did at all), but with double knitting and the guide if you pick behind or over the other strand it does a twist, untwist action. I wonder if something similar would work to twist the floats without ending up with a mess.

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4

I’ve never tried the guides but I’m trying to do this technique for picking up floats with the yarns in the right hand.

Of course this method does have floats. The link Jan gave to Philosopher’s Wool is the best for no floats.

5

There are still floats, but you can catch them closer if you want.

6

That sounds like it could be what I’m lookoing for! Thanks :smiley:

7

Oh wait I thought it was a how to guide :confused: I’m looking for a method, not an item… Thanks anyways though

8

Second paragraph.
What are you saying gets tangled? On the wrong side of the knit or the strands leading to the skeins?

You have the strands coming off a finger | | (I’m not sure which is called top or bottom). If the first (left to right) is the secondary color, I’m thinking if you take the needle behind the first strand to knit the second strand every other stitch that will trap the first strand every stitch.
I just tried it with a wash cloth. It works but like with twisting to catch you can get the color peaking through between stitches (now I remember catching floats). An interesting effect with the cotton washcloth and just carrying the color but would be a lot of picking in usual colorwork with it peaking through between every column of stitches. And since it’s every stitch the color is wrapped up the whole column between stitches it really wants to separate the stitches and show.
Maybe don’t catch it every stitch, just more than usual.

The guide is my general tip for tangling (or confusing strands if the strand work is double knitting), I started out using 2 fingers like Salmonmac showed but on the left hand and went to a guide pretty fast. Also to say all colorwork is not right handed throwing or both hand, I pick the strand I want off one finger on my left.

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