Hi Everyone…First time poster, but so excited I found this site as I desperately am confused over my work.
I am working on a blanket where I’m doing a moss stitch (I have an odd number of stitches, and for each row I do a knit, purl), so it looks the same on both sides. I’ve now decided to put an image on my blanket. I put a sports logo in a free knit pattern generator and it gave me a graph to follow. This is my first time even attempting something like this and I think I may be doing something wrong and not turning the work over (I don’t even know how to do this), because I’m carrying my second color up on both sides of my work. Does anyone know what I’m doing wrong and how to fix this? Thanks in advance!
I think we need more information. Oh, by the way, welcome to KH. :waving:
Tell us a little more about the design you are trying to add. Words, picture? A little description would help or a link to a picture of what it is like. Are you trying to make the logo go from one edge to the other of the blanket or is it in the center? How many colors will you need for the whole thing?
You may need a technique called intarsia. It is used for making pictures or things with fairly large blocks of color. Sweaters with horse heads (or other things) on the back would use this technique most likely. There is a video about how to do it in the “advanced techniques” folder on the drop down menu above. It involves using one color part way across the row and leaving that color where the next color begins and starting a new ball. You work back and forth like usual and keep the color changes in back. When you go back across, you again drop the yarn and pick up the one you need to use next. The only real important “trick” is to be sure to pick up the new color from under the old one so they are kind of twisted together or you will end up with spaces at the color changes. The video shows you how.
Thanks so much for the quick response and welcome. I’ve spent the past while on this site and I really think I’ll like my time here :).
Anyway, the image I’d like to add is the Philadelphia Flyers symbol (It says I need two posts before putting in a link, so I’ll put that in another reply). I put the image on its side and put it into knitpro and I’ve attached the pdf grid that it gave me as well. As you can see, the logo consists of 3 colors. I’m trying to put the image in the center of the blanket, on a large section that is black. I’ve looked at the intarsia video and I understand how to twist the yarn as that’s the method I’ve been using after I work 3 stitches in order to carry the yarn. So would using multiple balls of yarn stop me from carrying over on both sides of the work?
Thanks again! I’m so glad to be figuring this project out!!
I’ve looked at the intarsia video and I understand how to twist the yarn as that’s the method I’ve been using after I work 3 stitches in order to carry the yarn. So would using multiple balls of yarn stop me from carrying over on both sides of the work?
You say you are using intarsia, but you don’t have more than one ball of yarn? Are you ending up with things that should be on the back… some on the front and some on the back?
Could you clarify a little more what you are doing? And what do you mean by:
…after I work 3 stitches in order to carry the yarn
If you’re doing intarsia and getting backside stuff on both sides you need to be careful to do the twists behind the needles going one way and on the side near you going the other way, so they are all on the same side. Yes, you need a ball of yarn for each place the color changes.
Do you know about duplicate stitch? It is a method of embroidery that you add on after something is knit (in stockinette stitch, it won’t work in seed stitch) that exactly covers the knit stitches and looks knit on. You could use it for some details if you wanted to cut down on the number of changes you’d have.
I’m sorry, I think I’ve made things confusing. I’m not currently using intarsia as I do not have multiple balls of yarn going. What I was trying to do was carry a second color up the piece until I needed it. For instance, in the logo, it’s outlined in white all around. So while I was doing the black stitches, I would carry the white up with me. And the way I was doing this was after I knitted three black stitches, I twisted it with the white yarn in order to carry the white yarn with me until I needed it again (this twisting is like the twisting I saw in the intarsia video). And what’s happened to me so far is that I’ve done two rows using this method and the white that I carried is being shown on both sides of my work.
No, I’ve never heard of the duplicate stitch before, but I’ve just done a quick search for it. Really makes me wish I started this project in stockinette instead of seed lol (but I didn’t plan on doing an image when I started).
Unless you had been using the white for color work earlier there was no need to carry it up the side, you could have just added it in when you started your color changes/logo. Anyway when you carry yarn up the side it will always show on both sides since it’s on, well the side. For intarsia you wouldn’t be carrying the yarn up, you’d twist it, knit with the other color(s), turn and knit back, get to the color change, twist, drop continue.
So I’ve got a question for you, does your blanket have color changes already? Or is it a single color?
Ah ok thanks for explaining why when I carry the yarn it’s showing up on both sides. It sounds like maybe I should take out the last two rows I did and start the intarsia method?
Yes my blanket already has color changes. It consists of large stripes of orange and black.
Ah, alright, so you didn’t use the white yet. If the white was just carried up the side I wouldn’t take out the last two rows. You should be able to easily just pull out the strand out from the edge, that way you wouldn’t have to redo the rows. If you already started carrying the white down the row, you might want to take it out, though that’s not necessary. You could just continue on until the logo and just start the intarsia then. ETA: That’s if you don’t want to take out the rows.
Oh, ok, yes, I see what you’re saying about keeping the rows…that makes sense to me. Thanks so much.
Last thought, can I do my image in moss stitch if I use intarsia? Should I be switching to the stockinette?
I think you can use moss stitch all right with intarsia, but you could use both moss and stockinette on your blanket to good result. If you wanted to you could have everything but the logo in moss stitch and use stockinette for the logo. I think that would work very well and look nice. Then if you wanted to do some duplicate stitch on the logo you could do that too.
I’ve never done color work on Moss st before, but I can’t see why you couldn’t. If you want to keep the Moss st then I’d go ahead and try it. I’d personally switch to Stockinette st because that’s what I’m used to. In any case, just remember to always twist the new colors in the back of your work.
Thank you thank you thank you!! Both of you have been so extremely helpful! I may switch to the stockinette stitch for the logo itself, because there’s a circle in the middle of it and I could see how the duplicate stitch would work out well for that part and it may pop out more. Again, thank you so much…I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to complete this project before I found this site.
You’re welcome =D if you have any more questions you can come back and ask. Good luck with your blanket and hope to see it when it’s done.
I’m glad you are feeling better about your project. Let us know how it goes.
