The colourwork craze continues to grow which is why the minute I saw my colleague Robbie’s adorable knitted bear I knew it had to be a blog post. Luckily for me, Robbie took lots of photos throughout his knitting journey and kindly granted me permission to feature his pictures as I walk you through the surprisingly simple steps of intarsia.
Intarsia is a form of knitted colourwork whereby large blocks of single colours are inlaid against a contrast colour background. Unlike fair isle knitting, colours are not stranded across the back of the work, rather, separate balls of yarns are used for each colour resulting in a fabric that has much more stretch and drape than stranded knitting. Some classic examples of intarsia are Argyle socks or the iconic Canadian sweaters that feature images of animals, landscapes, and outdoor sports.
Whether you’re knitting a small intarsia project or large, you will begin by making small balls, or bobbins, of yarn for each section of colour to be worked. Plastic or cardboard bobbins can be used but I prefer to make yarn butterflies as they don’t add as much weight to the project. To make yarn butterflies, lay the yarn over your fingers and wrap in a figure eight motion. Don’t make your butterflies too big as they will be heavy and the yarn won’t pull out smoothly – remember, you can always add more yarn. Once you’ve wrapped approximately four to five meters of yarn, wrap around the outside of the butterfly a few times and make a loose knot. The working yarn will pull from the centre.
When knitting intarsia, you are working in blocks of colour, therefore you will only work with one colour at a time. Wind as many yarn butterflies as needed and knit to the point where the new colour starts. To secure the new strands, on this row only, tie the new colour in a loose knot to the working yarn, drop the working yarn and pick up and knit with the contrast colour. Repeat to introduce all new colours. At the end of the project, gently remove knots and weave in ends to ensure a smooth finish.
Once you have completed the colour set up row you will change colours on subsequent rows by bringing the new colour up from underneath the previous colour. As you do so you will notice that this twists the two strands of yarn thus preventing a hole at the colour change. Robbie demonstrates in the photos below how to twist the yarn on both the right and wrong sides of the work, and how both sides should look when properly executed.
Robbie is always knitting for a special little someone close to his heart and for this project he chose King Cole Big Value DK as he wanted a durable, washable, kid-friendly yarn. Available in 50-gram balls or 100-gram balls and in a multitude of colours, Big Value DK is second to none when it comes to stuffed toys, blankets and garments. Robbie used Sarah Gasson’s Bear (Knit A Teddy) pattern, available for purchase on Ravelry, and three 50-gram balls of Big Value DK making this wee teddy not just adorable but affordable too!
Thank you, Robbie for your beautiful photography, your impeccable taste in patterns and yarn, for never not knitting, and continuing to inspire us all!