The intarsia knitting technique enables you to introduce
areas of color in any shape, size, and number to the
background. Think of these intarsia areas as islands
floating on the sea of their background. Intarsia fabric
is lightweight and fluid because it is only one strand
thick. Intarsia pieces are most easily worked flat in
rows and seamed. The motifs in this technique are
made by following knitting charts.
Not unlike a paint-by-numbers canvas, you place the
colored stitches in an intarsia design by following a
chart row by row. Each row in an intarsia chart follows
its own rules, with no restrictions on the number of
stitches or colors used.
When working in intarsia, it is easiest to use untreated
(non-superwash) yarns. Cotton, silk, and synthetic
fibers are much more challenging to use because they
are slippery. Save them for after you have had some
practice using forgiving wools.
Changing colors
With rare exceptions, intarsia is worked flat, back and
forth in rows. This is due to its special construction.
When changing colors, you drop one strand of yarn and
leave it hanging for use in the following row. Each time
you change colors in an intarsia design, you do it the
same way, regardless of whether you are working from
the right or wrong side of the piece.
Attach a new color: Following the chart, work all the
stitches you need in the first color. Drop the old strand
and forget about it until you need it again in the next
row. Tie the new strand around the old one. Work with
the new color according to the chart.
Change strands: To change strands, bring the new
color up from underneath the old one. This twists the
strands together, preventing holes from forming on the
front of the work.
To knot, or not: It isn’t necessary to knot the strands
around one another to keep the knitted fabric secure,
because the ends will later be woven in.
Managing your yarn supply
Each area of color in your design requires its own
individual yarn supply, resulting in many strands
hanging from your work. Whether you create a new
supply of yarn for each area of color as you come to it,
or prepare them ahead of time by carefully analyzing
your design chart. Either way, the amount of yarn
needed for each color island will vary, so just loosely
estimate how much length you need.
From each main skein of yarn, break off no more than
3 or 4 yards at a time to make a yarn supply. You can
add on to a yarn supply if it runs short by splicing or
by tying knots.
How you control the yarn sources will depend on how
many there are, and how long they are. Here are some
options:
Loose strands: The simplest technique is just to let
each yarn supply dangle freely from the work. As long
as the strand is not longer than 3 or 4 yards, you will
be able to pull it free when you need it.
Butterflies: Rather than letting the strands trail, you
can bundle each one neatly into a “butterfly” by
winding it around two fingers (a) and tying the end
around the center in a half-hitch (b). You pull on the
butterfly to release more yarn as needed.
Bobbins: Another alternative is to wind your yarn
supply around a separate object, such as a
commercially available bobbin, a homemade cardboard
one, or a clothespin. While they are easy to use and
keep your yarn clean and tangle-free, bobbins can
create tension problems if they add too much weight
to each working strand.
Weave in the ends
Your intarsia fabric won’t be finished until all the ends
are woven in on the wrong side, using a tapestry
needle. Look carefully at the front of the work before
weaving in each end. If you notice gaps, holes, or
tension inconsistencies, use the yarn tails to correct
them from the wrong side. Here are some tips:
Close gaps: To close a gap, run the yarn tail under,
through, or around its neighboring strands to create the
necessary twist between strands.
Adjust tension: Use care to keep the stitches on the
right side of the work even when you weave in their
tails. Pulling them snugly, neither too tight, nor too
loose, will correct the tension on the public side of the
fabric.
Wrong-side duplicate stitch: To preserve the elasticity
of your knitting, weave the tails in using duplicate
stitch on the wrong side. With your threaded tapestry
needle, simply follow the pattern of each knitted stitch
from the wrong side.
Under the purl bumps: Another method for fastening
the yarn tails is to zigzag under the bumps of the
stitches from the wrong side. To keep the yarn tails
secure, run the point of your tapestry needle between
the plies of the last stitch or two.
Color matching: Whenever possible, weave the yarn tail
into the back of an area of the same color. This will
prevent the weaving from showing through on the right
side of the work. Because there will be so many ends
to weave in, take a break from knitting every now and
then as you work to weave in a few.
