KAL Week #2: Stripes!

Knitting Stripes In Garter Stitch

Now that you’ve knit several squares in garter stitch and have gotten more comfortable with the knitting process, it’s time to learn a new simple and fun technique: 2-row stripes.

For this technique you will need yarn of the same weight in a contrasting color, which we will call color B.

Overview

  • To make the striped squares we will continue knitting in garter stitch and add the contrasting color in the third row.
  • Striped squares begin and end with the same color.
  • We will knit a total of 10 striped squares.
  • For this pattern, we will not need to cut the yarn. Instead, we will carry the yarn up the side as you switch colors. This means you’ll have fewer ends to weave in when you’re all done.
  • Technique: While there are many ways of joining a new color when knitting stripes, I like knitting the first stitch with both colors because (and knitting those stitches together in the WS) I feel the new yarn is more secure that way and you avoid having a loose stitch. It’s quite simple to do as well. I’ll walk you through each step.
  • Note: for this tutorial I used two different yarns. Yarn A is Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted in fawn (light brown), and Yarn B is Noro Kureopatra, a self-striping thick and thin yarn that felts beautifully. Some of the stitches may look a bit uneven in the pictures due to the nature of this yarn.

Abbreviations

CO: Cast on

BO: Bind off

K: knit

St.: stitch

CA: Color A

CB: Color B

RS: right side

WS: wrong side

Video Tutorial

Elizabeth Smith has a tutorial on YouTube showing how to join a new color to make 2-row stripes. Note that she’s an English knitter (thrower), but the process is the same.

CO 17 st.

With color A, CO 17 st. using either long tail cast on or the cast on of your choice.

In this case, yarn A is light brown and yarn B is the multicolored yarn.

Knit Rows 1-2

Rows 1-2: With color A, knit 2 rows the usual way.

Row 3: Prepare to Join the New Color

Row 3 (RS): Grab the yarn in the old color (light brown, CA) and hold it together with the new color (pink, CB) new color.

Row 3 (RS): Join New Color

Row 3 (RS): Insert the tip of your needle into the first stitch and knit the stitch with both colors held together. You will have two loops on the right needle.

Drop CA yarn and continue knitting the rest of the stitches with the new yarn CB as usual. K

Row 4 (WS): Make the old color disappear

Row 4 (WS): Knit until before that last stitch that has two colors together in the same stitch.

Row 4 (WS): Cont.

Knit the last stitch by knitting these two loops together. You will end up with only one loop for that stitch on your right needle (17 st total).

Turn your work and tug color A yarn in that st. you just knit together to make it disappear!

Row 5: Switching colors

Row 5: With color A, place the yarn in the front and color B in the back. This is how you carry up the yarn and how you will change colors for the rest of the square. Placing the new yarn in the front creates a twist on the edge.

For row 5 and every time you change colors, you’ll just need to do this.

Row 6

Row 6 (WS): Knit as usual.

Row 7 (RS) Switch colors as shown in the previous step.

Rows 8-34: Continue switching colors every two rows as you have been doing since row 5.

Row 35

Bind off.

Weaving in your tails as you go

Weaving the tail of the new color as you knit will help you have fewer ends to weave in after you’re done.With this technique, the tail will only be visible in the WS of your work and once the squares are felted, they will be almost invisible.

Instructions

After you knit the first stitch with both colors, throw the tail of the new color over the working yarn (CB) clockwise (away from you). This will create a twist.

  1. Knit the stitch normally.
  2. Repeat step 1 until you’ve knit about 4-6 st.
  3. Continue knitting as normal.
  4. Step 3: Repeat step 2 until you secured the tail (around 5-8 times depending on the friction of your yarn) and continue knitting as normal.

This video by 10 Rows A Day shows how to join a new color in a different way and how to weave in tails as you go.

Hope you enjoy knitting stripes. Please let me know if you have any questions. The best way to reach me is through our Discord KAL channel.