New England's Narrow Road

When I began knitting I was afraid of knitting from a chart. This was because I had never done it. Reading a chart is not really hard at all. The only time a chart gets tricky is when cables are involved. A lace chart can be a little tricky also.

What I am covering today is the easiest of charts, in my opinion, and that is the colorwork chart.

Fair Isle Colorwork, Two-stranded Knitting

The main type of chart I use in a pattern is when I do colorwork knitting. A chart will be used to show the various colors used – or when colors will be changed. Some charts will be in color and others are only black and white.

Fair Isle is a style of knitting using two different colors of yarn in the same row. Only two – no more. Those colors can change row by row to create an interesting and beautiful pattern that may look much more difficult in the end.

Most colorwork is knit circular – round and round – such as a sweater, hat or mittens.

Here is an example chart for colorwork.

Numbers on the bottom go right to left because that is how we knit. Those are your knit stitches. Numbers up the side are for rows.

In this case let’s say I am knitting with yellow and red across. The “white” squares will represent my yellow yarn, and the “black” squares are for red.

I will knit 2 yellow, 1 red, 4 yellow, 1 red, 4 yellow, 1 red… and so on. There will be a repeat somewhere in your colorwork. It could be a quick repeat – like two sitches (1 yellow, 1 red – around) or it could be a long repeat. This depends on the motif. In the image above the repeat is at 10 stitches.

I like to place stitch markers at each repeat if the repeats are long – say 10 stitches or more. That way if I make a mistake I will catch it within that 10 stitch repeat. The markers will stay in place until the motif is finished.

This way you don’t have to follow the entire row – just the repeat area. I usually print out my patterns and use a long post-it note to underline the row I am following. Or, use Knit Companion, a digital program, which is an easy way to mark rows too.

Once the entire row has been knit, move up to row 2 and begin again. In the chart above I will knit seven yellow stitches and then one red. And then nine yellow and one red, according to the chart.

This is how the repeat will go which means the red yarn will be carried behind the work to be used after nine yellow stitches. You need to know how to carry yarn – called “catching floats” when you have long stretches of one color.

Often Fair Isle knitting won’t have long stretches of same color stitches. I like to pick up my floats every 4-5 stitches.

Projects completed using Fair Isle charts

If you are unsure of how to hold yarn to create colorwork, read my (old) post here, which includes a video by Suzanne Bryant showing how to do it. It works if you want to use only one hand and switch the yarns, but a much easier way is to knit with one color yarn in each hand. The left hand will work in Continental style, while the right will do typical English – throwing – style. It is not difficult, just takes practice.

Flat Colorwork, or Mosaic Knitting

Another fun way to create colorwork patterns is to do Mosaic knitting. This is done back and forth to create a flat project, like a shawl or scarf. It does not require holding two colors at the same time.

You will knit using one color at a time, but create a two-color pattern. Many knitters will find it easier than Fair Isle, once you get the hang of it. But it creates a different type of fabric.

Mosaic patterns are made by slipping stitches at specific times on front and back rows. You can read my post about Mosaic Knitting here.

See some of my attempts at Mosaic knitting below. I’ve only ever made swatches, but no projects. You can’t do anything fancy, these are basic knits, purls and slip stitches.

Mosaic Chart Example

This little image below is a piece of a mosaic colorwork chart that can be found in Barbara G. Walker’s book – Mosaic Knitting – (Amazon paid link) which I own.

It shows the (partial) chart on the left that would complete the pattern on the right (if you had the entire chart). I highly recommend this book as it has loads of patterns – NOT patterns for making garments, but patterns you could use to make something by using a chart like this one.

Reading a Mosaic Chart

Looking at the partial chart in the image above you can see that even numbered rows are not mentioned. That is because you will always do the same thing on the reverse of the fabric (the even rows). The stitches are made by following the colors knit on the front side rows. There is no need for a chart. It might not make sense until you try it.

In the sample chart above, that line that the arrow points to is where the repeat happens. After the first stitch, which is before the arrow is made, you begin the repeat. The first stitch is not included in the repeat – it is a border stitch. Just like in Fair Isle, you will complete the charted row to the end.

I’m not going to get into explaining in depth how the chart is knit, as I am talking about recognizing parts of a chart. If you buy the book I linked above, the author goes into a detailed description of how to work her charts. YouTube most likely has some tutorials for Mosaic knitting as well.

It may seem confusing at first, but just do it. I promise you will find it fun and easy once you get into the rhythm. I always forget how to do it and then have to re-learn, but it is so easy – really!

Fair Isle vs. Mosaic

I find colorwork knitting to be fun no matter which type I am doing. Fair Isle takes a bit more practice but can complete beautiful colorful designs. Fair Isle lays flat and smooth once it is washed and blocked. Fair Isle knitting is worth learning as it leads to making some really beautiful garments.

Mosaic knitting for me is simply fun. I might make a scarf or shawl one day using the technique. It creates a bumpy, thicker fabric.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment!