Tag: how to

Learning How To Do Mosaic Knitting

Do you ever wonder how color-work knitting can be done flat? I’ve wondered if that is possible because I’ve only ever done color-work in the round.

Well, mosaic knitting is not really the same thing, but it can have the same effect with a pattern knit into a flat item, like a scarf, shawl, or cardigan.

I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for my next sweater project. My top choices are either a stranded colorwork pullover, or a cardigan. Unless I do steeking, which I’ve never done, a cardigan can’t have patterning on the body because it’s flat knitting. Color-work is done during circular knitting. Unless… you do mosaic knitting.

The Boho Style Mosaic Cardigan pattern caught my eye. I love Bohemian styles. And this loose, flowing, cardigan has beautiful color-work on the body and sleeves. It is done with mosaic knitting as the name suggests.

Printable Mosaic Knitting Chart For a Swatch

If I am going to commit to knitting a big sweater using mosaic knitting, I’d like to know how it’s done. Before I began wading through bad YouTube videos, I thought I’d look for an article online explaining mosaic knitting. The Interweave site has a good article with a little chart to print out.

Basically if you can knit, purl and slip stitches, you can do mosaic knitting. It is a fast and easy way to create an interesting pattern.

I chose Chart 2 from the Interweave article. This chart does not show the purl side rows, but you don’t need them. (Read my article about how to read a colorwork chart.)

If chart knitting is not your thing, believe me, you will catch on quickly anyway. This little chart is great for a beginner. Once you follow the first couple of rows it will make sense, and you won’t believe how easy it is.

Go to the Interweave page and print out Chart #2.

mosaic knitting swatch
Quick swatch to practice mosaic knitting

How to Follow This Mosaic Knitting Chart

Read the chart beginning at the bottom, reading right to left. This may seem weird, but that is how our knitting goes – we knit our stitches right to left.

I simply knit back and forth for the first few rows before beginning the chart.

Row 1 is all dark triangles and it’s all knit stitches in the darker color (green for me). At the end of the row, turn to the wrong side and purl all stitches to get back to row 3.

Now add the white yarn beginning at row #3. Knit 2 white, slip the next green stitch. (To Slip: put the needle in purl wise in the next stitch and slip it onto the right-hand needle… simple!) Continue across the row and turn to work the wrong side.

For the back of the work – the purl side – all stitches are purled with the color yarn you are holding. The other color stitches you come to will be slipped. There is no need to follow a chart because you can see the stitches you just knit as you come to them. If you just finished knitting with green, you will now purl those stitches with green. White stitches are slipped.

Also, wherever the yarn is – front or back – it will stay there while you knit or purl. On the Right Side / front of work, you will be knitting so the yarn will stay in back while you slip stitches. On the Wrong Side / back of work, you will be purling so the yarn will remain in front while you slip.

slipped stitches knitting mosaic swatch
Slipped stitches on back of swatch

All Purl Sides, back of work: Whatever color yarn you are holding – purl the same color stitches and slip the others!

For the next row, grab the correct color yarn – in this chart the dark triangle means the dark yarn – and begin knitting – and slipping the V blocks in the row. The yarns will travel up the side of the swatch as you change colors. This is not the best edging, and I would do something different if I were truly knitting a garment, but it’s fine for the swatch.

mosaic knitting

This is a very easy way to add an interesting pattern to a garment and I think the style itself looks a bit Boho! I don’t know yet if I will knit the Boho Style Cardigan, but at least I know what mosaic knitting consists of.

Mosaic vs. Fair Isle

For the mosaic type of knitting you are only knitting with one yarn at a time compared to Fair Isle where two yarn colors are held to knit a pattern across a row. That makes mosaic knitting quite easy to do. It can be worked on circular projects as well.

Fair Isle has a smoother finish as you can see in the images below, which are projects of mine. It’s a lot of fun to do, but must be used for circular knitting projects only. Cardigans can be knit in Fair Isle, but steeking is needed… yikes. I haven’t worked up to that yet.

This makes mosaic the perfect choice for adding designs to anything worked flat – including a cardigan.

Turkish patterned cap
Fair Isle mitt in stranded colorwork
Mitts
Colorwork socks hand-knit wild angelica pattern

Pictured projects L-R: Turkish Patterned Cap, Fair Isle Mitts (free pattern), and Wild Angelica Socks.

YouTube Videos on Mosaic Knitting

If reading how to do this type of knitting is confusing, a decent YouTube video can help. Unfortunately I can’t find any really good videos on this, but this one shows mosaic knitting in a shawl. It’s not exactly the same as I’ve described here because she is not purling the back of her work and the slipped stitches need the yarn in front for the slipping. But it shows a pretty way to add color to a shawl.

This video shows how to follow a chart, but as usual, there is a lot of talking. I didn’t watch the whole thing.

Free Mosaic Knitting Patterns

Step by Step How to Do the I-Cord Bind Off

I had never done an I-cord bind off, but I’ve used the i-cord to make rope handles and long points or tassel holders on the end of hats.

I must say, this type of bind-off is quite nice. I used it recently when the Bay’s Edge Shawl called for binding off in this manner. As I neared the end of knitting on the Scrappy Bias Shawl, I wanted to do the same thing.

Directions for I-cord Bind Off

To begin binding off, first add three stitches to the needle, with right side of project facing, also called a “cast on” of 3 extra stitches. Wrap the yarn around your thumb and place it onto the needle (at the end of the work – or Left-hand needle). Do this three times to add 3 extra stitches at the end of the work.

*Begin the bind-off: Insert the Right Hand needle and knit 2 stitches. Now, slip the next stitch knit-wise (as if you were knitting) from the left needle to the right. There should be three stitches on the right hand needle (see below).

Next…Knit one, and pass that slipped stitch back over the knit stitch. This is the bind-off stitch so it drops. (See the video below for more help). This leaves 3 stitches on the Right needle. Slide those 3 stitches back onto the left needle.

And begin again from *: K2, Slip 1, PSSO and slide 3 stitches back to L needle.

Once you get to the end, there will be 3 stitches left. Either bind them off in the regular way, or pull the yarn tail through all three.

Steps to do the i-cord bind off
i-cord bind off
How to do the i-cord bind off

Binding-off this way takes longer, but the finished edge is more rounded and substantial than a regular knit bind-off. See it below in my photo.

Finished i-cord bind off edging.
Rounded edge using the i-cord bind off

Very Pink Knits shows all these steps on the video here. She does go a bit fast, but once you learn the steps, the bind-off will progress quickly.

If you are interested in creating an i-cord edging while you knit, I have a page that explains that as well. It leaves a nice edge up the side of an item, such as a scarf, dishcloth or other flat knit project.

Keep Reading About Knitting

How to Knit Corrugated Ribbing For Colorwork Hats

The last few hats I have knit have had brims with corrugated ribbing. You can see it on this page in the Katie’s Kep and Tettegouche (links to pattern below too). This type of rib is worked as a purl 2, knit 2 around, switching colors between the knits and purls. It is often used in Fair Isle, stranded knitting designs and the yarn is held in two hands.

Begin by Making a Nice Cast-on

When I began knitting, I hurried through my cast-ons so I could get started with the project. I only knew one simple cast-on, and it was not a good one for hats. Now I use the Old Norwegian, or German Twisted, cast-on, which is the same thing as far as I can tell. It makes a loose, stretchy first row so the hat won’t be tight around the forehead. It’s also a fast cast-on once you get the hang of it.

A good wool such as Rauma or Shetland (Jamieson & Smith), in fingering weight is suggested for this type of hat knitting.

Once the stitches are cast onto a 16 inch circular needle, in the size your pattern calls for, join them with the stitches straight and even, making sure there is no twist. I use the drop and switch method of joining, where each stitch at the end of the needles are swapped. Then, place a marker to remember this is the beginning of the round – BOR.

Since I first wrote this page I have found a helpful page at TECHknitting: Corrugated ribbing tricks and tips. They explain corrugated ribbing and it’s uses and potential curling problem. Also they have an interesting section about how to handle purling the colors.

Begin the Rib – this is how I chose to do it.

Once the cast on is complete DO NOT KNIT AROUND – go right into the knits and purls. Doing a solid knit row before the ribbing will cause the edge to curl up.

For the first round, begin with the main color (it was tan for my hat) held in the right hand (for knitting English style) and purl two stitches. Move the yarn to the back of the work. Now add the new color (orange in the hat pictured) and knit two stitches while the yarn is held in your left hand, Continental style. Bring the MC, (tan yarn) to the front and purl two – and so on. I will be using those two colors for the entire round.

Corrugated ribbing knit on the brim of a hat
The brim of this hat is knit in 2×2 corrugated rib

Don’t forget to move the yarn to the back of the work once the two purl stitches are made! ….I made this mistake and had to begin over.

For my Katie’s Kep #2 (above), my first CC (contrast color) is orange and I did three rows before I added the second contrast color, which is light blue. Every row is knit the same way with the MC (tan) held in my right hand and the CC in the left. I do it like this because I can’t purl using my left hand.

Holding the yarn correctly is important in colorwork knitting. Using two hands becomes quite easy with practice. Using two hands means the yarn will stay on top (right hand yarn, or Main Color) and on bottom (left, Contrast Color). Doing this makes the CC stand out. Sometimes a pattern will ask you to knit the main color and then purl the contrast color – which keeps the main color prominent.

See it below in the first Katie’s Kep I knit which has a dark blue background (MC).

Katie's Kep Fair Isle hat
Katie’s Kep Fair Isle hat begins with a corrugated rib around the brim.

Learn to Knit Using Two Hands

If you don’t know how to do this type of knitting using two hands, look for a good video that shows you how. And then practice! Colorwork is easiest when knit in the round. In fact, personally, I don’t know how to do it any other way.

Then, you will just need to know how to carry those floats when colors become more spaced apart in a row – but you won’t have to do (much of) that on these hats!

Colorwork is in chart form, FYI.

Love Katie’s Kep? Download the pattern for free here.

The hat below is called Tettegouche, and the pattern for this one can be purchased at Ravelry. Believe me, the other hats look a lot better than mine. I used colors on hand and they are not the greatest combination. You can see the use of the corrugated rib again.

Tettegouche hat pattern
Finished Tettegouche

My last word on the corrugated rib is that it is less stretchy than a 1×1 or 2×2 regular hat rib. It’s meant to be sturdy and pretty at the same time. Often a smaller needle is used for this type of brim and then you switch over to a larger size for the top of the hat. A wool yarn in fingering weight is suggested.

The Kitchener Stitch For Socks, Mittens and More

There is a lot more to knitting than picking up a pair of needles and choosing a pretty yarn. If you have done any amount of knitting yourself you will understand. I have learned a lot as I’ve knit various projects over the past year and a half.

One aspect of knitting you will undoubtedly come across if you knit mittens, socks or even sweaters, is the Kitchener stitch. It is usually done with a tapestry needle to either close up a mitten top (see below), sock toe, or stitch something together seamlessly. (See my Playdate Cardigan page also where I used this stitch on shoulder seams.)

Kitchener stitch at top of mittens
Glissade mittens

Basics of the Kitchener: End your knitting with even number of stitches on each of 2 needles. Do a set up stitch, and then begin the Kitchener. It weaves both sides of the project together without making a seam. If you look at my mitten tops, it appears that my stitches flow over the very top of the mitten like magic!

I have not done the Kitchener stitch often, but there is a good YouTube video by Very Pink Knits which has helped me to understand it better. She has a little mantra she says while stitching. She shows it on a sock toe, in slow motion, which is very helpful!

My Glissade mitten tops look pretty good, if I do say so myself. When I first tried this stitch, I practiced on something that didn’t matter.

At first, this stitch drove me nuts. I really hated it, but after practicing, it’s really not that bad. I just have to go slow and pay attention. A lot of videos don’t tell you what to do with the last two stitches, but this video does.

Now, whenever I have a pattern that calls for this stitch, I write that little saying on the pattern itself so I don’t have to go look up the video when it’s time to do the Kitchener.