Ways to Carry Yarn Up the Side While Knitting Stripes

One of the problems that comes when knitting stripes is yarn management. Either you have to cut the yarn, leaving a tail to weave in, every time you change colors, or you have to do something to carry the yarn you aren’t using up the side of the work.

Most people do the carrying up simply by pulling the non-working yarn up and working the edge stitch so that the working yarn holds the non-working yarn up alongside the row you’re knitting.

But there are other ways to do it, it turns out.

10 Rows a Day has a look at five ways to carry yarn up the side of a work. They all have pros and cons but it’s really interesting to consider and try different methods for different projects.

Isn’t it cool that we can always learn new ways to do things? Have you ever tried any of these other methods?

[Photo: 10 Rows a Day.]

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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