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.]

One of my favorite things to make on a circular knitting machine is scarves, because they’re a great way to use leftover yarn and certainly faster than knitting by hand.

But if you pay attention to the colors you’re using and how you are using them, you can make fun knitting machine scarves that look like something different when you roll them up.

One of the first versions of this I saw was the sushi scarf, are there are a lot of variations on this one. For example this one from Flower and Anchor that uses five colors of yarn, or this one from Three Threads NE that uses four. These generally are made to look like California rolls, but you could change up the colors to make them different things if you like. Just make sure the outside of the “roll” is black or green to indicate the nori. I found another version on Pinterest if you’re looking for a free pattern, but there’s no image of it rolled up.

Another popular variation is making a scarf that rolls up to look like a mug with coffee, tea or another fun beverage inside. This collection of three mug scarf circular knitting machine patterns from Idaho Cottage Creation includes green tea, a pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream and a candy cane colored confection (which honestly reminds me of the Grinch since it has a green mug!). Again you can change the colors of the mug part and the drink part. The little handle looks like it’s crocheted on these, and it doubles as a loop you can thread the scarf end through when you wear it.

Again there’s a version of the green tea scarf on Pinterest with crocheted elements. I also found a latte done with a striped yarn and a red mug that’s pretty cute and gives you an idea what a different beverage would look like.

I also love this pumpkin pie scarf designed by Jodi Favish Saunier. It has a bit of crocheted edging to give it a fancy crust but you can omit that if you don’t crochet. These are all on Facebook but she also has a watermelon and lemonade pattern that are super cute.

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