Craft Smarter in the New Year 2019: Color Blending 3 - Slipped Stitches

Craft Smarter in the New Year

Welcome to the next post in our Craft Smarter in the New Year series on Color Blending!

Yarn and Needle

I’m using Valley Yarns Northampton (a worsted weight yarn) and a US 8/5.0 mm needle.

From light to dark (bottom to top), I’m using:

CC1: Raspberry Heather (26)

CC2: Dahlia (21)

CC3: Merlot Heather (27)

CC4: Amethyst (19)

How to Work the Slipped Stitches

You can intersperse slipped stitches as frequently as you want. I did them every other stitch so both colors were represented equally during the transition.

CO an odd number of stitches. Change colors every other row (rows 1, 3, etc.)

Row 1: *K1, sl1 wyib, rep from * until 1 st rem, k1.

Row 2: *Purl*

Row 3: *Sl1 wyib, k1, rep from * until 1 st rem, sl1wyib.

Row 4: *Purl*

Repeat above 4 rows until end.

Chart

How Many Rows?

We did the swatch working 2 rows of each color. You can work any number of rows per color, so this is up to you, the yarn and the needle size.

Keep in mind that slipped stitches make for a compressed row gauge, so factor that in if you’re adding them to a pattern.

As always, when in doubt, swatch.

In-The-Round or Flat?

This next part is identical to what I wrote for the purl stitch, so if you read this part already, it will likely seem familiar.

While the stitch pattern works with either, placement of the ends of each color does change a bit when knitting flat. When knitting in the round, each color change happens in the same place, regardless of the amount of colors. So, this next part only applies to knitting an item flat (i.e. back-and-forth)

Even Number of Rows

If you’re working an even number of rows (2, 4, 6, etc.), then every color starts and stops on the same side. This could result in one side being heavier than the other if you’re working a single piece such as a shawl. In these cases, I suggest incorporating a join such as the Magic Knot so the ends aren’t as impactful to the overall piece.

Odd Number of Rows

If you’re working an odd number of rows (1, 3, 5, etc.) then this won’t be a factor because half of the ends will occur on one side and half on the other side.

Ends and Aesthetics

There’s always a balance between the number of ends and how the piece looks. You know what I’m going to say – swatch, swatch, swatch. You really won’t be able to tell until you give it a try.

And, if things aren’t quite right, you may want to change either the yarn weight or the needles, Every small change can have a big impact.

The Wrong Side

The WS (Wrong Side) is interesting to look at, and I’ve even seen some patterns use this as the RS. Even though both sides look different, this can be considered a reversible stitch pattern. No matter what, remember – you’re the boss of your knitting, so do whatever looks best to you.