Weaved Carry Knitting Tutorial
If you've been following along, you know that I've been working hard on knitting up The Ron Weasley Blanket. It goes pretty quickly with the squares that are a solid color, or a variegated yarn. But when there are stripes involved, it can get pretty messy. I'm talking about the multitude of ends you inevitably have to weave in. It's not fun for anybody, and I especially don't enjoy it!
Now, I'm sure this is not a new concept, I'm not claiming this to be my idea, and my idea only. It's probably not. It's also probably not ideal, as it's not completely invisible, and doesn't seem to work well over a spectrum of stitches. But, if you're making squares for a blanket, or a scarf, or a pillow cover, anything in garter stitch, then you may find use in this.
First off, here's a probably confusing diagram of what you should see after you knot the new yarn to your work. I like to knot it on before I start knitting in the new color, I find it better helps me keep edge tension. The Working Yarn will be whatever color you will be actively knitting, in this case it's white. The "Dropped" yarn is what you would normally cut and reattach later. We won't be doing this here. Tails are, obviously, tails. Just leave them be for now.
Once you have yourself squared away, knit the first stitch in the Working Yarn. Take the "Dropped" yarn and pull it between the stitches, from back to front. Think of it as going from Knit to Purl. The important thing here is to make sure that your "Dropped" Yarn stays underneath the travelling Working Yarn. Basically, after you have moved the "Dropped" Yarn from back to front, work the next stitch in the Working Yarn over the "Dropped" Yarn. This will trap it in place and provide another leg for it to move over for the next row.
Finish the row out by knitting across, turn the work and knit back until you have 1 stitch left on your left needle. Pull the "Dropped" Yarn back between the stitches, and work the next stitch with the Working Yarn.
As long as your stripes are worked in an even number of rows (or ridges), then you should be able to follow along with this step by step. If you end up having an odd number for whatever reason, just skip the step on the final row of that color. Try to keep the dropped yarn on the wrong side of the work when getting ready to switch colors.
Below are 2 pictures of what the Right Side and the Wrong side of the work end up looking like. Like I mentioned, not invisible, but not too much of an eyesore either! And it's definitely better than having ends to weave in every 2 ridges! I hope this helps someone out there!
