Color Coded

When I give people a hand-knit hat or headband, sometimes they ask me how I got the yarn to change colors, as if it's magic. Well, the truth is, it IS magic. Secret's out.

Learning how to seamlessly change colors in knitting was one of the most important things I learned to do, right up there with casting on and knitting in the round, and it's actually really simple. One of my friends asked me to make him a rastafarian-colored headband (creative of him, no?), so I thought I'd take some pictures as I changed colors along the way to show you show I do it. Hopefully this sheds more light than it does confusion, but you can't say I didn't try!

First,

pick your colors.

Next, knit with one color for a few rows until your stripe is as wide as you want it to be before you add the next color.

Time to change colors. It's the same technique you'll use when you run out of yarn and need to start a new ball. A helpful hint: change colors at the BEGINNING of a new row, not right in the middle. It will look much more cohesive.

Cut the old yarn, leaving about a 6-inch-long tail, and let it hang. Hold the beginning 6 inches of the new yarn (shown here in yellow) with your left hand, and just start knitting with the yarn (see visual steps below). The first stitch will be a little loose, but don't fret, you can fix it later.

To secure the new yarn: knit about 6 stitches or so of your newly colored row, stop, and tie the ends of the old and new yarns together in a nice little square knot. Later, when your piece is finished and it's time to work away the ends, you can untie that knot. Easy peasy!

Then, continue to knit your new row, and here's what you should start to see:

One more thing for those of you switching back and forth between two colors. If your stripes are only a few rows wide, it will get tiring having to start new yarn over and over again. Instead, you can just let the yarn you aren't using hang along the side of the piece. Then, every time you get to the side where this yarn is hanging, just twist it once with the yarn you are currently using to knit. When you're ready to switch back to that color, start knitting with it again. Sorry I don't have a picture of this, yet!

Here's the finished product. I kinda like it! What do you think?

For a fantastic how-to knitting book for novice to advanced knitters (complete with very helpful step-by-step illustrations), check out Stich'N'Bitch