YARNS

Simply Shetland
Silk & Shetland Lambswool

Designs by:
Anne Featonby

She Ewe Knits

Guest Designs:

Lorraine Condotta
Twisted Traditions

FI 101 - the absolute basics

of the two-handed fair isle technique

Using your sample piece, you're at the start of a round - break off your yarns.

Place the first stitch on a stitch holder. This stitch marks your side seam stitch.  (Some patterns will have you place a specified number of stitches on a piece of yarn -- this will give you a set in sleeve style).

I prefer to use 10 steek stitches, plus the two edge stitches.

Using the backwards loop method, cast on 5 steek stitches, alternating the yarns used (light, dark, light, dark, light) and a dark stitch which becomes  the first stitch on the round, your "edge" stitch.  The edge stitches are always knit using the background shade -- knit your round to the last stitch.

Cast on (using the backwards loop method) a stitch using your darker shade which becomes your "edge" stitch.  Continue to cast on 5 steek stitches  alternating the yarns (dark, light, dark, light, dark)

Continue to knit around, following your pattern, always knitting the edge stitch with your dark background colour, and knit the steek stitches alternating from light to dark, to make a checkerboard pattern .....

Any shaping in the garment is done in the body stitches next to the edge stitch.

Steek stitches are always cast off prior to cutting.  Edge stitches I keep as live stitches and use them as part of the shoulder seam stitches.

Here are some photos to illustrate what we're talking about!

See the steeks?  The large one to the right is the armhole steek and is the start of the round -- that's why you see a little pucker in the middle of the steek where the yarns are started and stopped.  The small steek on the left is the front neckline steek -- can you see the inside of the other armhole steek -- just above the neckline steek?

This is a close-up of the other armhole steek -- you can see how pretty it is with it's alternating stitches.

This is a photo taken after the shoulders have been joined.  I prefer the 3-needle bind off myself.  The edge stitches are bound off as part of the shoulder.  The neckline steeks are still holding this together here -- but when you cut them.......

Voila -- the neckline steeks are cut open, and you have a nicely shaped neckline.  I apologize for the fuzziness of this photo.

Enjoy,

Anne

She Ewe Knits