Er Wait.. Oh...My..Freakin..God.I'm.Knitting.DoubleSidedInTwoColours!

Side 1

Just a quick note before I start punching the bed in sweater hell.

I was messing around with two colours of yarn recently and started a pot stand pattern in the Tech Knits book. It's a double strand cast on so you basically just cast on stitches as normal but holding two colours of thread together as if they were one. Note: The cast on stitches need to alternate in colour. I cast on 70 stitches in total.

Row 1: Knit the first stitch which is, say green, using only the green yarn to wrap the needle. Bring both the green and blue yarn to the front as if preparing to purl, then purl the next stitch (blue) using only the blue yarn. Move the working yarns to the back of the work again is if preparing to knit, then knit the next stitch (green) using only the green yarn. Keep doing this to the last stitch, which you should purl.

Side 2

If you follow these instructions should they make any sense whatsoever, you will notice that you are basically purling one side of the work in one colour and knitting the other side in the other colour AT THE SAME TIME. It's magnificent, and it works so well so easily.

For Row 2: Do the same but reverse the stitches i.e. Purl the knits and knit the Purls.

Edit: Keep repeating rows one and two until you're ready to cast off.

Serious Project No. 1 - The Cassette Purse

I'm getting cocky again. I can now knit, purl, cast on and off, I've sampled moss stitch, I've attempted a simple bootie that came out actual foot-shaped which means I've 'decreased' with some success. Now to try something I think looks cool.

The 'aspirational' Tech Knits book mentioned in my second post is calling me, probably in a mocking tone, but I'm going to give one of the easier projects a good go. I've chosen the cassette purse. I need a purse. Who doesn't need a purse?! I'm using, size 4 UK needles, DK yarn, a press stud and a sewing needle.

Tech Knits  - Cassette Purse

I've been through the pattern and all of a sudden seem to understand the pattern speak (there's that practice thing working again). Stockinette - can do! Change colour mid row- watched a video, can do! Follow a pattern chart - looks easy! Sew some shit up and install a press stud - we'll see!

Any way, to avoid tears and tantrums I decided to practice the pattern in some cheap wool I have..it started to look like the pattern and I was effing DELIGHTED.

What I learned from this bit of practice was that changing colours mid row leads to having floating threads at the back. As in this picture below.

These I discovered are called floats. I also discovered that if you change colours while your knitting is all bunched up on the needles, the floats are too tight because they only span the bunched work. Tip 1 for changing colours - ALWAYS STRETCH THE WORK OUT TO ACTUAL SIZE WHEN CHANGING A COLOUR. This allows the float at the back (wrong side) to span the work when flat and not bunch or pucker up the pattern into obscurity. I have no idea what else you can do about the floats to make the wrong side neater but maybe i'll find out eventually.

TIP 2. The second thing I discovered during the test sample, completely by Google-accident was that when you swap colours, you should bring the new colour working yarn (right hand) OVER THE TOP OF THE OLD COLOUR. In writing, this made no sense to me. If you don't get it, read this super blog for tips using multiple colours and avoid leaving holes where yarns are dropped for new colours.

With these lessons learned I decided I needed new yarn for my new project. To Abakhans!