When you hear the word intarsia, what do you think of? Perhaps jumpers from the eighties with splashy motifs and a bit of mohair (both of which, as it happens, coming very much back into style!)? Maybe it brings up memories of a knitting disaster (as it used to for me)? Or maybe you’ve not come across intarsia —“Intars-WHAT?—before, and you’ve got no idea what I’m talking about!
Intarsia is one of those knitting techniques that tends to intimidate the uninitiated, but really, it can be wonderfully simple. And today, I’ve got two video tutorials aimed at showing you how to work neat, tidy intarsia with minimal fuss.
My in-progress Cityscape Scarf from MDK Field Guide No. 16: Painterly! Intarsia makes it possible to easily knit discrete squares of colour, no stranding required!
Before we dive in though — why intarsia? Intarsia is a technique that allows you to make discrete colourwork designs with no stranding required. It’s great for large, non-repeating motifs and designs that use more than two or three colours in a row. It’s particularly well-suited to knitting flat (as opposed to the in the round). While I’m no knitting trend forecaster, intarsia seems to be on the cusp of having a big moment in the knitting world. Modern Daily Knitting’s Field Guide No. 16 is, of course, a celebration of the technique with colour master Kaffe Fassett! But I’ve also spied all sorts of cool designs featuring intarsia (including this showstopper [that’s a Ravelry link] from the most recent Pom Pom Quarterly) — so you’ll want to brush up your skills! There’s nothing worse than seeing a pattern you’d love to knit, only to rule it out because you’re not confident with the techniques involved.
So without further ado, let me show you how to work an intarsia join. Nothing magical, nothing complex, just a simple twist of the yarn is all it takes: Intarsia Joins (YouTube link)
It’s as simple as that! Now, you might feel a bit discouraged when you look at your intarsia-in-progress — where colour change happen, you might notice a bit of wonkiness. But that’s totally normal (you’re not doing it wrong!) and something that’s easily tidied when you weave in your ends. If you do it as you go, so much the better … you’ll thank yourself when you’re at the project’s end: Weaving in Ends for Intarsia (YouTube link)
Itching to give intarsia a try? We’ve got some copies of Field Guide No. 16: Painterly in the online shop, and it’s packed full of projects to get you going (and is the perfect size to slip into a stocking)! And, intarsia at Arnall-Culliford Knitwear, previously: The Brambling Shawl by Bristol Ivy, from A Year of Techniques & The Heartgyle Socks by Julia Farwell-Clay from Boost Your Knitting.