10 tips for intarsia

I am pleased to say that I have finished the intarsia part of the sweater for Angus! I'm so pleased, I think it's going to look great when its a finished sweater. I thought that now I have finished my first piece of intarsia that it might be a good time to share some tips that I found helpful when doing this for the first time.

These are by no means all you need to know but they have definitely helped me, so hopefully they will help you too!

1. Watch some videos on YouTube so you get an idea of how it's supposed to look when you are doing it

2. Have a good look at the chart before you start and make notes at the side of you need too. Things like whether it's a knit or purl row

3. Make your bobbins before you start so you are ready to pick them up and use them

4. Keep bobbins close to your knitting so you dot get in a tangle

5. Leave a long enough tail to weave in when you change colours

6. When changing colours take the new colour under the old one, when working on the wrong side 

and this will avoid holes in your knitting 

7. Weave in ends to match the same colour. Remember to tighten the stitches when you weave in as it will improve the look at the front of your knitting

8. Weave your ends in as you go to avoid a tangle in the back

9. Block your finished piece of work. I don't usually block (lazy knitter) but I can see already that it 

will make a big difference to the finished sweater!

10. Don't panic, it's not as hard as you think and you will manage master it

I also thought I would share some of my favourite intarsia patterns too, just in case you needed some inspiration! These were all found on Pinterest. (Links below)

Sheep blanket

Star Wars hat

Reindeer sweater

Monster trousers

Heart bag

Penguin cushion