Intarsia knitting is a fascinating colorwork technique. Knitters can add distinct color blocks to their projects with knitting needles, producing complex designs without carrying many yarn strands across the back of the piece. This technique provides a flat, smooth fabric perfect for intricate designs and broad color regions. Let's discuss the fundamentals of intarsia knitting in this blog, along with materials, methods, and advice that will help you become an expert in this technique.

What is Intarsia Knitting?

Intarsia knitting is an advanced method that creates multicolored designs by working with separate balls of yarn colors. If you are interested in transferring pictures or complex designs into your knitting project, intarsia is a perfect option. This method differs from Fair Isle, where multiple colors are carried at the back of the work, while intarsia uses separate balls of yarn for each color section. Read our blog on Intarsia Knitting vs Fair Isle for more details. This results in clean and flat fabrics on both sides. With the circular knitting needles, you can easily create the intarsia project using large, solid colors or complex designs.

What Materials Do You Need?

To start the intarsia method, gather all the materials:

• Yarn: Choose the different yarn colors suitable for your project in terms of weight and fiber content. To keep your work consistent, make sure all of the yarns you choose have comparable weights and textures.
• Knitting Needles: You can choose any pair of single-pointed needles for back-forth knitting. However, when knitting in the round, you can either select a set of double-pointed needles or circular ones.
• Bobbins: Although they are not required, bobbins are useful for organizing and controlling different yarn colors, which helps you avoid tangling while working.
• Scissor: To cut the yarn when changing the color.
• Pattern: This is a must when knitting an intarsia pattern or chart that guides you when to change colors or designs.

Step-by-Step Knitting Intarsia in Round

Here are some simple steps that you can follow for knitting in round:

Step 1: Select the Design

• You can either select an intarsia pattern or create your own. You can move on to more sophisticated designs with intricate themes or graphics as your confidence grows. Keep in mind this method looks perfect when working with distinct color blocks or shapes.

Step 2: Getting Your Yarn Ready

• Create a different yarn source for every color component in your design. To deal with shorter lengths, you can make smaller quantities of yarn into bobbins. In this way, you can easily manage several colors at once and avoid tangling.

Step 3: Casting On

• Using the technique of your choice, cast on the necessary number of stitches using the main yarn color.

Step 4: Start With Knitting the First Row (Right Side)

• Follow the instructions on the pattern. While knitting with double-pointed needles or circular ones, when you reach the point where you need to join a new color then drop the main color (MC) and pick up the new color underneath the main color.
• Now, knit across the row with the new color (NW) until you reach the end of the color block or shape. Twisting the strands together, in this step stops holes or gaps from forming during the color change. Make sure to leave a tail of the new color so that it may be woven in later.

Step 5: Knitting the Second Row (Wrong Side)

• When you come to the color block or shape where you need to join the second color (SC), drop the NW and pick up the SC from underneath.
• Purl across the row with SC, until you reach the desired block or shape.

Step 6: Repeat the Process

• Continue to follow the process, knit, and purl as per the pattern instructions.

Step 7: Weaving in the End

• After completing your project, you will find several yarns for weaving. Use a darning needle to weave the ends.

Step 8: Finishing

• In the end, block your finished pieces to even out the stitches.

Tips for Successful Intarsia Knitting

• Start Small: To gain confidence and a better grasp of intarsia methods, start with easy tasks. Swatches, dishtowels, or scarves with simple color blocks are great places to start.
• Organize different yarns: To avoid tangling, keep your yarns neat. To store each color independently, use tiny containers or bobbins. To keep things organized, arrange them according to their purpose and untwist them occasionally.
• Practice: It's important to have patience when working with the intarsia method, it's not difficult but you need to be focused while changing the colors.
• Choose the Suitable Yarn: Select yarns with high stitch definition and a smooth texture.

With the intarsia technique, you can easily create numerous possibilities. The famous Intarsia knitwear designer is an artist named Kaffe Fassett and he also designs quilts and fabrics. One of the main reasons to learn this wonderful technique is that you can create your own designs for your loved ones. You'll quickly be able to add complex color patterns to various projects with patience and skill, giving your knitting projects a unique and creative flair.