![]() ![]() After you have worked a few stitches, gently tug the piece in both directions to even out the work. Work with manageable lengths of yarn to avoid tangling. Use tapestry needles that don't split or pierce the fabric. Just remember to keep the yarns compatible for cleaning. You can even duplicate stitch using strands of embroidery floss. Get creative and try some interesting effects using contrasting yarns. You can use the same yarn you have used for your garment or afghan, or use another yarn of the same weight. It is somewhat easier to cover a lighter color with a darker color, but if done properly you should be able to cover any color. And I really enjoy doing it - it has a feeling similar to the rhythm of needlepoint.The goal in working duplicate stitch is to cover the stitch below with a new color. I think that for the relatively small amount of time duplicate stitch takes, it really adds a lot of punch to a finished design. Here's what the finished fabric looks like after working all the large diamonds with Lady's Mantle and then adding some simple cross shaped stitches at the smaller diamonds in Blue Thyme Julia.Īnd here's what the finished sweater looks like. I prefer leaving a longer tail so that it won't pop through to the right side - even after several years. I clip the thread leaving about 3/4 to 1". I bring the needle to the backside and then I weave the needle through the back of the stitches to end off. I don't worry if the stitches aren't covered perfectly - to me it makes the fabric more interesting if a little of the original knitted color shows through. I stitch loosely so that the fabric isn't distorted. ![]() On this fabric, I decorated the inside of the diamond with chartreuse to add a new color to the fabric and create some more visual excitement. I keep stitching, always working from the right side of the fabric until all the stitches are covered. At the same time I poke the needle into the next stitch opening I am going to cover. Then I go back down where I came up in the bottom part of the stitch. Then using my tapestry needle, I follow the legs of the stitch where they loop through the stitch above it. Next, I come up to the front of the stitch through the bottom opening of the stitch I want to cover. I use a blunt pointed tapestry needle - a sharp pointed needle doesn't work for me - it splits the yarn and slows me down. By doing this, nothing shows through on the right side. On the back, directly behind where my duplicate stitch is to begin, I take 2 small stitches into a small bit of the yarn (I usually split the yarn - this is a 3 ply so I stitched into just one of the plies). When the sweater came back to me, I added a bunch of duplicate stitch embroidery and a bit of traditional embroidery to pull the whole design together. I knit the swatch, cut it and then added the striped trim so that the woman who was going to actually knit the sweater (one of my fabulous knitting pals - the famous Jeanne Moran) knew what the heck she was supposed to do. That's what I did with this swatch which was how yesterday's cardigan began. I even like to make my swatches on double points in the round with a steek and then cut them. I keep one in my right hand, one in my left and happily knit along following a chart. ![]() Although I prefer colorful knitwear, I only like knitting with two colors at a time. But since I'm the kind of knitter who likes to knit in the round, I can honestly say I have never knit anything but a swatch in the intarsia technique. ![]() For years, I have designed lots of colorful knitwear patterns. ![]()
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