Common Colorwork Styles

This technique uses small scraps of yarn to embroider motifs on top of your finished fabric. You use a darning needle to duplicate the stitches using a different color.

This technique uses slipped stitches to create colorwork patterns. The colors from one row cover the colors in the next row, giving the illusion of connected colors throughout the fabric.

Work across a color row by knitting the stitches in color 1 and slipping the stitches in color 2

1 color per row & No floats

Invented by Barbara. G. Walker in the 1960s. Every winter, she chose a new subject and learned all she could. When she was 35, learned to knit.

This technique switches entirely from one or more yarn colors in the same row. It's used to create large sections of color within knitted fabric that float independent of other colors. These aren’t reversible. Most have the pattern on the knit side of the piece.

Ideal for pixel type artwork - depicted as big letters, landscapes, or even logos.

Use 2+ colors for a block surrounded by the other. The yarns aren’t carried across the row. No floats

Picture a blue square surrounded by yellow. Knit up to the square using one yarn. Switch and use the blue. Next, use the third ball of yarn to knit the rest of the yellow.

This technique alternates between two or more colors of yarn. Stripe widths can be varied to change up the look of the fabric. Consistent stripe widths give your fabric a more bold graphic style.

While all Fair Isle knitting is stranded knitting, not all stranded knitting is Fair Isle.

Stranded Knitting

Stranded knitting is a broader technique encompassing any colorwork method where 2+ yarns are carried along a row to create patterns. This technique can include various styles and origins, not limited to a specific region or set of motifs.

Fair Isle

Fair Isle knitting is a specific type of stranded knitting that originates from the Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. Characterized by its traditional, often geometric patterns, and typically uses a limited palette of 2 colors per row.

Fair Isle became a popular crafts design when the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) wore a fair isle jumper in public in 1921.

Traditional Fair Isle patterns are composed of 5 colors. Also, traditional fair isle knitting has more detail than other knitting techniques because it doesn’t obscure stitches. The pattern is viewed from all angles.