My 13 year old daughter doesn't like knitting but loves needlework. I am going to give her some of my work and let her go crazy with her own ideas. Thank you for sharing! I have been knitting for a couple of years and your videos are always a good to. I taught myself using TH-cam and between you and Judy I caught on pretty fast. Thank you!
I tried knitting little crabs on a sweater, unpicked it multiple times because I hated the long loops at the back of my work. I watched loads of TH-cam explaining how to weave in the loops and sorted the knit row BUT couldn’t find a demonstration that dealt with the purl row. Your tutorial has saved my sanity 🙏 Thank you!
I have been struggling with intarsia for so long thinking it was the 'right' way, and getting so frustrated with 'carrying yarn over' and the messiness on the wrong side. Thank you so much for this!
I've been going nuts trying to figure out how to do something like this for months. You solved my problem in just 10 minutes! So simple and easy to follow, I'll definitely check out the rest of your channel! THANK YOU!!!
I am a fair isle knitter who loves making and designing hats. I have been curious about intarsia. I use duplicate stitch for lots of things and I thank you for being my teacher. Your videos on mittens and a child's sweater helped me.understand how to do it. Duplicate stitch helps me not to have to carry 3 colors in a row for fair isle.knitting in the round and I have used it to add a color to the center of flowers and dogs to Baable hats.
GENIUS! I needed this solution to fix a knitting problem and this works perfectly. I often find answers to my knitting predicaments on your channel. Thank you!
Hahaha. I love you! I'm using this technique from now on! (I knit the Norwegian way, but enjoy your vids so much that I just adapt everything, just to have fun and laugh while I'm listening to you.) Thx. Knitting and crocheting are my long loved therapy. And learning from you is such a pleasure. Big hug from Colombia.
OMG, I wish I would have found this video sooner! If I had learned this sooner, I wouldn't have spent so much time on frustrating and poorly executed intarsia projects. If I only had all that time back, I could probably knit a whole other sweater. AND now I can fully embrace patterns I avoided before! Thank you
Hi. Tim here. During quarantine, I asked my wife to teach me to knit. And she did and I made several baby hats to add to her project ... she sends out daughter the doctor, an ob/gyn to give to babies she brings into this world. As a retire engineer, I am always trying to figure out how to do things, shall we say, differently. I figured out intarsia just by engineering it but ... what I did looked unsatisfactory to me. Then I watched the videos. It seems I did it correctly. The wrong side looked unsatisfactory. But this double stitch thing you just demonstrated! Yes! This is what I want. Thanks.
Thank you so much for this video. I have been trying to use intarsia on a complicated pattern and I was going crazy. Duplicate stitch has absolutely made my day. I’m a cross stitcher so it just makes so much sense to me. Thank you so much.
I remember my aunties / relatives who knit intricate designs (mainly socks, Xmas stockings ) with little spools of different colors hanging off their projects like Olympic medals. I could never quite get to that level of patience . I always felt duplicate stitch was "cheating ". Lol. Thanks for validating it. 😃
I just made a hat for my nephew using intarsia (who knew?) and it was a giant pain! I'm so glad I found this video explaining the difference and how to duplicate stitch. I think that hat will be remade. Thanks for your clear instructions and great sense of humor!
Wow, this has saved me so much labour - I was about to start trying to learn intarsia for a commission - no need! This is going to be so much easier, thank you!
You’re like my knitting soul sister. My daughter loves this Intarsia hat she found online, and wants me to make it for my grandbaby. However, I never learned Intarsia, and the one time I attempted it, it was an epic failure. I’ve been wracking my brain to think of ways I could use things I know to make it turn out Intarsia-esque, and this was one of the ways I thought of. I had no idea it was actually a thing, and it had a name! Hah! But yeah, intarsia seems crazy, and intarsia in the round can go kick sand. Thank you for making me feel not crazy. Love you! 💜
This is very helpful--especially if I want to simplify what I'm doing with Intarsia and add extra details later with duplicate stitch (or if I miss a stitch when doing Intarsia--which miss a lot). I'm pretty new to knitting more than 2 colors. For example, I've recently discovered that trying to do a Christmas tree with presents onto a stocking is well, interesting--it looks like button holes. So your demo's of Intarsia and Duplicate will help sooo much--thank you!
I think knitters must have a sense of humour to keep sane! I've knit fair isle but not intarsia so was curious about the technique. Duplicate stitch looks easy enough and a great alternative to carrying yarn behind your work. Thank you for your videos, I'm learning so much I wish I had learned many years ago!
Thanks ever so! I do not enjoy intarsia, so you can trash-talk it to your heart's delight. This is the 1st video on duplicate stitch which *makes sense* -- so THANK YOU! Now I have to find a project where I can embroider little pink hearts...or maybe a little red maple leaf (for Canadian content, eh?)....
Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to figure out intarsia for a while, but none of the other tutorials made any sense to me. Now I know there’s a better way :)
You have made me so happy!! I have been trying so hard to learn intarsia because my son wants a doctor who, tardis hat and I planned to make him one for Christmas. I just can't seem to get intarsia and it's been driving me crazy. I so so excited to try duplicate stitches!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you so much for this terrific video. Just completed a section of Intarsia, and seeing the light regarding duplicate stitching. I probably wont do intarsia again - Whooo Hooo!
I too struggle with intarsia. The inside is so messy. Will try duplicate particularly on socks with a heart motive just at the front. Perfect. You’re a genius. Thanks.
This is brilliant! thank you! I'm a beginner knitter, but I have sewn and done embroidery before so the double stitch method is absolutely something I can incorporate into my work. Thank you for making this video!
I just encountered intarsia for the first time today, I am so intrigued because I am a tapestry weaver. Intarsia looks just like the way tapestries are woven. Lots of yarn butterflies of various colors. I'll bet it wouldn't be hard for me given my background. But I love knitting in the round so need to find a work around.....
Thank you for this...LOVE the down to earth talk and now i think i will stop trying to do "intarsia" and get it right... you've shown me exactly where to go to do DS correctly..:))
Oh my goodness. This is so helpful. I was actually struggling with one of my projects. I'm going to do this Duplicate Stitch. Thank you for this video.
Many thanks for this tutorial!!! (And for presenting DS as a valid, rather than "dumbed-down" intarsia alternative!) I recently tried intarsia and even kind of got the hang of it - but I wasn't pleased that it made my otherwise reversible scarf reversible no more. Now I know DS is the way to go!
THANK YOU! I have been working on a pair of socks with an intarsa pattern on-and-off for almost a year (after months of struggling with the heels I found your GSR heel video earlier this year and I finally finished the foot part!!) I have an attempt, get frustrated by how bad/loose/bunched-up the colour work looks (even twisting the yarns didn’t help), rip it out and put it away for another couple of months! I had thought of Swiss darning the pattern in, but found the thought of it pretty daunting. I’m sure this video has helped lots, Thanks
I know ahead of time that trying to keep four balls of yarn untangled, not loose my place in the chart, remember to twist my stitches and have all those hole generating ends to weave in, that I'm going to LOVE duplicate stitch much better! Thankyou, you just saved my sweater ! Added note, I tried this but used a very long piece of yarn that somehow didn't get pulled thru all the way. A bit difficult to RIP out but much easier still yet!
I really liked how you tried to not trash talk Intarsia! I thought you were just being honest. I have never tried it but honestly, it looks like a pain in the ass...! (: Thanks for the video.
Bot did I get myself in a pickle! I offered to knit a sweater for my granddaughters 8th birthday. She picked the pattern. Ahh. It's intarsia! It has three colors and has big flowers covering it. I don't think I could use your duplicate stitch method because I would have to knit the whole sweater first. Wish me luck! I hope I can pull it off. I did pick up some good tips from you on changing colors. Thank you.
Thanks for showing us this! I think this is awesome! Now, I want to make some dish cloths to use the duplicate stitch on now. I'm a novice knitter so I'm holding off learning the intarsia technique for a while.
this was unexpectedly funny XD I appreciate your honesty when it comes to not liking intarsia and I agree duplicate stitching is so much easier and gets the job done
I have knit intarsia and am an advanced beginner , it was quite interesting but very tough , all of the new colors hanging off your project. I knitted a sailboat in intarsia and thought I was going nuts , ha!!
"I am trash talking intarsia... I don't mean to... I kinda mean to," hahaha that made me laugh. I haven't attempted intarsia myself but from the videos I have watched explaining the technique it looks like a pain in the butt. I can't imagine how you would keep all the little balls of yarn from getting tangled in a larger project, like a patterned sweater. Definitely trying duplicate stitch! :)
THANK YOU! this video is awesome! I wasn't aware of this technique, and it's funny because it once crossed my mind of embroidering a knitted piece. You have literally opened a star gate into a new dimension for me!!! 😄
I am just about 25% into a hat that said to use intarsia for its pattern and I got here thinking this can't be the only way to do it, it's sooo tedious! Thank you much for this video, that hat's getting a do over!
Hey i love intarsia! 😜 And I also like duplicate stitch (although it has its own set of issues). I added a Green Bay Packer logo to a Christmas stocking (your pattern!) using a free web tool and duplicate stitch.
This is so cool! I learned how to knit intarsia in a round and it might be heavy for beginners but is interesting to wrap your head around. Anyways I love the easy alternative! Thank you very much! 🙏👏
This is what I needed to know. I have as trying to knit a Kate Fasset pattern using both intarsia and fair isle. It didn’t work. Now I get it. I just didn’t realize that intarsia doesn’t work in the round. THANKS.
Thanks so much for this! I just watched TWO videos on knitting intarsia in the round! There might be a good application for some expert knitters, but I think I’m taking YOUR advice for my project! I’m knitting a “Santa Pillow” (KnitPicks pattern). It’s a fair isle pillow, knit in the round, & both sides of the pillow are covered in about 100 interlocking Santas knit in red & white (also tan face with black eyes) - the Santas look like ‘lil Scandinavian gnomes & I think it would be fun to make just ONE Santa in a different color. Duplicate stitch it is! If it doesn’t look good, I can easily rip it out.
I've done intarsia on a hat and basically I had to knit it "flat" while attaching the ends through some really convoluted twisting. it ended up having holes which i had to weave in my ends to try to cover it up. it was a learning experience, and I probably should have had A LOT more experience with knitting before I got into it.
I laughed too! This was so funny as well as informative! I guess what I've done in the past is Intarsia. Now I'm doing Fair Isle as I am knitting in the round. I'll have to give duplicate stitch a try! Again, too funny!! Thanks. Laughter is always a good thing!
Thank you so much!! This is so much easier and a great answer to patterns! I'm looking forward to trying it and see what the back looks like in both actually.
Ugh I made this intarsia shawl/wrap once. Some Southwestern-looking motif. You look at it and think, "Oh those blocks of color are huge, I won't need that many changes." Before you know it, just based on a little change in shape, you've got a dozen bobbins hanging down and you want to set yourself on fire. It was too big of course for duplicate stitch -- that'd have taken years -- but it was enough to tell me I don't really *need* to ever do intarsia again.
Thank you! I spent hours looking for techniques to put a Finnish flag on a hat knitted in the round and all the options - stranded knitting, intarsia - looked like a complicated mess and every video had some different and complicated way you have to “turn” your work like it was flat instead of round, and work backward and do yarnovers and ssk or K2tog stitches to hide the join. Looked like too much trouble for me. The duplicate stitch will be super easy to do for a simple rectangular pattern in two colors. Thanks for saving me hours and hours of experimentation and frustration!
I can't really do a video on pattern abbreviations, since there aren't really any standards, and they vary from designer to designer. But here is my video on chart reading: th-cam.com/video/LJBO6PzQeTc/w-d-xo.html
You are so good! Thank you. Going to give duplicate stitch a try. I wonder if it would make the knitting obviously bulky, especially if there were a lot of "blobs" together, such as doing a floral design. I'll give it a try. And thanks, I have learned SO much from you!
Thank you 🙏 really struggling with intarsia but this will help me finish my granddaughters cardigan before she is too big for it .... lol 😂 ( keep undoing my intarsia as I am not happy with it & loosing patience)
I'm chuckling at how she talk about intarsia, because I've done it, and it really is a pain. But with this, putting paw prints on stuff is going to be so much easier.
Would the double stitch technique work on a garter stitch swatch? I'm making a baby blanket with a modified ten stitch pattern and am wondering about adding designs once the background is finished. I'm also not as experienced as some, partly because I had to reinvent the wheel when learning the knit and purl stitches so I'm only just now getting into proper patterning and shaping during my knitting. If you need my method for knitting to answer I simply add an extra twist when slipping the stitch onto the needle before pulling it through. This effectively creates a half hitch knot around the needle before pulling it through. This allows me to work in the dark and work around my thick fingers without loosing the trend. It also makes paying attention to anything that isn't knit or purl stitch slightly more important until I've gotten the hang of it. My method definitely reduces slipage and you have to be careful about tension.
I am knitting a sweater right now that uses intarsia. I did not know what that was called but I ended up making 7 balls of yarn to use for a mini diamond in my cardigan. It is nice to learn intarsia but it is a lot of yarn to untwist in the end.
I totally agree with you Staci, I do prefer duplicate stitch to Intarsia. However, my only issue with it it's I never know how much yarn I need to complete the design. I always end up with a couple of tails in the middle of it, and that is really annoying. Thanks for this video!
When I'm working duplicate stitch, I always just cut myself a length of yarn that is easy to work with (not necessarily enough to complete the whole color design), and if I run out, start a new strand. The ends are easy enough to weave in when you're finished, I find it more difficult to fight with a loooong strand of yarn while I'm trying to make neat stitches.
I did intarsia... Once. For the particular wrap I did I'd do it again but for a hat, this is great. So how do you make it look nice on the other side and secure it at the same time? Especially if it's a flat piece?
Well, that is a great video. I am doing a hockey logo on a sweater, not in the round. The first try was colour pattern knitting which seemed so loose. Tore it out and tried the fair isle knitting which made the logo design bumpy ( I think some of the back strands were too tight). Not happy! Going to give duplicate stitch a try. Three times and out!!
Thank you for this video! About to do my first intarsia piece (based on an original design) but I think part of it will be more trouble than it's worth. This frees me from the iron grip of intarsia ;)
How do you finish when you're done with the pattern? Do you just tie a knot in the back of the work or something? Do you have a preferred method for securing the duplicate stitch ends when you're finished?
You can make knots, especially if you're working with a slippery yarn (like cotton), or you can just weave in the ends by inserting your tapestry needle through stitches in the back of the work (splitting the yarn) if the yarn is sticky. If your yarn is a wool or wool blend, the yarn will be "sticky' enough to keep anything from unraveling.
Hi! First, thanks for all you do to help is knitters. I've bought a few of your patter s and love your work. I am knitting Christmas stockings based on a 1950sary maxim pattern. It has a huge Santa with presents, toy horse,. Etc. I hate intarsia! But I knit only in the round. Do you think it's ok to duplicate stitch the entire motif? Thanks for your advice
Could you use one or both of these techniques and follow a crochet graphghan pattern to make a blanket or something like that with a picture in it? The heart you used seemed to be basically the same as the graphs I've seen for corner to corner and graphghans in crochet but the duplicate stitch seems like it would be so much easier, would use a lot less yarn and it would be easier to make a smaller blanket while making the same image. What do you think?
I've never done it but know of some who have worked intarsia in the round by slipping the stitches of the colour piece and then purling the yarn back across the colour piece. That section is then slipped again for that row. When you come to the colour piece again, the yarn is in the correct place. So, you knit round on the odd rows and do the slip/purl/slip for the colourwork on the even rows.
I tried this technique on a hat with a somewhat intricate design, the result was not pretty! XD I think it may give a better result on a more "blocky" motif, but I haven't experimented further. Although just typing this kinda makes me want to play with it again.. .What have I done...
Thanks for help! I was trying to figure out how to add a picture like in fair isle w/o carrying the strands around the width of the hat. Worked great :) Love your videos!
@@sereniticat2 thank you! Merry Christmas very late! I am still working on it- haha. Because of COVID, we haven’t seen my in-laws in months, so I am taking my time. I guess I better step it up since they should be getting the vaccine soon!
I want to make this for the fiona baby sundress i knitted but i am not clear how to do the top of the heart. Can you do a video on that? I'm relatively new at knitting trying difficult techniques... thank you. I love your work and am a big fan.
The top of the heart chart is worked exactly like the rest of it. The technique is the same, but you will probably want to work one side of the top, cut the yarn, then work the other side.
I’ve been doing intarsia in the round, i just pull the yarn and let it be loose to get it to where I need it. So there’s just a lot of string to cut and weave in at the end lol. Im looking forward to trying duplicate stitch and intarsia has been driving me crazy
Is there a rule-of-thumb regarding the direction in which you make the duplicate stitches? For instance, do you do 1 full row before starting the next row? Do you go back and forth or how? If you have a tall design, can you do columns of stitches vertically side by side? Is there a maximum number of stitches that you can skip (if there’s a skip in the pattern) before you have to cut your yarn and start again in the new place?
It's easiest to work across (either to the left or right) and UP. You'll get a feel for how far you can stretch the yarn between stitches. My rule of thumb is 5.
Question about duplicate stitch: when you have a very large design to put onto a piece, would you suggest using longer lengths of yarn so you have fewer ends to weave in, or shorter lengths with more ends to weave? I figured longer would be better because I'm not great at weaving in ends, however my yarn keeps getting tangled and I'm about ready to snap. Or, are there any tips or tricks to prevent the yarn from tangling when using longer pieces?
I prefer to only use a piece as long as my arm when I'm stitching - any longer than that, and it gets tangled. You can prevent some tangles on the back of the work by weaving in the ends as you go.
I dida sorta intarsia hat. I carried all my yarn over though.. It was only two colors.. I just finished a hat in the round and it has dogs but went back using duplicate stitch for the collar nose and eye.. I feel like the other hat that I did the hat flat but carried the yarns, I feel it wouldve looked better if I made it as duplicate stitch instead. And easier than juggling yarn around
I have done some sweaters in the past ( let’s just say patterns were not written in the past 18+ years) they had no name for it ya just did it! Who says change is not a great thing...right?
Yes that's why many years ago I gave up working intarsia. I embroider whatever graphics I want on the knitted fabric. If I just want to add a graphic to the fabric, embroidery (or double stitch as you said) is easier to manage as well as tidy and neat. But I wonder if there is useful technique or effect, if any, only for intarsia.
Argyle. :) My opinion here, but traditional argyle knitting is the best use for instarsia, but I still recommend duplicate stitch for the single fine lines of color that cross through the diamonds.
For intarsia in the round, what about having different yarns for even/odd rows? I suppose there is a high potential for tangling/confusion, and probably not worth it, but I'm wondering if it would work. (I'm a newbie so I can't yet visualize this sort of thing.)
You made me think for a moment, but you'll get the same result...if you use two strands of the contrasting color (or 3, or 10, or any number), the contrasting color will end up on the opposite edge of the "color blob" each time, and never be where you need it on the next round.
My 13 year old daughter doesn't like knitting but loves needlework. I am going to give her some of my work and let her go crazy with her own ideas. Thank you for sharing! I have been knitting for a couple of years and your videos are always a good to. I taught myself using TH-cam and between you and Judy I caught on pretty fast. Thank you!
I don't mind you trash talking intarsia. It makes me feel better about myself because I HATE it, personally.
I tried knitting little crabs on a sweater, unpicked it multiple times because I hated the long loops at the back of my work. I watched loads of TH-cam explaining how to weave in the loops and sorted the knit row BUT couldn’t find a demonstration that dealt with the purl row. Your tutorial has saved my sanity 🙏 Thank you!
I have been struggling with intarsia for so long thinking it was the 'right' way, and getting so frustrated with 'carrying yarn over' and the messiness on the wrong side. Thank you so much for this!
I've been going nuts trying to figure out how to do something like this for months. You solved my problem in just 10 minutes! So simple and easy to follow, I'll definitely check out the rest of your channel! THANK YOU!!!
Oh my goodness you are so funny "I'm trash talking Intarsia I don't mean to ....I kinda mean too!" Haaaaa! Thank you for the option!
I am a fair isle knitter who loves making and designing hats. I have been curious about intarsia. I use duplicate stitch for lots of things and I thank you for being my teacher. Your videos on mittens and a child's sweater helped me.understand how to do it. Duplicate stitch helps me not to have to carry 3 colors in a row for fair isle.knitting in the round and I have used it to add a color to the center of flowers and dogs to Baable hats.
GENIUS! I needed this solution to fix a knitting problem and this works perfectly. I often find answers to my knitting predicaments on your channel. Thank you!
Hahaha. I love you! I'm using this technique from now on! (I knit the Norwegian way, but enjoy your vids so much that I just adapt everything, just to have fun and laugh while I'm listening to you.) Thx. Knitting and crocheting are my long loved therapy. And learning from you is such a pleasure. Big hug from Colombia.
Oh thank the gods something easier than handling a ton of yarn balls! Thank you!!
OMG, I wish I would have found this video sooner! If I had learned this sooner, I wouldn't have spent so much time on frustrating and poorly executed intarsia projects. If I only had all that time back, I could probably knit a whole other sweater. AND now I can fully embrace patterns I avoided before! Thank you
Hi. Tim here.
During quarantine, I asked my wife to teach me to knit. And she did and I made several baby hats to add to her project ... she sends out daughter the doctor, an ob/gyn to give to babies she brings into this world.
As a retire engineer, I am always trying to figure out how to do things, shall we say, differently.
I figured out intarsia just by engineering it but ... what I did looked unsatisfactory to me. Then I watched the videos.
It seems I did it correctly. The wrong side looked unsatisfactory.
But this double stitch thing you just demonstrated! Yes! This is what I want.
Thanks.
Thank you so much for this video. I have been trying to use intarsia on a complicated pattern and I was going crazy. Duplicate stitch has absolutely made my day. I’m a cross stitcher so it just makes so much sense to me. Thank you so much.
I remember my aunties / relatives who knit intricate designs (mainly socks, Xmas stockings ) with little spools of different colors hanging off their projects like Olympic medals. I could never quite get to that level of patience .
I always felt duplicate stitch was "cheating ". Lol. Thanks for validating it. 😃
I just made a hat for my nephew using intarsia (who knew?) and it was a giant pain! I'm so glad I found this video explaining the difference and how to duplicate stitch. I think that hat will be remade. Thanks for your clear instructions and great sense of humor!
Wow, this has saved me so much labour - I was about to start trying to learn intarsia for a commission - no need! This is going to be so much easier, thank you!
You’re like my knitting soul sister. My daughter loves this Intarsia hat she found online, and wants me to make it for my grandbaby. However, I never learned Intarsia, and the one time I attempted it, it was an epic failure. I’ve been wracking my brain to think of ways I could use things I know to make it turn out Intarsia-esque, and this was one of the ways I thought of. I had no idea it was actually a thing, and it had a name! Hah! But yeah, intarsia seems crazy, and intarsia in the round can go kick sand. Thank you for making me feel not crazy. Love you! 💜
This is very helpful--especially if I want to simplify what I'm doing with Intarsia and add extra details later with duplicate stitch (or if I miss a stitch when doing Intarsia--which miss a lot). I'm pretty new to knitting more than 2 colors. For example, I've recently discovered that trying to do a Christmas tree with presents onto a stocking is well, interesting--it looks like button holes. So your demo's of Intarsia and Duplicate will help sooo much--thank you!
I think knitters must have a sense of humour to keep sane!
I've knit fair isle but not intarsia so was curious about the technique. Duplicate stitch looks easy enough and a great alternative to carrying yarn behind your work.
Thank you for your videos, I'm learning so much I wish I had learned many years ago!
Perfect timing I've been driving myself crazy in trying to make this hat for my husband with his school logo. This video was a life saver, thank you!
Thanks ever so! I do not enjoy intarsia, so you can trash-talk it to your heart's delight. This is the 1st video on duplicate stitch which *makes sense* -- so THANK YOU! Now I have to find a project where I can embroider little pink hearts...or maybe a little red maple leaf (for Canadian content, eh?)....
I am very new to knitting (life long crocheter) and I love your videos!!!! Please don't ever stop making them. :)
I won't! :)
You should try knooking. It’s knitting with a crochet hook and amazing!!
Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to figure out intarsia for a while, but none of the other tutorials made any sense to me. Now I know there’s a better way :)
You have made me so happy!! I have been trying so hard to learn intarsia because my son wants a doctor who, tardis hat and I planned to make him one for Christmas. I just can't seem to get intarsia and it's been driving me crazy. I so so excited to try duplicate stitches!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you so much for this terrific video. Just completed a section of Intarsia, and seeing the light regarding duplicate stitching. I probably wont do intarsia again - Whooo Hooo!
I too struggle with intarsia. The inside is so messy. Will try duplicate particularly on socks with a heart motive just at the front. Perfect. You’re a genius. Thanks.
This is brilliant! thank you! I'm a beginner knitter, but I have sewn and done embroidery before so the double stitch method is absolutely something I can incorporate into my work. Thank you for making this video!
I just encountered intarsia for the first time today, I am so intrigued because I am a tapestry weaver. Intarsia looks just like the way tapestries are woven. Lots of yarn butterflies of various colors. I'll bet it wouldn't be hard for me given my background. But I love knitting in the round so need to find a work around.....
Thank you for this...LOVE the down to earth talk and now i think i will stop trying to do "intarsia" and get it right... you've shown me exactly where to go to do DS correctly..:))
Oh my goodness. This is so helpful. I was actually struggling with one of my projects. I'm going to do this Duplicate Stitch. Thank you for this video.
I've been watching all your old videos (the duplicate stitch one too) that I didn't recognize you with the long hair! I like it. Good videos.
Many thanks for this tutorial!!! (And for presenting DS as a valid, rather than "dumbed-down" intarsia alternative!) I recently tried intarsia and even kind of got the hang of it - but I wasn't pleased that it made my otherwise reversible scarf reversible no more. Now I know DS is the way to go!
THANK YOU!
I have been working on a pair of socks with an intarsa pattern on-and-off for almost a year (after months of struggling with the heels I found your GSR heel video earlier this year and I finally finished the foot part!!)
I have an attempt, get frustrated by how bad/loose/bunched-up the colour work looks (even twisting the yarns didn’t help), rip it out and put it away for another couple of months! I had thought of Swiss darning the pattern in, but found the thought of it pretty daunting. I’m sure this video has helped lots, Thanks
I know ahead of time that trying to keep four balls of yarn untangled, not loose my place in the chart, remember to twist my stitches and have all those hole generating ends to weave in, that I'm going to LOVE duplicate stitch much better! Thankyou, you just saved my sweater ! Added note, I tried this but used a very long piece of yarn that somehow didn't get pulled thru all the way. A bit difficult to RIP out but much easier still yet!
I really liked how you tried to not trash talk Intarsia! I thought you were just being honest. I have never tried it but honestly, it looks like a pain in the ass...! (: Thanks for the video.
Bot did I get myself in a pickle! I offered to knit a sweater for my granddaughters 8th birthday. She picked the pattern. Ahh. It's intarsia! It has three colors and has big flowers covering it. I don't think I could use your duplicate stitch method because I would have to knit the whole sweater first. Wish me luck! I hope I can pull it off. I did pick up some good tips from you on changing colors. Thank you.
Thanks for showing us this! I think this is awesome! Now, I want to make some dish cloths to use the duplicate stitch on now. I'm a novice knitter so I'm holding off learning the intarsia technique for a while.
Wow this looks so much easier than intarsia! Now I can't wait to letter some pieces!!!!
this was unexpectedly funny XD I appreciate your honesty when it comes to not liking intarsia and I agree duplicate stitching is so much easier and gets the job done
I have knit intarsia and am an advanced beginner , it was quite interesting but very tough , all of the new colors hanging off your project. I knitted a sailboat in intarsia and thought I was going nuts , ha!!
"I am trash talking intarsia... I don't mean to... I kinda mean to," hahaha that made me laugh. I haven't attempted intarsia myself but from the videos I have watched explaining the technique it looks like a pain in the butt. I can't imagine how you would keep all the little balls of yarn from getting tangled in a larger project, like a patterned sweater. Definitely trying duplicate stitch! :)
I came here to add the same love for the same quote!
THANK YOU! this video is awesome! I wasn't aware of this technique, and it's funny because it once crossed my mind of embroidering a knitted piece. You have literally opened a star gate into a new dimension for me!!! 😄
I am just about 25% into a hat that said to use intarsia for its pattern and I got here thinking this can't be the only way to do it, it's sooo tedious! Thank you much for this video, that hat's getting a do over!
Hey i love intarsia! 😜 And I also like duplicate stitch (although it has its own set of issues). I added a Green Bay Packer logo to a Christmas stocking (your pattern!) using a free web tool and duplicate stitch.
Would you mind sharing which free web tool you used to create the logo? Please 🙏 and thank you!
i tried intarsia for the first time today and i hates it! thank you for this, i’m glad there’s an alternative 🙂
oh my gosh! that's so easy and I never would have thought of it, thank you so much!
This is so cool! I learned how to knit intarsia in a round and it might be heavy for beginners but is interesting to wrap your head around. Anyways I love the easy alternative! Thank you very much! 🙏👏
Where did you learn that? Link or book?
This is what I needed to know. I have as trying to knit a Kate Fasset pattern using both intarsia and fair isle. It didn’t work. Now I get it. I just didn’t realize that intarsia doesn’t work in the round. THANKS.
Thanks so much for this! I just watched TWO videos on knitting intarsia in the round! There might be a good application for some expert knitters, but I think I’m taking YOUR advice for my project! I’m knitting a “Santa Pillow” (KnitPicks pattern). It’s a fair isle pillow, knit in the round, & both sides of the pillow are covered in about 100 interlocking Santas knit in red & white (also tan face with black eyes) - the Santas look like ‘lil Scandinavian gnomes & I think it would be fun to make just ONE Santa in a different color. Duplicate stitch it is! If it doesn’t look good, I can easily rip it out.
Great little video showing options.
Thank you, finally a decent explanation of duplicate stitch!
thank you finally someone explaine in a tutorial how to do the duplicate stitch.
It’s like cross stitching on knitted fabric. Love it!
I've done intarsia on a hat and basically I had to knit it "flat" while attaching the ends through some really convoluted twisting. it ended up having holes which i had to weave in my ends to try to cover it up. it was a learning experience, and I probably should have had A LOT more experience with knitting before I got into it.
I laughed too! This was so funny as well as informative! I guess what I've done in the past is Intarsia. Now I'm doing Fair Isle as I am knitting in the round. I'll have to give duplicate stitch a try! Again, too funny!! Thanks. Laughter is always a good thing!
I knit a pokeball shaped baby blanket with intarsia. I did work back and forth, but I connected the end as I worked. It is a round blanket.
I hate hand sewing stuff though. 🤣🤣
Thank you so much!! This is so much easier and a great answer to patterns! I'm looking forward to trying it and see what the back looks like in both actually.
thanks for this video. it was really helpful and i giggled at your "trash talk".
Intarsia definitely does work in the round, and I'd love to see a video description of it,
Ugh I made this intarsia shawl/wrap once. Some Southwestern-looking motif. You look at it and think, "Oh those blocks of color are huge, I won't need that many changes." Before you know it, just based on a little change in shape, you've got a dozen bobbins hanging down and you want to set yourself on fire. It was too big of course for duplicate stitch -- that'd have taken years -- but it was enough to tell me I don't really *need* to ever do intarsia again.
Thank you! I spent hours looking for techniques to put a Finnish flag on a hat knitted in the round and all the options - stranded knitting, intarsia - looked like a complicated mess and every video had some different and complicated way you have to “turn” your work like it was flat instead of round, and work backward and do yarnovers and ssk or K2tog stitches to hide the join. Looked like too much trouble for me. The duplicate stitch will be super easy to do for a simple rectangular pattern in two colors. Thanks for saving me hours and hours of experimentation and frustration!
I just love all your videos. You are the BEST TEACHER!!!! Thank you so much!!!
I love love love your videos. Can you possibly make a video on how to read charts and pattern abbreviations please.
I can't really do a video on pattern abbreviations, since there aren't really any standards, and they vary from designer to designer. But here is my video on chart reading: th-cam.com/video/LJBO6PzQeTc/w-d-xo.html
You are so good! Thank you. Going to give duplicate stitch a try. I wonder if it would make the knitting obviously bulky, especially if there were a lot of "blobs" together, such as doing a floral design. I'll give it a try. And thanks, I have learned SO much from you!
That looks very meditative. Thank you!
Thank you 🙏 really struggling with intarsia but this will help me finish my granddaughters cardigan before she is too big for it .... lol 😂 ( keep undoing my intarsia as I am not happy with it & loosing patience)
I'm chuckling at how she talk about intarsia, because I've done it, and it really is a pain. But with this, putting paw prints on stuff is going to be so much easier.
Thank you for such great instructions and the pattern! Just what I was looking for!
Thank you so very much for this video!! I think you've saved my sanity!! :)
Would the double stitch technique work on a garter stitch swatch? I'm making a baby blanket with a modified ten stitch pattern and am wondering about adding designs once the background is finished. I'm also not as experienced as some, partly because I had to reinvent the wheel when learning the knit and purl stitches so I'm only just now getting into proper patterning and shaping during my knitting.
If you need my method for knitting to answer I simply add an extra twist when slipping the stitch onto the needle before pulling it through. This effectively creates a half hitch knot around the needle before pulling it through. This allows me to work in the dark and work around my thick fingers without loosing the trend. It also makes paying attention to anything that isn't knit or purl stitch slightly more important until I've gotten the hang of it. My method definitely reduces slipage and you have to be careful about tension.
The duplicate stitch (as I've demonstrated here) only works on stockinette stitch - not garter stitch or other stitch combos.
Thanks for the help!
What’s the best way to weave in ends so I don’t have extra color peeking out? Can’t wait to try this!
I am knitting a sweater right now that uses intarsia. I did not know what that was called but I ended up making 7 balls of yarn to use for a mini diamond in my cardigan. It is nice to learn intarsia but it is a lot of yarn to untwist in the end.
I totally agree with you Staci, I do prefer duplicate stitch to Intarsia. However, my only issue with it it's I never know how much yarn I need to complete the design. I always end up with a couple of tails in the middle of it, and that is really annoying. Thanks for this video!
When I'm working duplicate stitch, I always just cut myself a length of yarn that is easy to work with (not necessarily enough to complete the whole color design), and if I run out, start a new strand. The ends are easy enough to weave in when you're finished, I find it more difficult to fight with a loooong strand of yarn while I'm trying to make neat stitches.
Cool, that's exactly what I do. I tried using longer strands but they get in the way and sometimes they untwist. Thanks a lot for your answer! :)
I did intarsia... Once. For the particular wrap I did I'd do it again but for a hat, this is great. So how do you make it look nice on the other side and secure it at the same time? Especially if it's a flat piece?
This is fantastic..the duplicate stitch, thanks 😊
Well, that is a great video. I am doing a hockey logo on a sweater, not in the round. The first try was colour pattern knitting which seemed so loose. Tore it out and tried the fair isle knitting which made the logo design bumpy ( I think some of the back strands were too tight). Not happy! Going to give duplicate stitch a try. Three times and out!!
Thank you for this video! About to do my first intarsia piece (based on an original design) but I think part of it will be more trouble than it's worth. This frees me from the iron grip of intarsia ;)
This is the exact help I was looking for! Thank you thank you!
How do you finish when you're done with the pattern? Do you just tie a knot in the back of the work or something? Do you have a preferred method for securing the duplicate stitch ends when you're finished?
You can make knots, especially if you're working with a slippery yarn (like cotton), or you can just weave in the ends by inserting your tapestry needle through stitches in the back of the work (splitting the yarn) if the yarn is sticky. If your yarn is a wool or wool blend, the yarn will be "sticky' enough to keep anything from unraveling.
VeryPink Knits
Thank you! That's super helpful :)
I love the heart. I've been trying to figure out HOW to do that. Thanks
Lol a little bit of trash talk but that’s why I love your tutorials you are so real…ty
Hi! First, thanks for all you do to help is knitters. I've bought a few of your patter s and love your work. I am knitting Christmas stockings based on a 1950sary maxim pattern. It has a huge Santa with presents, toy horse,. Etc. I hate intarsia! But I knit only in the round. Do you think it's ok to duplicate stitch the entire motif? Thanks for your advice
Yes, you can always use duplicate stitch in place of intarsia.
Could you use one or both of these techniques and follow a crochet graphghan pattern to make a blanket or something like that with a picture in it? The heart you used seemed to be basically the same as the graphs I've seen for corner to corner and graphghans in crochet but the duplicate stitch seems like it would be so much easier, would use a lot less yarn and it would be easier to make a smaller blanket while making the same image. What do you think?
I've never done it but know of some who have worked intarsia in the round by slipping the stitches of the colour piece and then purling the yarn back across the colour piece. That section is then slipped again for that row. When you come to the colour piece again, the yarn is in the correct place. So, you knit round on the odd rows and do the slip/purl/slip for the colourwork on the even rows.
BTW, this would drive me batty unless it was a small motif but it would be effective.
I tried this technique on a hat with a somewhat intricate design, the result was not pretty! XD I think it may give a better result on a more "blocky" motif, but I haven't experimented further. Although just typing this kinda makes me want to play with it again.. .What have I done...
Thanks for help! I was trying to figure out how to add a picture like in fair isle w/o carrying the strands around the width of the hat. Worked great :) Love your videos!
Beautiful!!! I want to make it already!!
Thank you! So frustrated trying to make a Christmas pillow that says joy in cursive!!! I’m taking it apart and finishing this way! ;-)
How did you go? Also merry late Christmas!
@@sereniticat2 thank you! Merry Christmas very late! I am still working on it- haha. Because of COVID, we haven’t seen my in-laws in months, so I am taking my time. I guess I better step it up since they should be getting the vaccine soon!
I want to make this for the fiona baby sundress i knitted but i am not clear how to do the top of the heart. Can you do a video on that? I'm relatively new at knitting trying difficult techniques... thank you. I love your work and am a big fan.
The top of the heart chart is worked exactly like the rest of it. The technique is the same, but you will probably want to work one side of the top, cut the yarn, then work the other side.
I’ve been doing intarsia in the round, i just pull the yarn and let it be loose to get it to where I need it. So there’s just a lot of string to cut and weave in at the end lol. Im looking forward to trying duplicate stitch and intarsia has been driving me crazy
I needed this, thank you! Works great for pixel art!
Is there a rule-of-thumb regarding the direction in which you make the duplicate stitches? For instance, do you do 1 full row before starting the next row? Do you go back and forth or how? If you have a tall design, can you do columns of stitches vertically side by side? Is there a maximum number of stitches that you can skip (if there’s a skip in the pattern) before you have to cut your yarn and start again in the new place?
It's easiest to work across (either to the left or right) and UP. You'll get a feel for how far you can stretch the yarn between stitches. My rule of thumb is 5.
What about for much larger projects, would it not waste a lot of yarn?
OMG I love this idea I have tried Intarsia and failed horribly thank you thank you for sharing.
Question about duplicate stitch: when you have a very large design to put onto a piece, would you suggest using longer lengths of yarn so you have fewer ends to weave in, or shorter lengths with more ends to weave? I figured longer would be better because I'm not great at weaving in ends, however my yarn keeps getting tangled and I'm about ready to snap. Or, are there any tips or tricks to prevent the yarn from tangling when using longer pieces?
I prefer to only use a piece as long as my arm when I'm stitching - any longer than that, and it gets tangled. You can prevent some tangles on the back of the work by weaving in the ends as you go.
I dida sorta intarsia hat. I carried all my yarn over though.. It was only two colors.. I just finished a hat in the round and it has dogs but went back using duplicate stitch for the collar nose and eye.. I feel like the other hat that I did the hat flat but carried the yarns, I feel it wouldve looked better if I made it as duplicate stitch instead. And easier than juggling yarn around
I have done some sweaters in the past ( let’s just say patterns were not written in the past 18+ years) they had no name for it ya just did it! Who says change is not a great thing...right?
Thanks a bunch!!! I’m so tired of tapestry crochet and intarsia
Hi, can you tell me a way to duplicate stitch if stitches are horizontal ie on a knitting machine scarf. Thanks in advance.
Yes that's why many years ago I gave up working intarsia. I embroider whatever graphics I want on the knitted fabric. If I just want to add a graphic to the fabric, embroidery (or double stitch as you said) is easier to manage as well as tidy and neat. But I wonder if there is useful technique or effect, if any, only for intarsia.
Argyle. :) My opinion here, but traditional argyle knitting is the best use for instarsia, but I still recommend duplicate stitch for the single fine lines of color that cross through the diamonds.
For intarsia in the round, what about having different yarns for even/odd rows? I suppose there is a high potential for tangling/confusion, and probably not worth it, but I'm wondering if it would work. (I'm a newbie so I can't yet visualize this sort of thing.)
You made me think for a moment, but you'll get the same result...if you use two strands of the contrasting color (or 3, or 10, or any number), the contrasting color will end up on the opposite edge of the "color blob" each time, and never be where you need it on the next round.
Ahh, yeah, that makes sense. So obvious now! Thank you.