VERTICAL LINES, LETTERS, SIMPLE DESIGNS--VARIATIONS OF INTARSIA

COLUMN: Vertical row in contrasting color

Cylinder needs to be in stockinette stitches, either knitting around or back and forth.  It is best not to use tension spring and keep knitting somewhat loose.  (If knitting back and forth, you can pull the initial loop back manually rather than using heel spring.)   Example of this type of intarsia column would be the fencing around the edge of the demo hat.

With a high contrast yarn, form a ball or butterfly in double strands.  At the needle where you want the contrasting color (CC), manually knit the double strand of yarn; place the remainder of yarn inside your cylinder out of the way (inside the cylinder probably) and raise that needle.  Knit across or around.  Put needle back into work and pass the main color (MC) over the needle to the inside of the cylinder.  Repeat another stitch of CC on same needle passing MC over that needle on subsequent pass.  Continue in this manner til you have your CC in as tall of a column as you wish.

If you are making several vertical columns, you need to decide whether it is more appropriate to carry your yarn horizontally or vertically.  I suggest that you not pass behind more than 3 needles and that you be sure to leave the rear yarn baggy enough to allow the work to stretch.  Otherwise, use a separate ball for additional columns.

OTHER IMAGES: PICTURES AND LETTERS

When working in a diagonal rather than a column, it is not necessary to pass the front loop over the needle onto which you placed the CC.  This would be used at times when you are forming shapes other than a vertical column.  If you have a horizontal connection (such as across the center of the letter H), manually knit the CC using strands from both sides of the vertical column so they will not exceed three stitches beyond the vertical column and then you can continue using the same strands to continue the remainder of your vertical column.  (You may want to switch your strands across the back of your work or interlock them to keep a hole from forming in the middle of your horizontal section if it is more than one row.)

When placing an initial or image on your sock, be sure you have figured out the orientation of figures and letters.  Remember that you are working upside down and backwards.  (Fortunately, it is not also inside out!)  I found it helped me figure out which way to orient by drawing my figure on graph paper and placing it on a sock, then holding the sock in the direction it would be during the knitting in order to decide how to begin my image.  You will be knitting from the top row of your graph downward, not upward.  On flatwork, you would approach each subsequent row from the opposite side of the graph: on letters such as B, K, R the straight vertical portion will be on your right.  (Use an odd number of needles in order to center M, W, V, etc.  On regular socks, the vertical will be at the back on the right side of the cylinder and at the front on the left side of the cylinder: you will always approach your letter from the left side of your graph rather than alternating, of course.

Keep images small and simple without solid blocks of color.  The CC will be slightly thicker due to the double strands, but there is insufficient contrast if a single is used unless you are using extremely thick yarn.  Do experiment with it first on a sample piece to determine if you would prefer a single strand to a double.  It's worth the extra time.