A Stripey Story
A simple little project can turn into an amazing learning experience. Read on for the full story of how I perfected one-row stripes!
I wanted to make a hat for my 4 year old grandson Owen. I asked him what color he wanted and the answer was, “white, black, brown, and purple”. Stripes immediately came to mind. I waited a week and asked him again, just to be sure. I wasn’t enthusiastic about putting those colors together!
Sure enough, I got the same answer. I wanted Owen to be involved in this project and asked him if he would like wide stripes, skinny stripes, or color blocks. I drew him out design options and he chose skinny stripes.
A Ravelry search for a worsted weight hat pattern resulted in Purl Soho’s Classic Cuffed Hat, a free pattern and perfect for my needs. I started with two-row stripes but quickly realized they were too wide and did not look like the skinny stripes on our design sheet. I ripped out what I’d done so far and started on one-row stripes.
Not pretty!
Here’s where the problem began. I did not like the look of the stripes where I changed color at the beginning of the round one little bit. So I ripped out the hat for the second time. I asked my knitting guru what I should do and she suggested I try Helix (or Helical) stripes.
Thank goodness for YouTube! Usually I look at several videos of the technique I’m investigating and decide which one I like the best. Not this time. The instructions I found on the first video looked easy enough so I started anew on the hat.
Also not pretty!
As you can see from the photo, there was an issue with some of the color changes. I thought it was probably a tension problem and started tugging on the first stitch of the new color to tighten it up. That helped a bit but it still didn’t look very good. I told myself that this was a hat for a 4 year old and I’d already ripped it out once. I told myself that it wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t perfect. In the end, I couldn’t live with it and I ripped it out again!
I did a deeper dive on YouTube and viewed several more videos. I’m glad I did because not only did I find another trick to keep my stitches even but I found a fantastic way to keep my yarn from tangling!
Put your colors out in the order that they will be worked. Here, the purple will be worked next. A flat, slick, moveable surface such as a tray works nicely!
As you knit, move the color just worked over to the right. The purple was just worked and the white will be next. Brown is quietly awaiting its turn!
I used what I learned from several tutorials to make perfect helical stripes and keep my yarn in check at the same time! The trick is to slip two or three or four stitches before the color change. Not every tutorial mentions that. I found that the number of slipped stitches is arbitrary which is nice to know.
Helical stripes are only used for knitting in the round. When we’re knitting in the round we are actually knitting in a spiral because the rows do not lay on top of each other the way they do in flat, back and forth, knitting. Therefore, the stripes need to be manipulated a bit. Here are links to the two videos that gave me the most useful information: Carol Feller’s and Purl Soho’s.
Look at the difference! Much better!
As you can see in this photo, my stripes are nice and neat and I’m quite pleased with them. I’m so glad I ripped out and searched for more information. Who knew this hat would be such a fantastic learning experience? Helix stripes are so much fun and they become quite mesmerizing as you change from one color to the next.
Here is a great hat pattern for you to try helix stripes, free on Ravelry. Be sure to check out the tutorials first!
Happy Knitting,
Jenny
Julie’s Finds
Julie loves Coco knits accessories! Think stocking stuffers for yourself or your favorite knitter!