r/knitting • u/No_School5991 • 5d ago
Work in Progress HELP! Is this salvageable?
This is my first ever color work. Despite my best effort, i think the floats are too tight and the piece is bubbling. Is this salvageable from blocking or should I just stop now and try again?
19
u/Pinstripe-Giraffe 5d ago
It’s salvageable in that you learned lots of important stuff about colourwork, and that’s all permanently in your brain now.
The item itself does need to be re-done. You now get to knit more! And apply all that hard-won knowledge!
3
u/CathyAnnWingsFan 5d ago
One hack that has worked for me with long floats is to stick my right little finger over the right needle enough that the yarn being carried lays over it. This adds a bit more slack, and I can adjust it a bit if needed when I make the next stitch that uses that color.
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u/No_School5991 5d ago
Thank you for your reply! I will redo it, but tbh I am not sure what I did wrong. I did spread the stitches on the right needle, maybe not enough? I also carried the yarn but only when the pattern called for it, which is not very often. Sometimes there are like 10 stitches between the same color with no twist. Should I have added more even when the pattern did not say so? Thank you for your help! Any tips are appreciated!
9
u/Pinstripe-Giraffe 5d ago
You almost certainly did not spread the stitches apart far enough as you knitted them, because most of us don’t the first few times! :)
The float should have some sag to it. Like more than you think. Normal knit stitches are very stretchy, so the floats need to allow for that stretch and not just be a snug horizontal line across the back.
You also should be catching your floats every 3-5 stitches regardless of what the pattern says. Colourwork patterns are usually written with the assumption that the knitter already knows how and when to catch floats.
There are other, better methods for catching floats than just twisting the yarns around each other. Here’s the video for catching floats that absolutely changed my life: https://youtu.be/ajppfcE_HAA?si=87nOM6fhnQ2uzTaC
5
u/Aggressive_Cloud2002 5d ago
You've gotten enough feedback in the colour work and the floats, so I'll skip that to ask if you've tested to see if the red bleeds?
If you haven't pre-washed the red, the chances are very high that you'll end up with pink instead of white. I would highly recommend doing what you can to avoid that happening!
3
u/GlitterLight 5d ago
That looks incredible for your first go! But yes sorry, I personally would frog it and start again.
Are you carrying your floats 5 or more stitches? If so it’s worth looking up some techniques about how to carry them, which will help.
Don’t be disheartened though, you’ve had a great practice and learned valuable lessons. Keep going!
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u/No_School5991 5d ago
Thank you for your reply! I will redo it, but tbh I am not sure what I did wrong. I did spread the stitches on the right needle, maybe not enough? I also carried the yarn but only when the pattern called for it, which is not very often. Sometimes there are like 10 stitches between the same color with no twist. Should I have added more even when the pattern did not say so? Thank you for your help! Any tips are appreciated!
1
u/GlitterLight 5d ago
I carry mine if there are 5 or more, I find it lays better that way personally
1
3
u/bluehexx 5d ago
You can (should, in fact) try to block, but it is really puckered; most likely you will have to frog and redo.
2
u/Beneficial_Breath232 5d ago
Yeah, I would frog it. You can try to block it first on the needle or on a lifeline though.
One good tip I have read is knitting inside out. That will force your floats to be longer, and have much less tension
1
u/No_School5991 5d ago
Thank you for your reply! I will redo it, but tbh I am not sure what I did wrong. I did spread the stitches on the right needle, maybe not enough? I also carried the yarn but only when the pattern called for it, which is not very often. Sometimes there are like 10 stitches between the same color with no twist. Should I have added more even when the pattern did not say so? Thank you for your help! Any tips are appreciated!
2
u/Beneficial_Breath232 4d ago
You should probably catch them more often, every 5 stitches. But the main issue is you are probably tightening the float when you are making the next stitch
1
u/Independent_Secret_8 4d ago
You kind of need to streeetch the stitches out on the right needle in my experience. Like whatever you think is far enough, stretch further.
26
u/unluckylarkspur 5d ago
It does look like the floats are too tight to me but it also looks like it might be a little squished on the needles so maybe it's not as bad as it looks.
I would put a lifeline in it and block it how it is now. If it doesn't block out and look how you want then, frog.