Knitting Help - Carrying Fair Isle Floats 

You are the best knitting teacher on the Internet. I have been teaching a younger person and I always send her here for help. Thank you!

I've been knitting, for 50 years and have never done Fair Isle work. Just thought it was too complex, but, watching this video set me free! I might just give it a try. Does not look difficult at all. thanks!

This video has changed my life. It’s amazing. My fair isle knitting is so much faster, and much less awkward now. I taught myself to use both hands to hold the yarn when knitting fair isle, but had to do the cumbersome drop and twist to carry floats. Now I don’t anymore and MY LIFE HAS CHANGED. Thank you once again, Staci!

Thank you! The 2nd method is such a time saver, as I knit all my Fair Isle and Icelandic patterns with yarn in both hands, so this works perfectly. I can't believe how much time I spent twisting one yarn around the other, which meant having to drop the yarns, do the twist, and then pick up the yarns again. I'm flying it now! Thanks again!

Extremely helpful for a senior knitter who is just returning to knitting in my retired years and trying to catch up on new techniques. This is a "jewel" for learning. Karen

That IS awesome! Never having done any type color work before, I'm watching all the tutorials I can, to add to my arsenal of tools before I begin. Thanks for sharing!

The second option where you pull the yarn in your left hand over the work and knit with the right hand is a lifesaver, or at least saved me an enormous amount of time. Thank you so much.

Ugh, the mystery is finally solved! Thank you so much for this, I can now enjoy doing fair isle patterns!

Portuguese knitter here! Loved this vídeo.Thank you! I follow your channel for years now, and it's a reference for me.

BRILLIANT as usual Staci- I watched this video and have been catching my floats for the first time in my life without ending up with a twisted ball of tangled yarn! Thank you!!!!

SUPER helpful! I had done a fair isle hat ages ago and was told to twist for long floats. This way is so much easier and less hassle withput having to plop your yarns back and forth. Thank you!

I love your tutorials. You have made me such an accomplished knitter. You're the best!

This has to be one of the best tricks I’ve learned in a long time! This is helping me out immensely with the sweater I’m working on. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And we students appreciate your videos and podcasts! Thanks Staci! 😍

This was very helpful. Thank you for showing the technique of pulling the yarn forward and then pulling it back with each color in a separate hand. That was great! I had to slow the video down to watch closely, but it made complete sense to me! Thank you again!

I'm just starting with Fair Isle and I thank you for this video. Can't wait to give each method a try.

You made it sooooo easy. Still on my knitting journey snd I'm doing my first CW. Thank you do much!

It is so GREAT you appreciate a comment idea and then share it!! So thank you and to the one who shared with you.

I love watching you knit! You have such a smooth snappy way if throwing that yarn, it is great! Thank you for your tutorials, so informative.

I often refer to your videos when I need a refresher or a hand with something new... Clear and informative thank you

I love and frequently knit fair isle and never knew this. My mind is blown and I am super excited to carry floats this way from here on out! How much simpler!

I really love your tutorials!! I have learned so much! I have a pillow to try and make with this technique, I can't wait to get started. Thank you!!

My grandma tight me to knit when I was 7. Just love your videos. They look like a very nice set to knit with. Thank you for sharing! Might be fun to try fair isle knitting for some thing new.

I have always done it this way (taught by my mother who was so expert...but it’s been long enough since doing any stranded color work that I needed a review! Thanks so very much!

No way! I did my 1st ever fair isle pattern yesterday and instinctively held my yarns in both hands (English and continental at the same time) and carried my float over like you just showed! I must be a natural 😂

This was so helpful! I was looking at a book that showed how to do this, but I didn’t understand. I went immediately to this video and I got it in seconds! I didn’t realize how easy this was. Now I will continue my color work pillow with my friend.

What a wonderful demonstration. I love knitting fairisle and this is going to make it easier now since the yarns won't tangle as much. Thanks again for a great video. 😉

Thank you I am so excited to see that you can Do fair isle knitting English style .

Yay! Now I will try Fair Isle with confidence! Love your videos!

Love this! Thank you! Your videos taught me how to knit!

Thanks for sharing! My tension was always off with fair isle, but I think just watching how you do the floats will improve it tremendously!

Just brilliant 😁 thank you so much made knitting those stranded mittens so much easier. Xx

thank you so much for the video about how I can secure my floats. When they are loose they can be such a mess. I think this will also help me to keep my tension better. I loooove doing fair isle knitting. It is like watching a picture develop. I do the flicking method of knitting, but when doing fair isle I carry the yarn in both hands. Thanks a bunch

This is awesome! Can you do a slow motion video of how you are holding your 2 working yarns in your right hand so that you can easily switch between them as you work without having to drop and pick up the working yarn constantly?

You do such a beautiful work , thank you for sharing with all of us and for the tutorial ! 😊💗

Oh that's so much better! I knit in combination, holding the wool in each hand so it doesn't get tangled. However, I was bringing the wool forward before inserting the hook to catch the float and it was disturbing the pattern slightly. I was trying to do it in places the colours would match but I was taking away from that nice neat stockinette stitch pattern having a float run in front on the right side for a single stitch. This is so helpful !!!! I’ve been loving learning to knit recently. I’ve crocheted for many years and made amigurumi. I thought knitting wouldn’t be too difficult after that but it is very different and has been quite challenging to transition. Thanks for the tips!!

OMG!!! Thank you so much for this video. I'm an adventurous novice knitter who is very new to FI knitting. Trying simple patterns, but the tangling was driving me bonkers. This technique helps. Just need to practice the steps so they are smoother.

Thank you. I have done the snowflake to try fair isle knitting it came out perfect.

Omg, i was so lost and confused but this video helped SO much. Thank you! 😊

Thank you Staci. Just in time. About to start my very first fair isle project (Arne and Carlos' Christmas balls)

Thank you so much!! I’ve learned so much from you - you’re a great teacher.

I learned the Continental method so I could fair isle that way, but I have yet to see that particular way to strand. I will definitely be trying that next fair isle project I have! Thank you!

I’ll have to give this a try. As a Continental Knitter I use both hands for stranded knitting. I’m not sure how I feel about the second color in my left hand but it’s worth a try! Thanks for sharing!

You always have the very best instruction. Thank you!

This is so useful! I've practiced and it works! Thank you so much 🙏

I think I’ll try fair isle now because this makes sense! Thanks!

Thank you so much for this and so many of your videos! I’m starting a 2 colour pattern in fingering weight and for my gauge swatch I tried 3 different styles of catching floats. Your 2nd technique won Hands Down😅. The blocking showed holes where the floating yarn peeked through, but not on the rows where I did your 2nd technique. I have been so looking forward to knitting this pattern and your video definitely saved the day. Only my dear husband knows the sweat I go through…. You are the very best!!!

Just found this video and it’s great. Thanks a million!

Honestly that was a game changer for me! Thank you!

Thank you. I gave up on a Penelope (movie) scarf bc of that tension despite giving those floats a lot of slack. Can't wait to dig out that pattern and yarns now. ^_^

Can’t wait to try this trick!

Perfect timing! I'm making fair isle mittens right now!! Thank you for learning and sharing!

I like to comment on your knit companion video. It was very good for visually learning of knit companion. I hope you will be doing more video as you grow with knit companion. Be a visually it was very helpful. Thank you

I knit English style also. Thanks for this video.

As always so so helpful. Thanks a million

I hear the clicking! This technique is cool. I will try this when I do my first fair isle project. I’m not sure I can do it.

This is the way I carry floats, especially since as a continental knitter, I learned how to flick from you, Staci! So, I knit color strandedly pretty fast thanks to you. :) So, just one comment: The video shows the way to carry the non-dominant color under the dominant color, but it’s slightly different wrapping what around what if you want to keep the yarns in each hand without switching from one hand to the other to carry the dominant under the non-dominant. It’s just a little different as far as which you wrap around what. So, if you have a carry of say 8 blue stitches in the hat, you’d do it slightly differently if you want to keep the yarns in the same hands. Maybe this can be another video,and you can share a fun way to remember what you wrap/counter or clockwise, etc.

Thankyou very much for video, really enjoyed watching it

Thank you, Staci - pretty hat pattern

Love your videos very informative

Another great tutorial!

Hi that is a great tip...i will definitely try. I do it the same way as you use to and always have to untangle my yarn too often. This way i hope i won’t get soo tangled 😁🧶

Great idea! Never thought of that either!

I am an English-style flicker but I knit stranded with my dominant color in my left hand and my background color in my right. There are techniques for catching floats with both colors that vary slightly but keep your hands on the work and keep it flowing very smoothly. The plus to doing it this way is that you never have to untangle your yarn!

I saw someone else demonstrating the second technique but from a bad angle so even though I tried it didn’t work (I’m also a lefty so I was trying to mirror it too lol). This view from above is sooo much better and I can’t wait to try this technique now!

This is absolutely awesome thank you

Lovely and great ideas . Thanks

Thank you. This helps me a lot I really appreciate it.

Спасибо огромное! Очень много полезного взяла себе,просиатртвая ваши видео!

Love this give away, Thanks!

Thank you! I am a English knitter but for color work I hold one color in each hand. I used to catch the floats the first way you show, but it was very messy, twisted the yarn, and slow, so I stop doing it. This is much faster. ONE problem: I like to have the main color in the right hand , and the contrast in the left. Depending on the chart, you may need to carry the float of the main yarn as well. I dont like to swithc colors, since it is confusing, but you can do it, just being more careful! Thank you!

Youre sucha a fast knitter!!!

I know what you mean about that clicking! It is a lovely sound!

Lovely. I just started fair isle and have never done continental knitting. But as my pattern is two colours im finding it quite easy to english knit my main colour and continental knit my second colour so that i never have to drop a strand to switch colours.

I would like to get some your patterns I think your tutorials a great

Very useful. Thank you.

It’s so cool 😎 I loved that 😍😀

Thanks this was so helpful.

Very helpful! Thank you!!

Thanks for solving this -- what to me has been a -- mystery! I've been trying all kinds of things but couldn't figure this out. NOW, I can't figure out the reverse. I'm doing stranded knitting on a flat piece. So when knitting in one direction I need to carry the floats in the back, but going the other way, I need to carry the floats in the FRONT. I'm trying to do the "mirror" image of the technique you demonstrated, but it isn't working.

Wow beautiful ❤️

Hmmmm, I'm gonna have to give it a try!

Amazing! Thank you 😊

So neat!

Hi, I am, glad want to learn I watch you about knitting my daughter teach to her mom how fix work with knitting yarns was training let to know very good .

Thanks it was realy intressting.😍

I have done the second version also for purling in fair Isle.

great tip thankyou

this was great thank you. i am too uncordinated. Is it ok to just twist the yarn like you showed in the beginning to carry the yarn?

Cute!!. Saludos desde la ciudad de México :)

É tudo que Mais quero!

Very helpful thanks, do find that your blue yarn coming from over the white and white over blue, makes your stitches sit flat?

Hi there. I would like to say, I learn so much from your wonderful videos, especially the slow-motions. I am newish to knitting so my question is: how to catch floats on the wrong side of garter (working flat). Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the awesome work :o)

I am currently working on my first stranded colorwork project, and since I'm strictly an English-style knitter, I had to find a way to keep my working yarn on top. I purchased two yarn bowls (plastic with rubber bottoms for grip) and placed them on a lazy susan. I set the whole thing on the floor and gave it a half turn counterclockwise with my foot to keep the working yarn on top :) Goofy, I know, but I got tired of taking my hand off my needles to turn the yarn. This way, I can keep going, and my yarn doesn't get all twisted up (except when I want it to 😀) Where there's a will, there's a way, I guess.

Love it❤❤❤

Super!! Thank you for this video.

I would love to win this set of needles, I really need them!!! I am always searching for the right set of needles. This would really help! Thank you.

I loved your "Weaving in ends as you go" video and have worked it into every project since (I do loads of stripes and colourwork, so this has been invaluable to me!). I have also used this method to attach a new yarn in the middle of a row - I knit the first 6 or so stitches as if I was weaving the start of the new yarn in as an end, then it gave me the perfect tension to start knitting with! You have taught me everything I know about knitting, you're my first port of call when I come across something new I'd like learn. Just as a small end note, have you done a video about making bobbles in knitting &/or substitutes to them? They were in a pattern I want to try, but the instructions weren't written very well. Thank you so much for all your help and hard work! Much good luck and brightest blessings for your future (from a fellow Ravenclaw, too) 💙💙💙

I'd love to see a ladderback jacquard float video some day ;)

Hi, Staci. I am fairly new to stranded knitting but enjoy doing it. Today I went to my local yarn shop and discovered a handy gadget called a Yarn Guide by Clover. It slips on your index finger and holds several yarns and keeps them tidy. I love it but can't figure out how to carry floats with it. Are you familiar with it and could you do an instructional video? Thank you. You are always my go to site for knitting quandaries.