Is there an easier stripe method?
Here’s another way to change colour…
Now that we’ve practised the basic ‘yrh’ style of colour change, you’ll see that while it looks neat, there are a few pitfalls you might want to tidy up at an early stage of your work. First of all, you need to plan ahead to decide what colour you want to use for the next row in order to finish the last stitch of the previous row. Also, those yarn ends aren’t secure until you weave them in – and that last stitch where you’ve changed colour has a habit of looking a bit loose and untidy until you’ve done that dreaded weaving in. All in all, I prefer to use a slightly different technique, which is just as easy, but eliminates some of these headaches. Here’s how to do it:
Using Yarn A, work two rows of dc or the stitch you want. This time, fasten off at the end of the row, after working all the stitches. To do this, simply cut the yarn approx 7cm from the stitch, yrh and pull all the way through. Pull the end of the yarn to tighten up the final loop.
Now turn your work as usual. Make a slipknot in Yarn B and place it on your hook. Wrap the working end of Yarn B around your hand as usual. Now you need to insert the hook into the top of the first stitch on the row below.
Work yrh…
…and pull up a loop.
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Now pull this loop through the slipknot loop (this is effectively working a slip stitch). Tighten up the slipknot slightly. Your new yarn colour will now be secure and in the right position to work the new row.
Now you can use Yarn B to work the turning chain and stitches of the new row, and then another row. At the end of the second row of Yarn B, you can fasten off and then change colour again, repeating the process from Step 1, but this time with Yarn A. While you work, you can feel safe in the knowledge that both yarn ends are secure, all the stitches are neat and you can take your time deciding which colour to use next.
Step 5 Step 6