• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Studio
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Intarsia 101

September 4, 2018 4 Comments

This tutorial is part of our Read Along Knit Along series & is brought to you by LoveKnitting, Eucalan & Knitter’s Pride.

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the technique for absolute beginners. Click through for this awesome tutorial.
Intarsia. It’s a word that strikes fear in the hearts of knitters, myself formerly among them. First of all, it’s a colorwork technique, i.e. a way of knitting with 2 or more differently-colored yarns to create colorful patterns. Intarsia is special because once you can work the technique, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for you as a knitter. Everything from argyle (one of the most famous knitting designs in the world, achievable with intarsia knitting!) to, well, a picture of a zebra becomes something you can knit into your work. Doesn’t this sound fun?

What’s Intarsia?

Also known as picture knitting, intarsia enables knitters to create isolated chunks of color and/or motifs of multiple colors. Intarsia earns its picture knitting nickname particularly when you consider pieces like statement sweaters featuring a single word or image on the chest. In knitting, you’ll most commonly come across intarsia worked flat in stockinette stitch, and your pattern will most likely be in the form of a chart.

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the technique for absolute beginners. Click through for this awesome tutorial.

How to knit intarsia

As you’ll learn in the video below, intarsia is accomplished by knitting different sections of a given row of knitting using multiple, separate balls of yarn. For instance, if your intarsia chart features a row in which two colors are worked, you’ll be knitting from three separate balls of yarn. The first and last ball of yarn you’ll work from are the same color, and the second will be a contrasting color. (If you’re a visual learner, watch the video to see how this works.) Often in intarsia, the “balls” of yarn your working from are shorter lengths of yarn, wound into butterflies or on to bobbins.

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the techinque for absolute beginners.

Intarsia vs. Stranded Knitting

Intarsia is different than stranded knitting (a.k.a. fair isle knitting). In fair isle, you’re carrying one or more strands of yarn in different colors, “floating” the unused colors on the wrong side of your work. Those floats result in several strands of yarn at the back of your work, hence the name “stranded.”

Love & Lopapeysas: All about knitting an Icelandic sweater

Icelandic Lopapeysa sweaters use stranded colorwork to create motifs worked in the round. Notice that the colorwork runs all the way around each round of this sweater. This is different than intarsia, where contrasting yarn colors are limited to isolated portions of the row/round. 

Sometimes reading an explanation of a knitting technique worded two different ways (and especially from two different teachers) is helpful to understand it. During the process of designing my Intarsia Mountain pattern, my pattern Editor explained the difference between the two techniques like this:

In intarsia, different sections of each row are worked in different colors. Intarsia is different than stranded knitting in that the knitter doesn’t carry the unused yarn behind the work. Instead, she drops the old color, brings the yarn for the new color up under the yarn of the old color, and then continues on knitting in the new color until the next color change or the end of the row. This method twists the yarns to close any gaps between the old and new colors.

The Hat Hat | Hands Occupied

The Hat Hat is an example of intarsia knitting. 

If you’ve only knit stranded colorwork up to this point, you’re not alone. Tons of knitters are in the same boat. The biggest thing to understand about intarsia versus stranded colorwork is that in stranded colorwork, stitches are held together by tension across sections of color in the row. In intarsia, sections of color are held together a little bit like a suspension bridge. Differently-colored strands of yarn interlock with each other when you change colors to avoid gaps between stitches at the color change. For a swatch of intarsia featuring a simple shape, the left and right edges of the square interlock with adjacent stitches for horizontal tension, and the bottom and top rows of the shape are knit into the stitches above or below them, just like any other piece of knitting (colorwork or otherwise).

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the technique for absolute beginners. Click through for this awesome tutorial.

Video tutorial: Intarsia 101

Since knitting is almost always easier to understand visually, I’ll stop yammering about tension bridge swatches and let this video drive home the basics of intarsia. Just remember: The key with intarsia is to ensure your differently-colored strands of yarn interlock with each other when you change colors to avoid gaps between stitches at the color change.

Intarsia resources

Like I said, sometimes it’s helpful to read several different folks’ explanations of a knitting technique, so here’s a bit of additional reading to help you better understand intarsia. And as always, if you’ve got any questions, holler in the comments or email me at heidi-at-handsoccupied-dot-com. 

  • Intarsia Knitting Demystified: How to Intarsia Knit -Interweave
  • Beyond the Basics: Intarsia -Vogue Knitting
  • Tips for Knitting Your Best Intarsia Yet -Craftsy
  • Stars & Stripes Felted Hot Pad & an overview of intarsia -Purl Soho
  • A basic intarsia hat knitting pattern -Knitty

Practice swatch

If you’d like to try intarsia for yourself or brush up on your technique, here’s the chart pattern for the swatch featured in the video. Please note: the chart includes a slipped stitch edging and two rows of garter stitch are featured all the way around the swatch to prevent rolling. 

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the technique for absolute beginners.

Click here for a larger chart.

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the technique for absolute beginners.
Intarsia Mountain by Heidi Gustad, pictured in a neutral color palette

Intarsia & the Read Along Knit Along

This post was published as part of the fall 2018 Read Along Knit Along, during which we’re knitting my Intarsia Mountain pattern. Intarsia Mountain is, you guessed it, knit entirely using intarsia. To accomplish this bold, nearly-reversible design, garter stitch is used in combination with stockinette stitch to achieve the finished look. If you’re RALKALing with us and are ready for more advanced tutorials, head to the Hands Occupied Ravelry Group for great discussion of intarsia and how it applies to making Intarsia Mountain, and keep your eyes on the Hands Occupied YouTube channel for relevant video tutorials that will be published there before the full blog posts about each technique are published on this blog.

Intarsia 101: What is intarsia knitting, how it's different from stranded colorwork, and how to knit intarsia, featuring an in-depth video tutorial to demonstrate the technique for absolute beginners. Click through for this awesome tutorial.

This tutorial is part of our Read Along Knit Along series & is brought to you by LoveKnitting, Eucalan & Knitter’s Pride.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, Knit Along, Knitting Tagged With: how to knit intarsia, intarsia, intarsia 101, intarsia mountain, ralkal, read along knit along, video tutorial

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

Previous Post: « Picks of the Week
Next Post: Read Along Knit Along Sponsor Spotlight »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • How to Estimate & Manage Yarn Tails in Intarsia KnittingHow to Estimate & Manage Yarn Tails in Intarsia Knitting
  • Advanced Intarsia Knitting TipsAdvanced Intarsia Knitting Tips
  • How to Knit Intarsia Without Bobbins or ButterfliesHow to Knit Intarsia Without Bobbins or Butterflies
  • More Intarsia Mountain Color Palettes!More Intarsia Mountain Color Palettes!

DON’T MISS ANOTHER UPDATE

Comments

  1. JTM

    September 4, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    This is awesome! I always thought intarsia was not worth the trouble, but your breakdown is making me rethink that approach!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      September 4, 2018 at 3:11 pm

      It really, truly opens up so many new ideas in your knitting, and there’s a whole WORLD of patterns you’ll be able to do if you hop on board the intarsia train! :)

      Reply
  2. Jocelyn Ang

    April 30, 2020 at 4:28 am

    Is it possible to do intarsia if you’re not using knitting needles? I am hand knitting with super bulky yarn.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      May 1, 2020 at 2:18 pm

      I would think so, but you may need to do some experimenting to practice with tension first – a big swatch! :) LMK if you want to brainstorm ideas on how to make this work.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Heidi Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

work with heidi

UPDATES BY EMAIL

Get a free pattern + biweekly updates sent to your inbox.

Let’s be friends!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
.
knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
.
.
A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
.
.
See you in a couple weeks! ✌🏻#handsoccupied #knitdesign #craftdesign #sofadedsweater
Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
.
.
Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
.
.
rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
.
.
Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
.
Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy