Lesson 7: More Knit and Purl Patterns, and Stripes!

Once you've learned to knit and purl, you can follow patterns like this:

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Purl

Which produces a fabric that looks like this: 

Ridges!

Cast on and make a square in this pattern. 

Now, let's talk color work! Horizontal stripes are the first, and simplest color work. On a right-side row, start knitting with a new color. It may help to wrap both yarns around a finger, like this: 

It's this easy.

Work this block in stockinette stitch. Knit 1 row and purl 1 row with your stripe color, then gently pull your main color back up, keeping the "float" loose, and knit 1 row and purl 1 row in your main color. 

Loose Float.

Loose float. Floating your yarn on narrow stripes minimizes the amount of yarn you use, and the number of ends to weave in later. If you have a piece with very wide stripes or big blocks of color, you may wish to cut it so the floats don't get long and unwieldy. 

Keep going until you have a striped square, and bind off. Look at you; you finished your third block! 

One block left, and now it's time to unleash your inner designer. Pick a stripe pattern for the bottom, and a knit and purl texture for the top of your fourth block. 

A good resource for stitch patterns to choose from is Vogue Knitting's Stitchionary:

http://www.vogueknitting.com/resources/stitchionary.aspx

Happy knitting!