Have you always wanted to try knitting colorwork, but didn't know where to start? Colorwork can be an intimidating knitting skill for a lot of knitters, because it looks far more complex and difficult than it really is.

Whether you are new to colorwork knitting, just new to Doodles, or you want to gain more colorwork confidence, this Colorwork 101 guide helps outline some definitions, highlight some specific skills to learn, and gives you all the tutorials you need to start knitting colorwork with confidence!

Learn better with videos? Check out our YouTube channel for more info on how to knit colorwork the easy way, the 1-handed method, & the 2-handed method and more!

What is stranded colorwork?

Stranded colorwork is a specific type of colorwork knitting that involves carrying multiple strands of yarn across the wrong side of your work so that you can knit different stitches in different colors to create a picture or design.

This is distinct from intarsia knitting, where individual colors of yarn do NOT travel across the back of the work, but stay within their portion of the design only. (there are more types of colorwork, but Stranded and Intarsia are the most well-known).

Stranded colorwork is typically knit in the round, mostly because most people find it far more difficult to purl with multiple colors and keep the tension even between right and wrong side rows. 

Sample shown is the Pond Doodle from our 2025 Doodle of the Month Club.

What's the difference between "stranded colorwork" and "Fair Isle knitting"? 

A lot of people (both knitters and non-knitters) refer to all stranded colorwork as Fair Isle. Technically speaking, Fair Isle is a type of stranded colorwork, and the terms are not completely interchangeable.

For a design to be considered traditional Fair Isle knitting, it must use only two colors per round and not contain long floats. While each round uses only two colors, Fair Isle does often incorporate more color changes between rows within a single motif. It usually also limits itself to simple, geometric motifs and traditional shapes like the familiar "OXO" repeat. All Fair Isle designs are stranded colorwork, but not all colorwork is Fair Isle.

Image 1 shows the Basic Doodle, which has only 2 colors per row, geometric motifs, and no long floats. Image 2 shows the Botanical Doodle, which has more complex shapes, more colors per row, and requires catching floats. 

How stranded colorwork knitting works

Essentially, in stranded colorwork, the design uses individual stitches like pixels to create an image.

As you knit your way across a row, different stitches are worked in different colors. As you move up, row by row, the image will slowly come to life as you "draw" (or Doodle?) it one stitch at a time. And that's it! It can end up looking very, very complex but at the end of the day, it's just one stitch at a time, one row at a time. If you can knit, you can knit colorwork.

Sample shown is from the Tropical Doodle. 

What makes Doodles different?

Nothing, and everything!

Doodles, especially our samples, can look very different compared to other colorwork patterns and designs you might be used to seeing. But if you already know how to do stranded colorwork knitting, you already have all the skills you need in order to knit a Doodle pattern! There is nothing inherently more complex or advanced about a Doodle vs traditional patterns.

BUT, Doodles do come with the option to get far more creative! You can follow a pre-made chart, but you don't have to! You can change as much as you want about a Doodle pattern, and it's still a Doodle pattern - because we designed them to be mix-and-match and customizable!

Image 1 shows Doodle Charts made in simple, traditional colors. Image 2 shows a Doodle "Mashup" combining multiple decks to make a Monsters Inc. themed cowl. Image 3 Shows a project using just one chart for the entire project, in variegated yarns.

Getting Started with Doodles

You could use geometric Basic Doodles and Shetland yarns to make something that looks very similar to traditional Fair Isle, or you could modify a chart to use 4 colors per row and get a super detailed image. 

You can use just two colors and a single chart for a whole project, or use the entire rainbow and an entire Doodle Deck to make something that no one could ever replicate. You can combine charts from any number of different Doodle Collections to create a "Mashup" that represents your favorite book or movie!

You can knit words onto your project, or you could just use a single chart and duplicate stitch a single image onto an otherwise simple project.

Doodles are designed to encourage you to "knit outside the box", and there is no wrong way to use a Doodle Chart!

GENERAL GUIDE TO COLORWORK & CHARTS

 

Main Color -vs- Contrast Color(s)

When you're working with more than one color, you need a way to tell them apart. Most designs will have a background + an image. 

The color you are using for the background is your "main color" (MC) and the color you are using to create the image is your "contrast color" (CC).

In the images below, the dark grey squares and the dark blue yarn are your Main Color. The white squares and the light blue yarn would be your Contrast Color. 

Color contrast & yarn choices

Color choice is important in stranded knitting, because you want the image to be visually distinct from the background. What you're looking for is yarns that have enough "contrast" between them, so that they don't blend together. The quickest way to check contrast is to use the black & white filter on your phone or camera.

In the example below, you can see how the main color and the purple yarn look very similar in black and white - and it makes the chart very hard to see once it's knit up! 

For the full breakdown on yarn choices, read our Ultimate Guide: How to Choose Yarns post!

Working with colorwork charts

We have a whole post about How to Read a Colorwork Chart, but here are the basics:

Colorwork charts are essentially a MAP of which stitches are knit in which color. As you come to each new stitch, just work it in the color that is in that square. That's really all there is to it!

Looking a full chart can feel a bit intimidating, but all you really need to focus on is one row at a time, one stitch at a time. A lot of knitters find it helpful to either highlight which row they're currently on, or cover/hide all the other rows, in order to focus on a smaller part of the chart.

Focusing on just one row already makes it look much, much easier!

Still having trouble with charts? Check out our Tips for Making Charts Easier to Read! 

Why does colorwork even use charts?

Writing out the instructions for a full colorwork project would be very difficult, both for the designer, but also difficult for the knitter to read. Despite how complex charts can look, it is much easier for our brains to scan a single line of colored squares than it is to scan a paragraph of written text. 

Like anything else, it just takes practice. But once you're used to looking at charts, it will be much, much easier than reading a pattern.

Getting comfortable with longer floats

If you've read anything before about stranded colorwork, you've probably heard about "catching floats". This is another part of colorwork that scares some knitters away from trying it, but it's not as difficult as it looks!

First of all, what is a "float"? A float is just the term for the length of yarn that travels along the wrong side of your knitting while you work stitches in the other color. So if you have a stitch in black yarn, then 5 stitches in white yarn, then another stitch in black - the black yarn will have "floated" behind those 5 white stitches. 

If a float is only a few stitches, you can just leave it. The chart below highlights some floats that are only 3 stitches wide. You don't have to catch these, you can just leave them!

The most important thing is for your float to not be too loose or too tight - i.e. the length of yarn floating behind the stitches should not be significantly shorter OR longer than the width of those stitches. If your knitting is too bunched up on the right needle, you might end up pulling your float too tight - and that's how you end up with puckered colorwork. If you leave very loose floats, the stitches on either side of that float will loosen up over time, which is how you end up with wobbly-looking colorwork. 

The trick is to pay attention to first inch or two of the stitches on your right needle, especially when switching colors, so that the float is the right length to lay flat along the back of the work. If these stitches are sitting at the correct tension, your float will be the correct tension. 

Longer floats need just a little more thought. Most people will start to "catch" their floats once they get longer than about 5-7 stitches. The chart below shows a few rows that have long floats (5, 7, then 9 sts), then the stars show where you might plan to catch your floats during that part of the chart! 

If you want a more in-depth tutorial, we have a whole separate post about Catching Floats, where we go into more detail about this technique. (coming soon!)

Time to try it out yourself!

You can start simple by using one of our Full Patterns (if you don't want to DIY a chart), or check out our FREE patterns & charts to get started.

If you want to learn more about how the Doodle Framework works, you can check out our post about How to Doodle, or even pick up a FREE Doodle Workbook!

Need some tips? We have lots of Tutorials and plenty of Free Resources to get you started and help with every step of your very first colorwork project!

 

Happy Doodling!

Want even easier access to all of our Doodle resources? All of this (and more) is available in our DoodleHQ app! 

 

Co-written by Jamie Lomax and Grey Lundy.