Tips
How to Keep Count in Colourwork and Stripes
Colourwork adds a second thing to track, which sounds worse and is actually easier. Every colour change leaves a permanent, unmistakable mark in the fabric.
That makes stripes the most recoverable kind of knitting there is, provided you read the right number.
Count colour changes, not rows
In a four-row stripe sequence, the row number is the fragile piece of information and the stripe number is the durable one. You can always count the stripes; you cannot always remember whether you are on row two or three of the current one.
So track the stripe as your primary count and your position within it as the secondary. "Stripe 9, second row" is far more robust than "row 34", and it is directly verifiable by looking at the piece.
Write down the row number of each change
For anything that is not a strict repeat — a gradient, a fade, a self-striping plan of your own — note the row at which each colour started. That list is a map of the whole piece, and it is the only way to make a second sleeve match the first.
It also protects against the specific disaster of colourwork: realising at the yoke that the stripe sequence on the front and back are one repeat out of step.
Carrying yarn and jogless stripes
For stripes of a few rows, carry the unused colour up the side rather than cutting it, twisting it around the working yarn every couple of rows. Fewer ends to weave in, and the carried strand is hidden in the seam.
Working in the round produces a visible step where each new colour begins, because a round is really a spiral. The usual fix is to slip the first stitch of the second round of each new colour, which pulls the step almost flat. Whether you bother depends on whether the jog will sit at a side seam or straight down the front.
Stranded colourwork is a different job
Fair Isle and other stranded work needs the chart position tracked, not just a row number, because every row differs. A magnetic board with a ruler on the current chart row, or highlighter tape moved as you go, does more than any counter can.
Keep a counter for the row anyway, so that when you put the work down mid-chart you can find the row again without matching pattern shapes by eye.
One practical note: check your floats every few rows rather than at the end. Tight floats pucker the fabric, and blocking hides that far less well than people hope.
Frequently asked questions
How do I keep track of stripes in knitting?
Count stripes rather than rows, and track your position within the current stripe separately. Stripes are permanently visible in the fabric, so the count can always be verified — unlike a row number, which cannot.
How do I make both sleeves have matching stripes?
Write down the row number at which each colour change happened on the first sleeve. That list lets you reproduce the sequence exactly, which counting alone will not.
What causes the step where stripes change in the round?
A round is a spiral, so each new colour starts slightly higher than where the previous one ended. Slipping the first stitch of the second round in each new colour reduces the jog to almost nothing.
Should I cut the yarn between stripes?
For stripes a few rows deep, carry it up the side and twist it around the working yarn every couple of rows — far fewer ends to weave in. Cut it for stripes deep enough that the carried strand would pull.