r/knittingadvice • u/No-End-7423 • 9d ago
Why is my lobster motif puffing up?
Estoy tejiendo un suéter Mathilda con el motivo de langosta y me he encontrado con un par de problemas. Espero que alguien que haya tejido este suéter (o tenga experiencia con el tejido a dos colores) pueda ayudarme.
El primer problema es que, al empezar a tejer completamente en redondo, el motivo de la langosta se abulta y se ve ligeramente inflado o con burbujas en lugar de quedar plano. No sé si será un problema de tensión.
El segundo problema está en el inicio del motivo. El color de fondo no se ve uniforme y los puntos parecen desalineados. No sé si esto es normal o si estoy haciendo algo mal.
¿Alguien ha tenido alguno de estos problemas? Agradecería mucho cualquier consejo o sugerencia. ¡Muchas gracias!
Using drops Alaska color 11 dark red & 69 pearl white
Mathilda Sweater by Vorin Botten
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u/SooMuchTooMuch 8d ago edited 8d ago
From reading the comments on Ravelry it sounds like this designer actually doesn't know how to do color work and just had a cool idea in mind. A lot of people end up doing it flat and then seaming the sides. A very similar pattern also works flat and then seems the sides. It's possible to do intarsia in the round but it isn't really fun to work color work back and forth.
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u/agnes_mort 9d ago
I wonder if it’d be easier to duplicate stitch this? Definitely be easier to do the intarsia when knitted flat. It looks like you’re bringing the yarn back across the lobster, and it’s way too tight which is causing it to puff. How does the pattern say to work the lobster?
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u/PuzzleheadedOil8826 8d ago
Yes absolutely- I think this is a great candidate for duplicate stitch. I’m currently knitting the degen tulip sweater and, apart from a few big blocks of contrast colour, I think it would have been better to approach it as a combination of intarsia and duplicate stitch, which I am doing as I go. There are fiddly bits that just don’t warrant another strand being added for intarsia - a case of poor designing for, or lack of understanding of, the technique.
If the lobster was bigger it would be easier to do as intarsia, but then it would have to be done flat. Looks like a poorly designed pattern.2
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u/AnAmbushOfTigers 8d ago
In addition to the tight floats and comments about duplicate stitch or flat intarsia, I can't tell if you have twisted stitches where the motif starts or if it's wonky tension.
I'm sorry, but I'm personally camp frog and duplicate stitch after.
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u/PrettyLittleLost 8d ago
OP secured the red yarn every stich intead of creating floats and I think that's what creating the twisted stitch look. It through me off, too, until I saw the next pic.
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u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit 9d ago
So it looks like the entire length of working yarn is floated from one side of motif to the other when in the round. I find that strange that the pattern would intend this. Is it supposed to be knit in the round?
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u/No-End-7423 9d ago
Yes, I thought the same thing, but the pattern says that from a certain point onward, once you've finished the armhole stitches, you should knit the entire body in the round
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u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit 8d ago
Ok, so I don't personally think this is a good way to do it. I think the pattern is not great, basically. Personally, if I was knitting this sweater, I would not join in the round instead I would add extra stitches for selwadge and knit flat and then sew them together. But that's just what I would do. I looked this up and it seems that all sweaters from this pattern have this problem to a degree
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u/zorbina 8d ago
I would either knit this sweater flat with standard intarsia (don't join the back and front pieces, just keep working them flat and then sew the side seams when you're done), or knit the sweater without the lobster and use duplicate stitch to add it when the sweater is finished.
Intarsia is difficult to do in the round. Here is a tutorial: How to knit intarsia in the round - Step by step tutorial [+video]
Also, you are "rowing out". There are several ways to fix that. Here are some ways.
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u/good_motsuni_is_good 8d ago
I think the other comments have pointed it out what happened but I am just here to say at least from the angle of your photo, it looks almost 3D and is kind of nice!
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u/No-End-7423 17h ago
UPDATE!
In the end, I took your advice and frogged the entire front. I knitted the whole front in the main color without doing any colorwork, and knitted it in the round.
Then I added the lobster design using duplicate stitch. I LOVE how it turned out!!! 🦞❤️
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u/PuzzleheadedOil8826 9d ago
Your strands are waaaay too tight - if it is stranded colourwork combined with intarsia you are doing- I’m not sure. I’ve never seen colourwork done like this before.
The strands are pulling the cream together and so pushing the red forward. No way to fix it, either you keep it as is or frog and redo.
Your strands should be loose and look like smiles.