Knitting checks - Help a beginner

[missnevermind]

Hi I have found a nice pattern online checkmatehat
But I have never knitted checks - stripes are adventurous for me
What do I do with the wool at the back?
Do I trail it along the row with me as I knit so that I have the 2 colours at the back at all times?
Or is their some trick I need to know?

It depends on the pattern, but the chances are that in that one the colours are just carried along the back of the work. Some colourwork involves picking up and dropping the appropriate colour at each coloured section.

Have you joined www.ravelry.com? You'll find loads of free patterns and advice in colour knitting there.

Since the pattern is only four stitches in one colour and four stitches in the contrast I would not bother doing intarsia., where you would need as many small balls of wool as you have blocks. Very fiddly.
Personally I would knit with the colour that does the purl stitches in the right hand and do English knitting and the colour that does the contrast in the left hand using the continental method. You'll find examples of both methods on YouTube.

It's a fairly difficult project, since you are working on double popinteds which are likely to slide out of the work as you go along. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

Oh yes, and join Ravelry and the Mumsknitters group on there.

Thanks
I have looked in my knitting bible and their is nothing so I thought it was just so obvious and basic that I shouldn't meed telling.
I am a member of Ravelry, thanks I had forgotten about that.
This time I have decided to make it plain and figure out the pattern later

That seems a wise plan, get used to using double pointeds first and next time work with two colours. Maybe learn the continental method of knitting first, there's nothing to it and in some ways it is faster

Sorry
Double posted with you DutchOma, I have admitted defeat today, but will join you on Ravelry

If you use cicular needles, it is really is quite simple. Not need to worry about stitches falling off double ended needles.

This is a baby hat. There is a maximum of 89 stitches. It does not say what the minimum is, probably about 8. Unless you are a wizard with magic loop you are not going to find a circular needle small enough to take that small amount of stitches.

I've just knitted two versions of the hat from this Icelandic pattern, using circular needles - that's why I said it was straightforward. I used 40cm 4.5mm circular needles that I bought from John Lewis for the rib and some old c.7mm old circular needles (slighlty shorter) for the rest. I was doing the 8mm/18month size, was only working with 60 stitches and didn't have any problems - except for the first row. I've only just started knitting again after a 15 year gap, so I am still working out the "quirks" of my knitting - like I cast on too tight (I only know the two needle method) and generally knit too tight (hence using larger needles than the pattern.

Incidentlaly, I was knitting the hats (I did two, in complementary colour combinations, for twins) to use up the wool I had left over from knitting this Icelandic vest. Unfortunately, I didn't check my tension before I knitted the vest, so even though I knitted a size that was slightly too large, it is actually a wee bit tight :( (never mind - I'm trying to lose weight :)) I also had to learn a new form of bind-off, after my original casting-off resulted in a neck opening that I couldn't get my head through

On the second hat I did, I changed the last couple of rounds, knitting two together all the way round, so I ended up with 15 stitches before drawing the wool through to gather up and fasten off. The last row was slighlty awkward (but I managed) - but I could, as it was the last row, have just knitted on to a single "ordinary" needle.

Prettybird you say that you used 40cm 4.5mm circular needles.
Do you mean you used two circular needles and didn't knit in the round? Otherwise I think it would be really hard to get 16 stitches on one circular needle especially on a needle that is 'a bit longer' than 40. I just did an adult hat where the pattern ended up with 8 stitches at the end and not in a month of Sundays could I have done that with one circular needle.

By "needles": I mean two needles joined by a piece of dental floss type plastic wire, the total length of which (including the needle "ends") is 40 cm. The c. 7mm needles (they were old ones I found of my Mum's) were, in total 38cm (I've just measured them) from the tip of one needle to the tip of the other, including the length of plastic wire joining them. They are always described as "needles" in the patterns I have used so far (the two Icelandic ones - free downloads :)) even though they are technically a single item.

I really didn't have any problems down to 15 stitches - and as I say, given that it was the last row, I could have finished the penultimate round with 30 stitches and then knitted the last round onto a single 7mm needle, ie pushing all the stitches to the one end of the circular needles and knttining from that onto the "standard" needle.

Trust me - I am not an experienced knitter: I started again just before Christmas not having been near knitting needles in nearly 20 years. Back then, I had to refer to my mum for advice for just about everything - she was a very experienced knitter. This time I am no longer able to ask her for much advice (she has a rare form of dementia :( - although she has been able to confirm that she also tended to knit tight and her cast-ons were too tight, which, given that she initially taught me was kind of reassuring), so I have to keep on referring to the internet for how to do anything more advanced than "knit one, purl one" I even had to look up what "moss stitch" was!

My Icelandic vest looks good (even if it is a bit tight) - and before starting my latest effort (a Patons interndiate pattern for a reversible shrug with one half lacy and the other a rib pattern), I did take the time to knit a tension square - espcially as I couldn't find the yarn that they suggested.

Sorry - just for clarity: yes I was knitting in the round - and the actual metal needle bits are each about 10cm long (iclding a wee kink at the end where they connect to the plastic)

Well, much respect to you, is all I can say. I scoot off to doublepointeds (using three rather than four) as soon as I get down to less than, say, about 60 or 70 stitches.

Maybe because my first attempt at "knitting in the round" was the Icelandic vest, the circular needles to me seem less scary than double pointed needles

It helps a lot if you are knitting with long double pointeds and use two needles to hold the stitches rather than three or four and then use the third needle to knit with. I am a 'pit' knitter, clutching the needle under my right armpit, so knitting with a circular needle requires a change of holding the work.

Aaah, that explains it: I never did manage to do the "knitting with the needle in my arm pit" method (either first time round nor now; nor did my mum) - so circular knitting was no big change.

Maybe it is because I am left handed (as was/is my mum) - even though I knit/was taught to knit the "right handed" way by my mum.

The purple reversible shrug is what I am currently attempting, as a present for my SIL. I have however learnt that in future never to compromise on the quality of wool, as the only wool I could find that was had roughly the same tension guidance (John Lewis didn't have any Pompero) was a 100% acrylic wool which I am finding horrible to knit with. Only 9cm of rib to go though.

Gosh, that's lovely, well done. Yeah, if you can't get what you want from the shop get it from the internet, I have tried several and only one was pants. Can't remember which one though. Black Sheep are good and New Lanark are lovely. All my Fair Isle wool comes straight from Lerwick from Jamiesons and Smith (NOT Jamieson) and they were a lot better than they are now that they have cut the staff to just five and that includes the 'boys in the warehouse'.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Made a couple of mistakes in the lace section (got one stitch out of sync) and there are a few mistakes in the rib section (although I have now learnt how to drop a stitch in the next row and then pick it up again the "right" way round) but I am pleased with it. I'd be more pleased if it felt nicer: it's a lot of effort for what will end up as a cheap-feeling acrylic jumper :(

These people are good and quick for Icelandic wool and here are some free Icleandic patterns. I'm thinking of trying the Bolero/Shrug next.

Yes, that is a shame, but maybe when it has been washed a few times it will feel a bit softer. And your SIL will surely be pleased with the effort you have made.
Not a lot of comfort, I know. I often make things and think people will not be pleased with them, but they always are.
The Icelandic patterns look very nice, I specially like the dog jacket

I know she will be pleased at the effort :)

The dog jacket is very, umm, interesting ... it's a new one that I think was only added recently.

I hope you will put the shawl on Ravelry when it is finished. I've found you there, but not a lot more.

It's all I can do to keep up-to-date on Mumsnet :) - I've only just started using Facebook more often than extremely intermittently!

But you can SHOW OFF on Ravelry. and have an account of what you have done.
Pretty please