One of the problems with knitting stripes in the round is that each colour’s start and end points don’t meet up, as the end of the round is higher than the beginning – making a stair-step effect or ‘jog’. When you knit in the round, you are knitting in a spiral, so that each round is layered on top of the one before. This isn’t really noticeable when knitting with just one colour yarn, but the colour changes in striped fabric make it hard to miss.
Helical, or helix, stripes take advantage of this spiral construction, with the colours following each other around, creating a barberpole effect. You don’t need to twist the yarns together or indeed do anything except knit one colour and then the next!
This tutorial will outline helix knitting with two colours in single row stripes – but don’t let that stop you from considering this method for three or more colours, as the concept is basically the same.
We are starting our stocking stitch stripes after a section of rib worked in yarn A, as you might for a sock cuff or hat brim. Placing equal numbers of stitches on each of your four DPNs will help keep things clear as you work.
