Mosaic Knitting

"Mosaic" knitting looks like fair-isle knitting, except that only one colour is used at any time. You never have to carry 2 colours at a time. Instead, you slip the stitches that aren't supposed to be knit in the colour you're knitting with.

There are lots of patterns you can try with mosaic knitting, Barbara Walker's stitch dictionaries have quite a few mosaic patterns in them.

Mosaic knitting is thick, thanks to the yarn carried behind the slipped stitches. It makes for thick socks. It's easier to do than fair-isle; it does look a little different. It is fun to experiment with it using a mix of knits and purls.

Here's a simple flat-knit neckwarmer to try if you aren't familiar with the technique. It's done fast!

Ingredients:
2 colours of DK yarn (I used the 2 ends of 1 skein of slow-striping Lion Brand "Amazing" in mauna loa, so each end had a different colour)
appropriate needles (flat-knitting)

Cast on a multiple of 4 sts (I used 40).

All first stitches slipped PW, all last stitches knit - between these edge stitches execute the following:
row 1 colour A: [K2, sl 2 pw with yarn in back] to end, end with K2
row 2, colour A: [P2, sl 2 pw with yarn in front] to end, end with P2
row 3, colour B: [sl2 pw with yarn in back, P2] to end, end with sl 2
row 4, colour B: [sl2 pw with yarn in front, K2] to end, end with sl2

repeat for a while (4-8 rows). Then, switch to:

row 1, colour A: [sl 2 pw with yarn in back, K2] to end, end with sl2
row 2, colour A: [sl 2 pw with yarn in front, P2] to end, end with sl2
row 3, colour B: [P2, sl2 pw with yarn in back] to end, end with P2
row 4, colour B: [K2, sl2 pw with yarn in front] to end, end with K2

repeat for a while, and switch back to the first pattern. Random switches look best, unless you want a really regular "checkerboard" look.

[close-up of the K2/P2 mosaic pattern

in Amazing, colour mauna loa]

Knit a small scarf about 20cm wide by 65 cm long. After blocking, join one short end to the bottom of one of the long edges, as per the photo below. You can jazz it up with buttons or a ribbon; if you overlap you'll need to knit a longer scarf. I just sewed the ends together.

[mosaic neckwarmer]