How to Do Colourwork in the Round vs Flat
If you've ever compared two colourwork knitters — one working flat, one working in the round — you'd think they were doing entirely different crafts. The knitter working in the round looks relaxed, reading her chart left to right, always seeing the right side of her work. The knitter working flat is flipping the piece, reversing the chart, and wrestling with floats on the wrong side. Both are making the same fabric, but one path is significantly harder.
Understanding why colourwork is easier in the round — and how to deal with it when you must work flat — will completely change how you approach stranded knitting projects.
Why Colourwork in the Round Is Easier
When you knit in the round, three things align perfectly in your favour.
You always work the right side. In stranded colourwork, your pattern is visible from the right side. When you're always knitting with the right side facing you, you can see your pattern building in real time. Every stitch you add is immediately verifiable against your chart. Mistakes are caught on the row they're made, not discovered rows later when you flip the work.
Charts read consistently left to right. Colourwork charts are drawn as they appear from the right side — one stitch per square, left to right, bottom to top. When you knit in the round, every single row of your chart reads the same direction: left to right. Your eyes develop a rhythm. You know where you are.
Floats sit neatly on the inside. The strands of yarn not currently in use — called floats — travel across the wrong side of the work. When knitting in the round, those floats are always on the inside of your tube. You don't need to touch them unless you're catching long floats. They stay out of your way and don't affect tension as easily.
Reading Colourwork Charts When Knitting Flat
When a pattern is worked flat (back and forth in rows rather than in the round), your chart reading reverses on wrong-side rows. Here is the rule:
- Right-side (RS) rows: Read chart left to right, as written.
- Wrong-side (WS) rows: Read chart right to left, working each stitch in mirror image.
Most patterns that require flat colourwork will note this with something like "WS rows: read chart from right to left." Some charts include RS and WS row indicators along the sides. When working flat, make a habit of noting which direction you're reading before you start each row — a sticky note or row counter on the chart edge helps.
The bigger problem with flat colourwork is purling stranded stitches on the wrong side. Purling with two yarns is genuinely awkward. Your tension tends to tighten because purl stitches are naturally slightly tighter, and managing two yarn strands while purling creates extra drag. Many experienced colourwork knitters find their gauge shifts noticeably between RS knit rows and WS purl rows, creating uneven fabric.
Managing Floats on Wrong-Side Rows
When you knit flat colourwork, floats appear on both sides. On wrong-side rows, your floats will be visible on the right side of the finished fabric unless you manage tension carefully.
The key technique for WS floats is to spread your stitches on the right needle before changing colour. Before picking up your next yarn colour, push the stitches you just worked to the far right of your right needle, stretching them apart. This forces the float to span the full width of those stitches rather than pulling tight. Work each colour section with the stitches spread, then close them back up as normal. This prevents puckering on the right side.
A float longer than 5 stitches — roughly 1.5 cm or 0.6 inches — should be caught regardless of whether you're knitting in the round or flat. Catch long floats by twisting the carried yarn around the working yarn once every 4–5 stitches. Don't catch every stitch — this creates bumps visible from the right side. The goal is preventing the float from snagging when worn, not eliminating the float entirely.
Faking In-the-Round for Flat Colourwork: Steeking
The most elegant solution to flat colourwork difficulties is to never knit flat at all — even for garments that require openings like cardigans and armholes. This technique is called steeking.
A steek is a strip of extra stitches (typically 5–7 stitches) added at the point where the opening will be. You knit the entire garment in the round, treating the steek stitches as a placeholder column. Once the knitting is complete, you reinforce those stitches and cut straight down the middle of the column. The cut edges are folded back and sewn down, creating a clean opening.
Steeking lets you knit an entire colourwork cardigan in the round, always reading your chart left to right, always seeing the right side. Nordic and Fair Isle traditions rely heavily on steeking — it's why traditional colourwork garments from these traditions have such even, beautiful floats.
Choosing Your Approach
For most colourwork knitters, the recommendation is simple: knit in the round whenever possible, and steek when openings are needed. The learning curve for steeking is a few hours of focused work; the payoff is a lifetime of easier, better-quality colourwork.
Reserve flat colourwork for situations where the pattern construction genuinely requires it — colourwork scarves worked flat, colourwork yokes on flat-construction patterns, or colourwork edgings. In these cases, apply the float management techniques above and accept that flat colourwork takes more concentration per row.
If you're a newer colourwork knitter, start with a project worked entirely in the round — a colourwork hat or cowl is perfect. Get comfortable reading charts, managing two yarns, and catching floats before attempting flat colourwork. The confidence you build in the round will make flat colourwork far less intimidating when you need it.