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Hey there, you're Ambassy. 
It's Jaberm Hobby here, and 

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you're listening to Skein and 
tell, the podcast that unravels 

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it all. 
Today's episode we are talking 

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about something that sounds a 
little mysterious, maybe even 

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intimidating, but it's actually 
the secret sauce to bold, 

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beautiful color work, and that's
floats. 

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Now, if you've ever flipped over
a stranded knitted project, 

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maybe a mitten, a sweater, yoke,
or even just a little Swatch, 

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you have seen them. 
Those little strands of yarn 

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traveling across the back of 
your stitches. 

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That's what we call floats. 
And learning how to manage them 

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is the difference between color 
work that feels tight and 

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puckered and color work that's 
smooth, stretchy, and wearable. 

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So whether you're brand new to 
stranded knitting or you've been

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avoiding it because floats scare
you, ooh well Bessie, today 

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we're going to unravel floats 
together, step by step. 

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And by the end, I promise you'll
feel ready to tackle the bold, 

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Nordic inspired motives of the 
Dortea collection from 

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Copenhagen Fibers. 
So let's get into it. 

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So what exactly are floats? 
Let's start with the basics. 

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When you're knitting stranded 
color work, you usually have two

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yarns going at once, unit with 
one, and then the other One 

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just, you know, just hangs out 
waiting for its turn. 

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But because your knitting needle
keeps moving forward, that 

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unused yarn travels across the 
back of the fabric, and that's 

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your float on the front. 
You get those gorgeous motifs on

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the back. 
Your yarn is quietly, let's call

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it hitchhiking along until it's 
needed again. 

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It sounds simple, right? 
But here is why floats really, 

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really matter. 
If they're too tight, they 

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pucker the fabric. 
Your motif looks almost squished

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if they're too lulus, your 
tension is sloppy and you risk 

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catching your fingers on the 
long loops when you wear the 

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sweater. 
And if you manage them just 

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right while you then get a 
fabric that's smooth, even, and 

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comfortable to wear. 
So how do you actually knit with

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floats? 
Step one is knit your stitches 

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with the working yarn as normal.
Step 2. 

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Let the yarn not used travel 
loosely across the back. 

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Don't pull it tight. 
Imagine it's taking a gentle nap

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back there. 
OK, And then Step 3, every few 

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stitches, spread your stitches 
out on the right hand needle. 

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This gives the float enough 
slack to lie comfortably across 

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the back without tugging. 
Now you can do a quick check for

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yourself. 
After a few stitches, gently tug

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the the fabric in and if it 
stretches easily then you're 

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good. 
If it feels stiff, your floats 

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are definitely too tight. 
Don't worry, take a breath, 

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relax your shoulder. 
Seriously, float tension often 

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lives in your shoulder, so relax
them and eventually try again. 

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It's not only enough to know how
to help these floats travel, but

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you also need to be securing 
them, so you need to be catching

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them in. 
Now here is where things get a 

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bit practical. 
Sometimes a motive makes you 

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carry one color across the long 
stretch that's basically more 

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than five stitches. 
And that's when floats get very,

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very long and they risk 
snagging. 

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The trick is to catch or trap 
the float. 

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Now here's how you do it. 
First of all, you knit 1 stitch 

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with your working yarn, and 
before the next stitch happens, 

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you have to bring the unused 
yarn over the working yarn. 

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And you have to knit the next 
stitch with your working yarn as

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just as usual, and move the 
unused yarn back to its original

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position. 
On the front. 

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Your motive stays clean. 
On the back, the float now lies 

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neatly against the fabric, 
shorter and more secure. 

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A general rule of thumb is to 
catch your floats over three to 

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five stitches, depending on your
yarn thickness and your gauge. 

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But I also have some extra tips 
for, you know, more confident 

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floats. 
So let's level up a little bit 

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with some tried and true tricks.
Swatch First. 

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I know swatching is in 
glamorous, but color work gauge 

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is often tighter than plain 
stocking it. 

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Now a Swatch helps you feel out 
your tension and practice floats

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without pressure. 
Second of all, stay consistent. 

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When you're holding 2 yarns, the
one you hold closer to your 

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stitches is the dominant color 
because it pops forward. 

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And keep the dominant color in 
the same hand throughout the 

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project so that your motives 
don't wobble. 

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And of course, tension. 
Check every so often. 

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Pretty stitches. 
And gently stretch your fabric. 

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If it's too tight, consciously 
loosen up. 

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If it's too loose, reel in a 
little bit. 

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You know, floats are a dance 
between control and relaxation. 

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Then, of course, there's the 
inside out trick. 

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If you're knitting something in 
the round, like a mitten or a 

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sweater, try knitting with the 
fabric inside out. 

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That way the floats naturally 
travel around the outside of the

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curve, giving them a little bit 
more room and preventing that 

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puckering. 
Use shorter needles is my next 

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little trick. 
So for projects like mittens, 

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using a shorter circular needle 
or magic loop can make it easier

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to spread stitches and control 
floats. 

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Block your work is the next step
I have for you. 

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Block your work. 
This is your bestie. 

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This is your best friend. 
OK, a gentle soak and block 

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evens out stitches. 
It relaxes the floats and makes 

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everything look more polished. 
So do not skip blocking your 

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work. 
And that was my little tips for 

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how you can make your floats 
flow with your work. 

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But also let me tell you a 
little secret. 

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Floats aren't just the hidden 
side of your knitting. 

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They can actually tell a story 
about your project or about your

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knitting style and even your 
mood. 

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Now here's what I, I, I mean by 
that Floats, they carry tension 

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of your work. 
So if you're knitting while, you

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know, relaxed, happy and so 
forth, your floats are usually 

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even and they're soft. 
But if you're stressed, hello 

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tight floats. 
In a way, they are almost like a

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diary on the inside of your 
sweater. 

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So they kind of record how you 
felt stitch by stitch. 

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And here's something most people
don't realize. 

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And some historical pieces of 
stranded knitting researchers 

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can actually date or they can 
regionally identify a garment 

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just by the floats on the inside
because different cultures had 

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different ways of managing them.
Some cut them every two 

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stitches, others, others let 
them run for for longer. 

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It's a little bit like a secret 
fingerprint of, you know, the 

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maker's tradition and where the 
maker comes from. 

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Oh, and if we're still talking 
about tips and tricks, I just 

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remembered a new one. 
Tension can also, the tension of

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the floats can also be severely 
influenced by the humidity in 

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the air. 
That is correct. 

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This kind of shocked me, but I 
remember one of my close friends

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was making a beautiful Christmas
sweater and she was going on a 

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cruise ship and it turns out 
that she could not figure out 

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why suddenly her floats were 
extremely, extremely tight. 

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And it was because it was so 
much more humid on the cruise 

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than it was in her apartment. 
So that's also super, super 

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interesting. 
Be wary of the temperature and 

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be wary of the humidity in the 
room or the location you are 

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knitting with color work because
it can really influence. 

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So anyway, next time you peek, 
you know, at, at your at your 

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color work, don't think of 
floats as annoying and oh, I 

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cannot master them and it's 
difficult. 

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Think of them a little bit as 
invisible magic or the secret 

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history, or maybe even kind of 
like an emotional heartbeat or a

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diary of your mood as well. 
It's quite, quite interesting 

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how they are. 
They are basically the mystery 

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stitches that make color work 
possible, right? 

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Now, why are we talking so much 
about floats today? 

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Easy answer, because they are 
the beating heart of the 

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tortilla collection. 
So every piece in the tortilla 

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collection, the cozy mittens to 
the statement yolk sweater, uses

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strand knitting to create bold 
and modern Nordic motifs. 

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And once you get comfortable 
with the floats, those designs 

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go, you know, from from 
intimidating to absolutely 

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irresistible. 
So here's where I start. 

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If you are new to stranded 
knitting or to color work, the 

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tortilla mittens, OK, I mean, 
it's an easy one. 

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It's small, it's fast, and it's 
fun. 

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The perfect test run for the 
floats. 

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Then you can also try the 
tortilla cowl, which is worked 

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in the round. 
So you can basically practice 

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stranded knitting in a more 
manageable project. 

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And then once you master those, 
once you're feeling confident, 

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ultimate reward is definitely 
the tortilla sweater and the 

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yoke sweater. 
Big motives, bold colors in 

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garments you'll be so, so proud 
to wear. 

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All of the patterns are free on 
the hobby.com website, and the 

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blog also has photos and guides 
to help you along the way. 

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So it's not just me chit 
chatting away and you having to 

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do a lot of research on YouTube 
and who knows where. 

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Just head out to the blog. 
I added a link in the notes of 

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this episode. 
And yeah, give it a shot. 

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It's it's it's it's an 
incredible new technique that is

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really a lot of fun to master. 
And here's the real secret. 

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OK, so floats aren't really 
scary. 

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They're just part of the rhythm 
of stranded knitting. 

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It's like learning to ride a 
bike. 

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You wobble at 1st and suddenly 
you're just cruising away. 

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So do grab your yarn, Swatch a 
little, dive in. 

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The tortilla collection is going
to be there waiting for you and 

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it's the perfect playground to 
build your skills. 

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And before you know, before long
enough, floats will just become 

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your second nature. 
Sebasti, that's floats 

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unravelled. 
What they are, how to manage 

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them, how to secure them, how to
knit them with confidence. 

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Once again, don't forget you can
grab the free Tortea patterns on

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the hobby.com website and check 
out the full blog post for step 

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by step guides, photos, and 
color work tips. 

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And if you cast on a tortea 
project, please share it with 

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us, Tag at Hobie under score 
Yarn and at Copenhagen Fibers on

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Instagram and use the hashtag 
#hobie Tortea and hashtag 

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Copenhagen Fibers by Hobby. 
Because these aren't just 

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fluids, they're stitches that 
bring bold, beautiful color work

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to life. 
And you, Busty, are absolutely 

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ready for them. 
I know it. 

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Until next time, keep your 
floats even and your stitches 

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joyful. 
That was Yeah, from hobby. 

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I will see you very, very soon. 
OK, Love you, Busty. 

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Bye.