Stranded colorwork is a fun skill to learn, and can be a little intimidating - my goal to teach this technique to students on a small scale gave me the idea for this design. I wanted something that gives an easy intro to colorwork and then gets a little more challenging, but doesn’t require “catching floats”.

This pattern starts with ribbing, then transitions to a checkerboard stranded colorwork section where you switch colors every stitch giving you lots of practice without needing to do a lot of counting.

The middle section has a fun diamond pattern where there are never more than three stitches in a row before you change colors. This section provides an opportunity to practice reading charts and continues to build on the color switching practiced in the checkerboard section.