Ladder-Back Jacquard (LBJ) is a technique used in machine knitting, but clever people have figured out how to work it into hand knitting. It’s a way of dealing with long floats of the non-working color (the carried color) across the back of your work that avoids trapping the floats with the working yarn, but still keeps the carried color loose but secure. I will show you examples of this technique, and show you how to set it up, work it, and finish it off.

Technique Requirements: Must know the basics of knitting with 2 colors.

Cast on 90 sts (relaxed CO of your choice) and join for circular knitting. Work 5 or 6 rounds in k1, p1 ribbing. Work one round of increases like this: *K10, m1* all around—99 sts. Work 3 or 4 rounds of Stocking stitch—we want some smooth, even knitting below our colorwork begins. Before class, place markers every 33 sts.

Two balls of yarn (one light and one dark) and needles in size appropriate for your yarn.