Colorwork introduces more than one color into a knitted fabric. In stranded knitting, also known as Fair Isle when done in the Shetland tradition, two or more colors are worked across each row with the unused color carried behind the work as a float. Long floats can snag, so the rule is not to carry any color too far without trapping it; when color areas are large, intarsia is preferred, with a separate small bobbin of yarn for each block of color. Mosaic knitting achieves color patterns with only one color per row by using slipped stitches, and duplicate stitch is an embroidery technique that imitates knit stitches on the surface for small color details. Brioche stitch creates a thick, double-layer ribbing with depth and excellent warmth.
Socks are a beloved knitted project with their own anatomy: cuff, leg, heel, foot, and toe. The heel turn uses short rows, partial rows that shape the heel cup, and the most common heel constructions are the heel flap and gusset, the short-row heel, and the afterthought heel. The toe is typically closed invisibly with Kitchener stitch, a grafting technique that joins two sets of live stitches as if they were a single row of knitting. Sock yarn is usually fingering weight with nylon added for durability.
Knitters also develop personal styles of holding the yarn. In English knitting, sometimes called throwing, the yarn is held in the right hand. In Continental knitting, or picking, the yarn is held in the left hand and many find it faster. Portuguese knitting tensions the yarn around the neck, which is gentle on the wrists. For stranded colorwork, two-handed knitting assigns one color to each hand, allowing the knitter to manage both strands simultaneously.