How to Trap Floats When Knitting Colourwork

When knitting colourwork you will have strands of yarn across the back of your fabric which are called floats. It's usually advised to trap any particularly long floats, so that these strands of yarn don't get snagged and to help avoid tension issues.

1.

Bring the yarn you're wanting to trap between your needles in the opposite direction to if you were doing a knit stitch.

Tip: It's usually advised to trap floats approximately every inch.
2.

Bring the yarn you're wanting to continue knitting with between your needles, as you usually would to begin a knit stitch.

3.

You then need to complete this knit stitch without knitting the strand of yarn you're needing to trap. You can take the yarn you're trapping off the needle to make it easier, as it should already be held in place by the other yarn.

4.

The float should now have been trapped so you can simply continue knitting.

Tip: Make sure you stagger where you trap floats on any following rows, as if you trap floats in a column they can show through to the front of your fabric.