Knitting

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The Trick of Variegated Yarn: Different Looks in Different Crafts

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variegated yarn in different craftsI know a lot of knitters are multi-crafters, doing knitting as well as crochet or weaving or other yarn (or non-yarn) crafts.

And of course yarn looks different when we use it in different crafts, but I’ve never done a side-by-side comparison before.

Fresh Stitches has a great post all about how variegated yarn looks when you knit with it compared to crochet or weaving. And, as you might expect, the results are quite different.

Some of that has to do with the texture of different stitches, but they also use yarn at different rates that can make a big difference depending on the length of yarn between each color change.

This is a big lesson for me that if I’m not loving the way a yarn looks knit, maybe I should try crochet or another craft instead. You might even get some planned pooling you like that you wouldn’t have seen if you used a different yarn craft.

Have you ever done this switch between knitting and crochet with the same yarn? I’d love to hear about it.

[Photo: Fresh Stitches.]

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Comments

  1. This was a very interesting post, Sarah. Thank you so much. It never occurred to me that this was even a possibility.

Have you read?

Yarn Cozy Knitting Patterns

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a yarn cozy or yarn ball holder on the circular knitting machine, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In the meantime, here are some yarn cozy knitting patterns you can make with knitting needles. Use yarn to hold you yarn!

In its simplest form, a yarn cozy is just a sleeve or a little basket that holds your yarn when you’re working with a center-pull ball so it doesn’t fall apart when you knit. The easiest ones I could find are from Love in Stitches KN, which has a regular size and a mini size. They’re worked with sock yarn and there are options for making them with ribbing, faux cables and with self-striping yarn.

For bigger cakes there’s a project called We call it the “bail holder” from Nicole LeBlanc. This pattern is available on Ravelry and you can use any yarn and make it any size you like. It features an I-cord edging that has a loop in it so you can thread they yarn through the loop to keep it extra contained as you knit.

Another large one that has a slightly fancier pattern is this one by Mareike Meye. You can use any yarn and any gauge, and slip stitch pattern worked in different colors on the sides makes it a little more fun and uses a bit more stash. A strap buttons across the top to hold the ball in place and you can add a buttonhole to the middle of the strap to thread the yarn through. Check this one out on Ravelry.

Adding lace to a yarn cozy makes it fit a wider variety of balls and expand or shrink a bit as needed. Jennifer Sugarman’s Ball Sack uses sock yarn and is made to hold sock yarn. It has the option of making I-cord or using ribbon or cord you already have to make a drawstring at the top. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Another lacy option is the yarn ball holder from Frugal Knitting Haus. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has an easy mesh lace pattern and an I-cord drawstring that’s sewn together at the ends so you could loop it over your wrist while you knit if you like. This pattern is also on Ravelry.

Speaking of wrist yarn holders, I also found this one form Knituition. This one uses sport weight yarn and has a spiral rib pattern on the body. The strap is attached to the bag with D-rings, or you could make it a little longer and just sew it into the bag.