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Dealing with Color Dominance in Colorwork Knitting

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I will admit than when I am working with more than one color in a row or round, I don’t always pay a lot of attention to which yarn is dominant. I work colorwork holding one yarn in each hand, and while I know enough to keep holding the same color in each hand throughout a project, I can never remember which one is supposed to “pop” based on which hand you are working it with.

This great blog post on color dominance in knitting from Jessica McDonald Designs reassures me that I was probably doing it “right” (bearing in mind there’s not really a right or wrong in knitting, just what you like and what you don’t like) all along without paying much attention.

As she explains in much more details in the post, the yarn that’s to the left will be more dominant in the knit fabric, because the floats from the yarn on the right will push it forward as you knit.

Because I tend to be an English knitter (holding the yarn in my right hand) I naturally put the contrast yarn in my right hand when I knit.

If you don’t know how to knit holding one strand in each hand (or you’re working with more than two colors) Jessica explains how to work with yarns in different ways to ensure the contrasting color of your choice is more dominant.

It’s certainly not the end of the world if you knit a different way, but you might be surprised by how different a project can look just by working with the yarns configured a different way as in the swatch above. You can clearly see a difference between the top and bottom of the swatch, and all she did differently was a switch on which yarn she was holding in which hand.

Head to the blog post to learn more about color dominance, and have fun learning more about easy ways to change the look of your project.

[Photo: Jessica McDonald Designs.]

 

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Comments

  2. Whichever one is farthest to the left will be most dominant, which would be the one at the bottom of the ring if the loops are on the same side, or the one on the left side of the finger if they are on both sides.

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Bucket Hat Knitting Patterns

As I was starting to write this post I thought that it was true that I’d never done a roundup of bucket hat knitting patterns before. But then I looked, and I actually did one last year (which you can find here) but there are plenty of cute bucket hats to do another post about, right? 

The one that made me want to write about this (again) is the Red Heart Knit Fanfare Bucket Hat from Yarnspirations. This cute striped hat can be worked in team colors, and while I might prefer a non-acrylic yarn for a summer hat, it would be fine when it’s not too hot outside (or try a cotton yarn instead). 

Claire Slade’s Sunlit Bucket Hat has an angled brim to help keep the sun out of your eyes. It’s worked from the bottom up using worsted weight cotton yarn, and comes in three sizes. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

Get a little air flow in your bucket hat with the Shady Bucket Hat from Wool & Beyond. This one uses DK weight yarn and an eyelet pattern throughout the body to keep it cool. It comes in sizes ranging from newborn to adult large, and is worked in one piece from the top down. You can grab the pattern (in English or Swedish) on Ravelry. 

If you’re looking for a fun, floppy sun hat for kids or adults, this pattern from Muki Crafts is a little more slouchy than a traditional bucket hat but it’s super cute. It comes in baby, toddler and bigger kid sizes and adult. I uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up. 

Another variation on the classic bucket is this one that’s more of a cloche style. Made by branda, it uses bulky yarn so it’s more of a winter bucket hat, but now’s a fine time to knit it if you live somewhere that’s warm right now (or even more so if you live somewhere that’s cold right now). 

Another one to get you ready for colder weather is Tirmety, a two-layer bucket hat from ViTalina Craft, which has a textured stitch pattern on one side and stockinette on the other. You can wear either side out or even make them different colors if you want. The pattern is sized for toddlers, kids and adults. 

And if you want to add some extra cuteness to your bucket hat, I love this (of course totally optional but also totally adorable) embroidered deatila on the New York Bucket Hat from Pauline Fanguin. It uses two strands of DK weight yarn held together for extra sturdiness, and uses changes in needle size to shape the hat. Of course you could also knit stripes or use different textures of yarn to change up the look. This pattern is made to fit your head and is available in French and English.