Exploring the Options in Colorwork

Deciding which colors go together in your color knitting projects is a really personal choice and a skill that can only be honed through practice. But the good folk at the Knit Picks blog (specifically, Kerin) wanted to explore some of the many options that are available to a knitter to help them understand how different colors work together even without picking up the needles.

Her post on choosing colors for colorwork shows knitting charts with different colors — 35 different colorways, to be precise! — to illustrate the difference little changes can make in an overall project. It’s really cool, and a great idea if you’re designing your own projects and happen to have a knitting chart program on your computer. You can play with the colors before you even go to the yarn store (though of course colors on screen and in real life can look different).

How do you like to choose colors for a colorwork project? Or do you just use what the pattern calls for? Spill it!

[Photo via Knit Picks.]

Next Pattern:

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply