Knitting

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Get the Goods on Gradient Yarns

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gradient knits book review

The winner is Linda.

Last week I shared a review of a brand-new book from Tanis Gray all about gradient yarns and ombre mini skeins. Gradient Knits not only provides great lessons in using these colorful skeins, it also offers 10 lessons in knitting skills, particularly as they pertain to colorwork knitting.

If you’d like a chance to get a copy of this book for yourself, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, Oct. 8.

I’d love to know if you’ve used any gradient yarns or multicolored mini skeins in a project before. I have some of these yarns, and I had an idea I wanted to try with one of them, but I’ve since forgotten what it was so I haven’t broken it out just yet. Typical.

Thanks for visiting and commenting, and good luck!

Comments

  1. I would love to learn how to use gradient yarn properly. I used a multi colored yarn for a project a while back and I didn’t really like the look of it. So winning this book would be so awesome!

  3. I have two sets of mini skeins, neither is a gradient set. One was a hat kit, and the 5 colors work together, wonderfully. The other was a “grab bag” and while they might be forced to work together, they certainly weren’t picked with that in mind.

    I haven’t tried any modern gradient yarns, but as far back as the 70s I made the gradient effect by holding two or three strands together, trading out colors (or shades of the same color) every so often. For instance 3 of A, then 2A and 1B, then 1A and 2B, 3B, 2B and 1C, and so on for as many colors as you like. Of course, it works best with finer yarns. I still see this method pop up every now and then. It cracks me up when designers act as if they’d invented it, because that’s what I felt like the first time I did it. Thanks for the giveaway.

  4. I have made a shawl with a gradient yarn and I love the way one color blends ino the next . This would be an awesome book to learn more about gradient yarns. Thank you for the chance to win.

  5. I have some gradient yarns just waiting for the perfect project. This book looks to be full of useful ideas!

  6. gradient & avoiding pooling – my math just isn’t up to them yet, despite my prolific reading & math attempts!

  7. I haven’t knit with a gradient set. I won a gradient set as a door prize at a knitting retreat this past summer and have been trying to decide on the best use for it. This book would sure help me pick the perfect project!

  8. Hi – I haven’t really used any gradient yarn yet. I’ve done many projects with Noro yarn and love the color-changing effects of their yarns. I’m excited to learn more about the projects in this book. Thanks for another great giveaway!

Have you read?

Book Review: Knitted Safari Friends – 20 Adorable Animals to Make

If you have a weakness for knitted animals wearing tiny clothes, Knitted Safari Friends by Sarah Keen is going to be very difficult to resist.

This colourful collection includes 20 safari and savannah animals to knit, including a lion, tiger, elephant, flamingo, hippo, crocodile, rhinoceros, zebra and giraffe.

And yes, many of them have their own little outfits.

The lion in purple overalls is probably enough to sell me on the whole book.

Cute Animals With Plenty of Personality

What I like about this collection is that the animals are clearly designed as characters rather than realistic wildlife models.

They are bright, friendly and a little quirky, which makes them particularly appealing as handmade gifts for children or animal-loving adults.

Looking at the sample pages, the hippo and flamingo patterns have a cheerful illustrated layout, with the finished animals shown in little safari scenes alongside the practical pattern information.

There is also plenty of variety in the shapes, which means you aren’t simply knitting the same basic body 20 times and changing the ears.

If knitted animals with interchangeable clothes are already your thing, have a look at our Knitted Wild Animal Friends book review. That collection includes elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, zebras and other animals with an entire wardrobe of tiny knitted clothing.

Is Knitted Safari Friends Beginner Friendly?

The publisher describes the patterns as easy to follow, and the book includes a techniques section, abbreviations and knitting conversions to help you through the projects.

I would still put this more in the confident beginner to intermediate category rather than recommending it as someone’s very first knitting project.

Toy knitting usually involves shaping, joining pieces, stuffing and finishing neatly, and that finishing stage can sometimes take almost as long as the knitting itself.

Ask anyone who has ever had a finished knitted animal sitting in pieces on the craft table for three weeks waiting for its legs to be sewn on.

For knitters who are still learning the basics of toy making, our Knitted Amigurumi Animal Friends review is another useful option, with smaller animals and simple clothing pieces.

A Great Gift Knitting Book

These would make lovely handmade gifts for children, particularly if you matched the animal to their favourite safari creature.

You could also knit several of them together as a nursery display or create your own little safari collection.

The clothes and accessories add another level of fun, too. Once you’ve knitted an elephant, there is something wonderfully satisfying about then deciding what that elephant ought to wear.

Apparently this is where my crafting priorities are now.

My Take

I think Knitted Safari Friends is one of those books that you buy intending to make one project and then immediately start planning an entire knitted zoo.

The bright colours, cute facial expressions and tiny outfits give the animals loads of personality, while the variety of creatures should keep the knitting interesting.

Sarah Keen has been designing knitted toys for years, and that experience shows in the way these animals have been turned into characters rather than simply miniature versions of real wildlife.

If you enjoy toy knitting, handmade gifts or anything involving animals in overalls, this one is definitely worth a look.

Knitted Safari Friends: 20 Adorable Animals to Make is written by Sarah Keen and published by GMC Publications. It was released on April 21, 2026, with a listed RRP of $26.99.