Knitting

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Knitting With Variagated Yarns.

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I’ve always loved variegated yarns. The mystery of the pattern and the striping, or pooling, or even flashing is intriquing. That being said, not everyone likes these surprises. There are some who want perfect stipes with no pooling, and no flashing, just perfect stripes in their projects. That’s ok too. One of the wonders of variegated yarns. Toddle on over to any LYS or even department store craft section and you’re sure to find at least a minimum of selection on the this versatile yarn.

How do you knit with this stuff? Me? I throw caution to the wind and just love to see the way the colors knit up. Everything from drop dead gorgeous, to eewwwwwww, what were they thinking.

Currently I’m working with some sock yarn, Flat Feet from Conjoined Creations. I don’t like the colors in the flat, just not my style, but knitted up they are cool. Very blue-jeany, almost desert southwest-y colors that I normally wouldn’t wear, but I do like them. And yes, there is pooling, striping and flashing but that’s ok. When they are finished, my socks will not be identical, but hey, I call it a good day when I can find two that match anyway.

I recently found a really good site with information on working with variegated yarns. Keeping You In Stitches publishes this article, it’s here:  http://variegated.k1p1keepingyouinstitchesstudio.com/asi1.html And guess what? she’s got lots of free patterns there for dishcloths etc.

Check her out here:  http://freepatterns.k1p1keepingyouinstitchesstudio.com/

Comments

  1. I am currently in love with Bernat’s Baby Jacquards. (I knit newborn caps and donate them to my local hospital.) I’ve used three of their variations so far. Photos of the first, “Boo Berries,” knit into a cap can be found on my blog: http://www.karlakrafts.com. I’ll post photos of the other two soon.

    The third variation I used, “Spearmint Candy,” didn’t come out quite as neatly as the first two. I think it’s because of where I started. I use the long tail cast on, and when I start the next cap, I think I’ll make sure I begin in the middle of a large section of a solid color. We’ll see! In the meantime, hats, I mean caps off to Bernat!

Have you read?

Stitch a Simple Sack Hat that Looks Like a Turkey

If your family is the sort to do a turkey trot for Thanksgiving, or even just to take family pictures, you’ll want to get started knitting up some Turkey Sack Hats with this pattern from Underground Crafter. 

The pattern uses super bulky yarn and is rated easy. It’s knit flat but there are a few skills in here around the shaping of the eyes, which includes changing colors, working bobbles and doing a wicked purl 3 together decrease. Twice. 

But that’s all in one row, and the rest of it is pretty simple. The beak is worked separately and sewn on, and the side of the hat is stitched up to make it into a hat. 

What’s great about this one is that it comes in 10 sizes, ranging from newborn to adult large, so you really can make one for everyone in the family. And because it uses super bulky yarn you can knit a bunch pretty quickly if that’s a thing you’d like to do. 

It’s also fun because you could use this base pattern to make different animals or for different holidays. Make it all in orange and stitch on a jack o’lantern face for Halloween, or make a white one that’s a snowman, for example. 

In any style this would also be a fun gag gift for that person in your life who has everything or doesn’t want gifts, or if you do a secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange at work or elsewhere. 

And make sure whether you’re making it a turkey or some other character that you include the pom poms at the top! They’re just so cure and a great way to add a bit more color to the project, and they’re easy to make. (See also: ways to make a pompom with yarn.)

You can grab the free pattern at the Underground Crafter website. 

[Photo: Underground Crafter]