Learn What to Do with All those Great Gradients

Gradient yarns are having a moment, and with good reason. People love the ease of being able to work from one ball of yarn and have amazing color changes appear before their eyes, or using mini skeins in a range of colors to create projects that look a lot more complex than they are.

But the process of using gradient yarns can be a little daunting. How do you know what kinds of stitch patterns will look best, or even what kinds of garments to make with those skeins?

Tanis Gray is here to help with her book Gradient Knits: 10 Lessons and Projects Using Ombre, Stranded Colorwork, Slip-Stitch and Texture.

The book is not only a helpful guide to the world of gradient yarns and how to use them, it all serves as a primer for basic-and-beyond knitting skills.

Each chapter covers a particular technique:

knit and purl
slip stitch
alternating stripes
thrumming
cabling
fair isle
intarsia
lace
modular knitting
wrap and turn short rows

A tutorial on this basics is given, then a pattern using the technique helps you build your skills.

I’m not seeing the book on Ravelry yet (it’s technically out Oct. 1, but Amazon has it shipping already) but you can see some of the pretty patterns on the cover. I especially like the lace shawl worked in a ombre with long color runs so that each part of the pattern is worked in a different color. It was designed by Mindy Wilkes. (Several designers contributed to the book.)

This book is a lot of fun if you like colorful knits without a lot of work. Some of the patterns are a little harder than others, but none of them are beyond advanced beginner to intermediate knitters. And if you’ve got a lot of mini skein sets or gradient yarn balls on your shelf and are wondering what to do with them, this book will give you a few ideas!

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 10 patterns. Published by Barron’s Educational Series, October 2017. Retail price $21.99.

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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