The Trick of Variegated Yarn: Different Looks in Different Crafts

I know a lot of knitters are multi-crafters, doing knitting as well as crochet or weaving or other yarn (or non-yarn) crafts.

And of course yarn looks different when we use it in different crafts, but I’ve never done a side-by-side comparison before.

Fresh Stitches has a great post all about how variegated yarn looks when you knit with it compared to crochet or weaving. And, as you might expect, the results are quite different.

Some of that has to do with the texture of different stitches, but they also use yarn at different rates that can make a big difference depending on the length of yarn between each color change.

This is a big lesson for me that if I’m not loving the way a yarn looks knit, maybe I should try crochet or another craft instead. You might even get some planned pooling you like that you wouldn’t have seen if you used a different yarn craft.

Have you ever done this switch between knitting and crochet with the same yarn? I’d love to hear about it.

[Photo: Fresh Stitches.]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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