This Spring I’ve worked on my first two garment-size projects out of small batch hand-dyed yarn from an Indie Dyers. Both yarns are a joy to knit. Since I’ve never worked on larger projects out of hand-dyed yarn, I’ve been learning as I go and thought I’d share a little about that process here.
I worked on the Astrid tee first (test knit starting soon) out of Treasure Goddess DK Treasures in her Ruby Daggers color. Every knitter knows that you should purchase all the yarn you need for a larger project at the same time and make sure to match dyelots. Even commercially dyed yarns can run into not-so-subtle differences if you don’t. I managed not to do that for this project. I originally purchased 3 of the skeins together for a shawl design. Then months later realized this yarn really wanted to be a tee design instead. So, I did my best to match and began the project with three very similar skeins and one slightly darker skein.
To my eye the three original skeins were close enough in appearance that I was tempted to plow ahead with no blending at all. I knew this wasn’t a great choice though, so my first step was to knit up a small mixed swatch and photograph it. Many times the camera will pick up slight differences that aren’t as obvious to the eye. Seen through the camera lens the colors were indeed more different than my eye could discern. Next I changed the photo to monochrome. The black and white view made the slight differences a bit more pronounced.
After the swatch convinced me that I definitely did need to alternate skeins, I got serious about research. Google searches, knitting resource books and knitting friends pointed me toward two main suggested ways to alternate skeins.
First I tried the Magic Method for Alternating Skeins in the Round from this video where you alternate skeins every row or round with no need for twisting the yarns on the wrong side. The idea is appealing and I know it works very well for some. You can see from my pictures that this was messy for me and did not feel anywhere near firm or clean enough. In the end, I decided that I needed to try this technique again later with a less bouncy yarn and when I don’t have pandemic brain (for me pandemic brain meant that I had very, very, very limited patience for anything new and/or fiddly). Another similar technique is Helix Knitting. I decided I simply did not have the available brain space to give this the try it deserved and shelved it for a later project.
Next I tried the more traditional method of alternating skeins every other row or round and twisting gently at each exchange. I followed instructions from here and here. This felt and looked a little better so it was a definite improvement. But again this didn’t turn out great and I didn’t enjoy the process so I decided to shelve it too.
Finally I hit on the plan I actually used to complete the Astrid tee. I numbered all four of the skeins – #1, #2, #3, #4. Numbers 1-3 were the original skeins and Number 4 was the later and slightly darker skein. I kept detailed notes as I knit the exact same number of rounds through each of the four skeins forming extra wide stripes of about 4″ each. Then I started all over again with Skein #1 and continued down the body maintaining the same order and spacing. This left me lots and lots of ends to weave in during finishing but I much preferred working it this way. Since I was careful to maintain the same length for each of the skeins in order for the entire project, the gentle differences in color made intentional wide stripes. I’m very happy with how this project turned out.
Another month into the “shelter at home” order, I cast on my second ever hand-dyed Indie yarn garment-sized project out of Miss Babs Woodbury fingering weight wool/silk blend. By this point I had the mental space back to learn a new technique. For the top down fingering weight pullover I’m using this method. The method had not changed at all in between projects. My mindset and available brain space did change. Also this yarn is less springy with a drape and weight that will help even my clumsy early attempts.
My technique still isn’t perfect but it is getting better the longer I continue down the body. On the wrong side of the garment in progress, you can see here my progression through several stages – clumsy, then meandering to test the effect and then finally more uniform.
Seen here on Mona (my dress form) the drape of the yarn helps keep the mess on the wrong side from showing drastically on the right side of the knitted fabric. It still isn’t perfect. I’m hoping that by the end of the sweater, I might actually have it figured out. Do you suppose finishing will “block that *#@$ right out”?
