Something as simple as changing yarns and/or color combinations can completely transform the look and feel of a project. That's only one of the many things that makes knitting both fascinating and challenging.
For example, I have as you know been somewhat obsessed with this charming little slip stitch. It creates an appealing texture that's almost-but-not-quite rib-like. In solid shades, the spotlight remains on the texture.
Add in a second color, however, and this simple stitch takes on fresh interest. It's a quick and easy way to produce vertical stripes that resemble corrugated ribs, but it offers more advantages. The fabric is stretchy, and the stripes are worked without the fuss of stranding. With two contrasting colors worked in a springy worsted merino (Valley Yarns Amherst), the stripes are clearly defined.
If you pair a variegated yarn (KFI Indulgence Eggplant) with a high-contrast solid (Sugar Bush Bliss Platinum), however, the vertical stripes take on a new dimension. Because Indulgence features slow or long-print color changes that shift from eggplant to plum and rose, the transitions create an interesting gradient effect.
Work the same long-print variegated with a tonal yarn in a compatible shade (Baah Aspen Violet), and the results are quite different.
To tame a yarn that's prone to pooling, work a rapid color changing variegated (Happy Feet Berries) with a closely related solid (Valley Yarns Charlemont Burgundy). Because the colors blend together, the vertical stripes are still visible, but they're much more understated.
Or you could really get carried away as I did, and match two very closely related tonals (Wonderland Yarns Mad Hatter Shillings & Pence) for vertical striping so subtle, the two shades are almost indistinguishable.
Life and work have been demanding in ways I won't even attempt to describe, so as you can see, I've been knitting swatches as a small but invaluable diversion. Each one uses the same syncopated slip stitch worked in a variety of yarns to demonstrate some of the many possibilities when you let color do much of the work.
For example, I have as you know been somewhat obsessed with this charming little slip stitch. It creates an appealing texture that's almost-but-not-quite rib-like. In solid shades, the spotlight remains on the texture.
Add in a second color, however, and this simple stitch takes on fresh interest. It's a quick and easy way to produce vertical stripes that resemble corrugated ribs, but it offers more advantages. The fabric is stretchy, and the stripes are worked without the fuss of stranding. With two contrasting colors worked in a springy worsted merino (Valley Yarns Amherst), the stripes are clearly defined.
Work the same long-print variegated with a tonal yarn in a compatible shade (Baah Aspen Violet), and the results are quite different.
To tame a yarn that's prone to pooling, work a rapid color changing variegated (Happy Feet Berries) with a closely related solid (Valley Yarns Charlemont Burgundy). Because the colors blend together, the vertical stripes are still visible, but they're much more understated.
Or you could really get carried away as I did, and match two very closely related tonals (Wonderland Yarns Mad Hatter Shillings & Pence) for vertical striping so subtle, the two shades are almost indistinguishable.
Life and work have been demanding in ways I won't even attempt to describe, so as you can see, I've been knitting swatches as a small but invaluable diversion. Each one uses the same syncopated slip stitch worked in a variety of yarns to demonstrate some of the many possibilities when you let color do much of the work.
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-b