Easiest Ombre Knitting Technique

 

How do you feel about variegated yarn? It wasn't always my thing. Yarn with too many crazy color variations just looked too flashy. I liked the variety of colors and shades while it was in hank or skein form, but once it got knit up it would look so funky I'd just be overwhelmed. But still, I loved the look in theory, the pretty shades that moved from light to dark creating such a nice contrast. I just needed a way to tone it down a little.

Enter two of my favorite things: gray and stripes. Through a little experimenting I realized that by alternately single rows of a solid color with a more complex colorway I'd end up with a really pretty ombre that showed off the subtle variations in the yarn. Easy trick, but I love the result.

I made the mitts above on a loom, following another video tutorial by Tuteate. (She used a 3 color stripe pattern, while I just stuck with two). I used Patons Classic Wool Roving in Natural and Patons ColorWul in Jardin. The one caveat is this technique works best if you're knitting in the round or on a loom. Trying this technique on straight needles would require you to carry yarn up both sides of your work, which would be a little more difficult.

So that's my cheater ombre/toned down variegated yarn, and now my hands are nice and warm. What about you, does anybody else have any color tips to share?

P.S. The loom knitting tag on Instagram has been going crazy. I think this might officially be a #trend.  

Craft Trends 2015

Hey everybody who sometimes accidentally reads this blog, Happy New Year! I know people love to work on new projects and goals in January (which makes zero sense because it is freezing, and by all rights we should just be eating cheese and watching Netflix) and I'm no exception. Thing is, every year work is MURDER on me in January because of a big annual event. Sadly, it isn't the ideal time to try out new stuff, so I decided to make a little list of the new skills and crafts I'm looking forward to learning this year, that way I don't forget them before February rolls around.

Loom knit slouchy beanie, pattern by Tuteate

Another loom knit hat in simple stockinette pattern.

1. Loom Knitting: This is sort of a cheat since I actually got into loom knitting over my holiday vacation. Weaving on looms was HUGE in 2014, so knitting on them seems like the next logical step, right? In December I surveyed my craft closet and realized I had somehow acquired 3 (3!) different knitting board/loom sets and decided it was time to actually use them. I started with a slouchy hat I made following a youtube pattern by Tuteate and I can't say enough about how good their videos are. Detailed, very easy to follow, and available in English AND Spanish. So far I've made 2 different styles of hats, and several fingerless mitts as gifts. Traditional knitting will always be my favorite, but it has been fun to try something new, and I'm excited to see what other projects I can come up with.

Leather Jar Cozy by Design Sponge

 2. Leather Working: Last year my boyfriend and I took a leather working class together where we made belts, wallets, and keychains. We enjoyed it but didn't do much with it for a year. So for Christmas I gave him a set of leather working tools of his own. So far we've made a few small projects and this leather mason jar sleeve. I would love to take another class at The Chicago School of Shoemaking to get a little more skilled and maybe make the perfect leather purse. The dream is to someday make my own leather boots.

photo via Stranger/it/is, prism by The Wild Unknown. Sadly, it is no longer for sale, but they do have some pretty cool tarot cards.

3. Stained Glass: I have zero experience with stained glass, but lately I've been seeing some beautiful minimal stained glass pieces that have really inspired me. Forget old church windows and imagine clean geometric lines on smoky gray glass. I think I soldered something once in junior high so I'm sure I could do it again. Luckily Chicago has a lot of opportunities for classes, and it looks like a project that you can easily do at home once you have the skills.

1lb block of Beeswax via Amazon

4. Beeswax: I'm really into beeswax lately, and I'd love to do more with it. We made some soy candles last year so experimenting with beeswax would be fun. I definitely would like to perfect a homemade lip balm recipe, and waterproofing a denim jacket with wax is on my Spring to-do list. 

So, that's me. Any new crafts you're into for 2015?