Tag Archives: color combinations

Color crush: clover and violet.

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Knitters sometimes ask me which they should pick first: the pattern, or the yarn? There’s no right or wrong way to find your next project, of course, nor are these the only two ways. Often we are motivated by color, coming into the yarn shop picturing a particular shade, and searching the shelves for a skein that matches our mind’s eye. Here’s one such case.

Photo by @bisssett

Bailey spotted this color combination on a springtime walk with her darling dog: clover and violet. I love the range of greens and purples this photo holds, from chartreuse to kelly green, from pale lavender to deep plum.

Here are some of our favorite shades of clover and violet, with pattern ideas for each!

Knitting for Olive Cotton Merino in Clover Green and Blueberry Ice Cream

Hold these two cool cotton blends together for a marled “Sabai Top,” Susanne Müller’s ever-popular summer tank.

Knitting for Olive Pure Silk in Pea Shoots and French Anemone

We can’t get enough Knitting for Olive around here! This bold color combination would make a striking “Lakes Stripe Tee,” Ozetta’s striped saddle shoulder tee.

Harrisville Highland in Grass and Periwinkle

As you might have read last week on our blog, I’m a huge fan of Harrisville yarns. These shades highlight their complex heathered colorways, which would pair up beautifully for Andrea Gaughan’s “South Slope Vest.”

Isager Bouclé in 56 (or 12) and Sandnes Garn Sunday in 4632 (or 8236)

Fuzzy Bouclé and smooth Sunday each come in snappy shades of green and purple – I couldn’t pick one! So here are two color combinations, and two pattern ideas, too: combine these yarns for Jonna Helin’s “Lento” or Lene Holme Samsøe’s “Foundation Sweater.”

Kelbourne Woolens Scout in Moss, Lichen, Chartreuse, Natural, African Violet, and Plum

My love of quilts drew me to Katryn Seeburger’s “Heirloom Quilt Cardigan,” which is made in colorwork blocks at a DK weight gauge. Kelbourne Woolens Scout is always a good choice for colorwork garments, and this clover and violet palette has great potential for high- and low-contrast color combinations.

Handmaiden Superkid Silk in Moss and Periwinkle

I’m picturing this hand-dyed pair in stripes – how about PetiteKnit’s “Frankie Blouse”?

Isager Silk Mohair in 14, 56, 57, and 12

I’m still thinking about Margaretta’s “Floating Squares Wrap,” a showstopper in shades of pink and orange. Amy Christoffers designed this slip stitch shawl, which brings colors together in an amazing way. I imagine these purples and greens would evoke a field of violets in this stitch pattern especially!

What colors have you been infatuated with lately? Let us know in the comments, or come by the shop and we’ll help you find yarn to match!

“44 Lavender Lane Shawl” in Isager yarns.

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Meet “44 Lavender Lane Shawl,” a new design from our friend and teacher Katherine Applegate.

Katherine’s design process for this shawl began with yarn she loved, and curiosity about blending them together. She chose similar shades in three Isager yarns: Trio 1, Silk Mohair, and Alpaca 1.

Trio 1 is a crisp blend of plant fibers, Silk Mohair is gloriously fuzzy, and Alpaca 1 is drapey and soft. All together, they make a slinky fabric that’s ideal for an accessory like this one – warming but lightweight, with a bit of shimmer.

Katherine’s “44 Lavender Lane Shawl” got me thinking about other color combinations, of course – here are more ideas for blending Trio 1, Silk Mohair, and Alpaca 1!

Japansk Bomuld is another crisp lace weight yarn, a fine cotton tape that would also pair beautifully with Silk Mohair and Alpaca 1 – here are a few more color combinations to consider.

You can download Katherine’s “44 Lavender Lane Shawl” pattern for free on Ravelry. You’ll need 2 balls of Trio 1 or Japansk Bomuld, 3 balls of Silk Mohair, and 2 balls of Alpaca 1 – look for all four of these Isager yarns in our lace weight section. We can’t wait to see what yarns and colors you put together!

Malabrigo Aura Collection + Orienta shawl KAL.

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We’re delighted to have a new color palette in Malabrigo Sock, just in time for Malabrigo’s upcoming KAL!

This Malabrigo KAL features “Orienta,” by Cory Boberg, a shawl full of movement, texture, and color play. “Orienta” combines graceful shaping with engaging stitchwork, making it ideal for knitters who love seeing texture and color interact on their needles.

Because the mosaic motif relies on color contrast to shine, we recommend pairing high-contrast shades to really make the pattern pop. The shawl is shown in the colors Fulgor and Three Little Pigs, a bold mix of variegated and solid shades. We’ve paired Sock in Fulgor and Elegancia for a similar look.

Here are a few more “Orienta” color ideas, mixing Sock and Ultimate Sock!

Want to join the Malabrigo KAL, which starts on April 3? Head to their blog to sign up, and come by our shop to pick out your yarn. You’ll need 2 skeins of Sock or Ultimate Sock in your main color and 1 skein in your contrast color.

Look for Sock and other Malabrigo yarns here at HYS – we can’t wait to see your shawls take shape when the Knit-Along begins next month!

Marled “SABAI Top” in Tynn Line & Bio Balance.

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Bailey’s most recent project for the shop is a marled “SABAI Top,” knit with Sandnes Garn Tynn Line and BC Garn Bio Balance.

Susanne Müller’s “SABAI Top” was one of the most popular patterns of last summer, and we expect to see even more of them when the season comes around again. It’s a winning combination of easy-to-knit and easy-to-wear, a simple design with a few thoughtful details.

Müller’s pattern calls for a single strand of DK or light worsted weight yarn, like Sandnes Garn Line, knit at 5 stitches per inch. Bailey chose to hold two thinner strands of yarn together, not only to get just the right balance of cool plant fibers and stretchy wool, but also to bring in more color.

This juicy blend of Spicy Orange and Fuchsia comes together beautifully, making a fabric that’s more than the sum of its parts. The colors are different, but their closeness in value makes the stitches buzz, though the fabric reads more solid from a distance.

Inspired to knit a marled “SABAI Top” of your own? Here are more color ideas from Bailey and I!

Be sure to check out Bailey’s “SABAI Top” next time you’re here at the shop, the colors are even more exciting in person! You’ll find Sandnes Garn Tynn Line and BC Garn Bio Balance in the fingering weight section.

Hello, Cascade Kid Seta Hand Paints.

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Our passion for mohair is still strong – here’s a brand new yarn from Cascade, Kit Seta Hand Paints! When Anne saw these subtle, painterly colorways, she knew they’d add something special to our lace weight section, which is already bursting with lovely fuzzy yarns.

Cascade Kid Seta Hand Paints:

  • lace weight
  • variegated
  • fuzzy
  • 74% super kid mohair, 26% silk
  • 232 yds/25 g
  • gauge: 18 – 25 sts = 4″ (10 cm)
  • needle size: US 3 – 8 (3.25 – 5.0 mm)
  • hand wash cold, lay flat to dry

Cascade Kid Seta Hand Paints combines the luxurious softness of super kid mohair and silk with hand-painted color variations for a truly unique finish. This lace-weight yarn has a delicate halo and feather-light feel, introducing depth and visual interest through subtle shifts of color. Use Kid Seta Hand Paints alone for a statement piece or blend it with a solid yarn to enhance texture and bring rich dimension to any design.

We have a great many yarns that pair well with mohair, in a wide range of gauges. Pairing fingering weight yarn with mohair is especially common, it seems, so I started my color combining there. I found lovely and intriguing shades to pair with Kid Seta Hand Paints in Harrisville Designs Shetland, Isager Alpaca 2, and Kelbourne Woolens Camper.

There are a few colors in each of these variegated shades of Kid Seta Hand Paints – emphasize one by finding it in a solid yarn.

We’ve shared pattern ideas for yarn combinations like these several times over the past few years – here’s a fresh batch of patterns that would shine in these yarns!

Garments:

Accessories: 

Look for Cascade Kid Seta Hand Paints here at HYS!

Color crush: pool blue.

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Knitters sometimes ask me which they should pick first: the pattern, or the yarn? There’s no right or wrong way to find your next project, of course, nor are these the only two ways. Often we are motivated by color, coming into the yarn shop picturing a particular shade, and searching the shelves for a skein that matches our mind’s eye. Here’s one such case.

For months, Bailey’s been searching for a certain shade of blue: a little turquoise, a little cerulean, a little arctic. She calls it pool blue, and points it out when we’re ordering new yarn or restocking our favorites. I’ve learned to look for it, too, and though we’ve never quite found the perfect pool blue, we’ve come up with a lot of close shades. Perhaps it takes all of these to make pool blue, the way sunlight, movement, and depth alter the color of water.

Here are some of our favorite pool blues, with pattern ideas for each!

Harrisville Shetland in Peacock and Seagreen

With its springiness and structure, Harrisville Shetland is well suited to Andrea Mowry’s “Moon Mint,” a textured slip-stitch pullover with a plaid like pattern.

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in Cloud, Seabright, and Sapphire

Match up a few shades of pool blue for Gudrun Johnston’s “Riggies Cowl” & “Riggies Beanie,” two simple but clever garter stitch accessories.

Isager Soft in 10 and Silk Mohair in 66

Aegyoknit’s “busan sweater” features a large central cable, and at 16 stitches = 4″, it’s a perfect match for one of the fluffiest yarn combinations at the shop: Isager Soft and Silk Mohair.

Isager Tweed in Raw White + Silk Mohair in EO, Tvinni in 102, and Tweed in Turquoise + Silk Mohair in 66

The popular “Norma Sweater” still has our attention, a design by My Favourite Things for the Isager Archives collection last year. How about a creamy white “Norma” with pool blue colorwork stripes?

Sandnes Garn Sunday in 6315 + Hand Maiden Superkid Silk in Topaz

Hold a solid merino with a hand dyed mohair/silk for PetiteKnit’s “Oslo Hat,” a simple stockinette accessory that particularly shines in a bold bright color.

BC Garn Bio Balance in 12 + Sandnes Garn Tynn Line in 6044

Bailey is working on Susanne Müller’s “Sabai Top” using this same yarn combination in different colors, and the fabric is so soft and light. I like the idea of a marled pool blue for that pattern, the aqua and cornflower blue coming together to make a unique shade.

Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traiteé in Biarritz + Sandnes Garn Tynn Silk Mohair in 5824

Here’s another subtle marl, perfect for PetiteKnit’s “Monday Sweater.”

Malabrigo Mecha in Green Gray and Thereza

For instant gratification in pool blue, reach for bulky weight Mecha and make an“Arcade Cowl,” by Kristel Nieves.

 

What colors have you been infatuated with lately? Let us know in the comments, or come by the shop and we’ll help you find yarn to match!

New colors, show and tell: Isager Bouclé

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Isager released four new shades in their cuddly Bouclé yarn last month, a fluffy alpaca yarn with one looped ply.

Jonna Helin’s cool and casual “Lento” pullover is one of our favorite uses for Isager Bouclé, a timeless stockinette raglan knit at a big gauge for nearly instant gratification.

Kathy knit this particular “Lento”  in Anne’s class on the subject, holding Isager Bouclé with Kelbourne Woolens Camper in a high contrast color combination. In the finished sweater, the fuzzy red Bouclé is the more prominent color, to my eye, but the lighter Strawberry Heather Camper peeks through.

Here are some more high contrast color combinations in Bouclé and Camper!

Low contrast combinations will blend together more, so that the finished garment reads solid from a distance, revealing subtle color variation up close. Here are some intriguing low contrast pairs to consider…

Look for Isager Bouclé in the lace weight section here at our shop, and browse our entire fingering weight section for just the right match to make a “Lento” of your own!

Malabrigo Seis Cabos KAL.

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We’re delighted to have a few new colors in Malabrigo Seis Cabos, just in time for Malabrigo’s upcoming KAL!

This Malabrigo KAL features “Barnstable,” by Lisa Hannes, a shawl that mixes contrasting colors in a beginner-friendly mosaic pattern.

Because the mosaic motif relies on color contrast to shine, we recommend pairing high-contrast shades to really make the pattern pop. The shawl is shown here in Vicenial and Natural, a bold mix of variegated and solid shades.

Here are a few more “Barnstable” color ideas!

Want to join the Malabrigo KAL, which starts on September 1? Head to their blog to sign up, and come by our shop to pick out your yarn. You’ll need 2 skeins of Seis Cabos in your main color and 1 skein in your contrast color.

Look for Seis Cabos and other Malabrigo yarns here at HYS – we can’t wait to see your shawls take shape when the Knit-Along begins next month!

“Isla Shawl” in Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool.

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Bailey’s most recent project for the shop is “Isla Shawl,” a sweet little kerchief knit with Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool.

“Isla Shawl” was designed by Astrid Troland, using a slip stitch colorwork motif she has returned to again and again.

Bailey’s color palette is relatively low contrast, so she knit a few swatches with the colors in different arrangements until she came up with one she liked. We encourage you to do the same, since there’s plenty of yardage on each ball for the whole “Isla Shawl,” along with extra swatches!

I picked out six more color combinations besides, and doodled them for a preview of the scarves I hope they become!

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Inspired to make an “Isla Shawl” of your own? Come by the shop and see all the options in our fingering weight section, from Biches & Bûches and others!

“Baa-ble Hat” in Harrisville Highland.

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Donna Smith’s “Baa-ble Hat” has been charming knitters since it was first published for Shetland Wool Week back in 2015. We’ve seen it knit up in many different yarns and colorways over the years – I’ve just knit my third “Baa-ble Hat,” myself! I used the wonderfully wooly Harrisville Highland, a great choice for this now-classic pattern.

I had fun picking colors for this one, and noticing the subtle variations in the heathered shades as I knit. Loden Blue has bright teal fibers mixed in with the darker ones, and Cornflower blends sky and lavender for a unique blue.

I picked out six more color combinations besides, and doodled them for a preview of the hats I hope they become!

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Inspired to make a “Baa-ble Hat” of your own? Come by the shop and see all the options in our worsted weight section, from Harrisville and others!