Variegation

Variegation:  adv. varied in appearance by adding and changing colours.

 We’ve all done it.  Strolled the yarn aisles, picked up the yarns to feel them – savoring the soft silky ones, fingering the nubbly ones, and … oddly drawn to the bombardment of colour from the variegated yarns … and inevitably finding that one multi-coloured yarn that you draws you in.  You don’t have a project in mind for it, but you just can’t resist buying it.

And then the second thing happens … it doesn’t knit up as nicely as you thought.  It just doesn’t have the same appeal it did in the skein.  What went wrong? 

Multi-colour (variegated) yarn comes in all kinds of patterns:  long variegations where the colour changes every few rows … and short variegations where the colour changes every few stitches.  The colours may repeat randomly … or in a specific pattern.  The colours might create a design, as in self-striping yarn. Or maybe they are twisted together to create a tweedy look.  These are all things to take into account when choosing a pattern for the yarn  - or the yarn for the pattern. 

A great way to match the yarn to the pattern is to “audition” the yarn.  I like to buy a skein of the yarn and knit it in a number of different ways.  It’s the only way to really see what kind of variegation it is and what designs it can create in the knitted fabric.  Here are my favourite "auditions":

1.  The Rotating Square: 

This sample uses Worsted Weight yarn & US Size 6 needles.

Cast on 20 stitches
1.     Work 35 rows in Garter Stitch; Bind off on Row 36, leaving the last stitch on your needle (This will be the first stitch of the next section.).
2.     Pick up and knit 20 stitches down the left side of the square.  Knit 34 more rows.  Bind off, leaving last stitch on your needle.
3.     Pick up and knit 40 stitches down the left side of your work.  Knit 34 more rows.  Bind off, leaving last stitch on your needle.
4.     Pick up and knit 40 stitches down the left side of your work.  Knit 34 more rows.  Bind off, leaving last stitch on your needle.
5.     Pick up and knit 60 stitches down the left side of your work.  Knit 34 more rows.  Bind off, leaving last stitch on your needle

2.  The Square Knit in the Round:

This sample uses Worsted Weight  yarn & US Size 6 double-point needles

Cast on 8 stitches and divide evenly onto 4 needles.
Knit one round.
Round 1:  K1, YO, K1.  Repeat for each needle.
Round 2:  Knit.
Round 3:  K1, YO, K1, YO.  Repeat for each needle.
Round 4:  Knit.
Round 5:  K1, YO, Knit to last stitch on needle, YO, K1.  Repeat for each needle.
Round 6:  Knit

Repeat rounds 5 and 6  until the square is the desired size  (preferably until you have gone through all the variegations repeats at least once.)

3.  The Pinwheel:

This sample uses Worsted Weight yarn & US Size 6 needles.

Cast on 18 stitches.

Row 1:  Knit 3; turn.             Row 2:  Knit to end

Row 3:  Knit 6; turn.             Row 4:  Knit to end.

Row 5:  Knit 9; turn.             Row 6:  Knit to end.

Row 7:  Knit 12; turn.           Row 8:  Knit to end.

Row 9:  Knit 15; turn.           Row 10:  Knit to end.

Row 11:  Knit 18; turn          Row 12:  slip first stitch as if to purl, knit to end.

Repeat rows 1-12 until you have a full circle.  Sew seam.

4:  A Simple Square:

This is a free-for-all.  Cast on at least 30 stitches and do whatever you want.  I like to have a section in Stockinette Stitch, a section in Garter Stitch and a section in Seed Stitch just to get an idea of how it looks in a variety of stitches.

Just to be sure to knit it big enough to get a very good idea of what it would look like in a larger project.

6:  The I-Cord:

This sample uses Worsted Weight yarn & US Size 6 double-point needles.

Cast on 4 Stitches.

Row 1:  Knit.  DO NOT TURN WORK.
Row 2:  Slide Stitches to right end of needle;  with yarn in back, knit across row.  Do not turn work.
Repeat Row 2 until cord has reached desired length.

 In the samples at left, you can see how variegations differ.  The top sample uses yarn that has a long variegation and throughout the project I didn’t actually get to all the colours in the yarn.  The bottom sample uses yarn with a short variegation and it created a repeated stripe pattern.



All this goes to show that pretty in the skein doesn’t always mean pretty in the piece.  That’s why I recommend trying out some of these test swatches before committing a project to variegated yarn.  Here’s a prime example:  

←the yarn is … okay. 

Same yarn  in an I-Cord necklace … nice!→

This month, play with variegated yarn to discover its possibilities and limitations.

For a long-term project:  make 20 Rotating Squares and stitch them together for a lap blanket (4 across, 5 down).  So pretty!