Here at Doodlebug, we are celebrating Socktober. Socktober is a celebration of finer weight yarns that could be used in all types of projects – socks, cowls, hats, sweaters and any other lightweight project you can think of. All month long we’ll be talking about different yarns, patterns and special considerations for working with these yarns.
Today’s topic is working with variegated yarns. I was so excited after talking with Beth from Lorna’s Laces, I immediately grabbed a skein of Shepherd Sock and cast on some Circle Socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. I picked the lovely colorway Verve. Isn’t it gorgeous? It just looks like Fall to me. Beth gave some great tips for working with hand dyed yarns that you can read here in case you missed it.
One of my favorite tips for working with hand dyed skeins, especially while knitting socks, is working a slip stitch pattern. The slipped stitches break up the colors in a way that prevents pooling and really highlights the beauty of variegated yarns. The Circle Socks is an easy peasy pattern that works up quickly and yet looks a lot harder than it is. Perfect for someone who has a pair or two of socks under their belt.
Would you like to have a skein of Shepherd’s Sock of your very own? Leave a comment on this post on your favorite tip for working with hand dyed yarns. Or, maybe you’re new to working with hand dyed yarns and don’t have a tip. That’s ok too. Just leave that in the comments and you’ll be entered. You can also feel free to ask a question. See? Easy!
The winner will be selected Tuesday morning, Socktober 4th by random number generator. Maybe I’m taking this Socktober thing a little too far…….. 
Good luck! I can’t wait to read your tips.
This contest is now closed. Congratulations to our winner Connie!
I like to use stitch patterns that will break up the varigation of hand dyed yarns to avoid pooling. The circle socks is a good pattern for that! Knitting in stripes can work also.
I will alternate skeins with a variegated yarn. But sometimes I will just let the yarn do what it wants!
I am so new to knitting socks and knitting them with variegated yarn I am unsure of what tips TO give! I love pooling and know alternating skeins of using a slip stitch pattern will help to break up pooling but why would you want to?
For garments, I sometimes use handpainted yarn double-stranded (two strands of itself, I mean). Before I begin, I arrange the skeins from light-to-dark. I then pair the lightest with the darkest, then the next-lightest with the next-darkest, etc., and use them in those pairings. This seems to have worked well in preventing both pooling and “line breaks” that might otherwise have appeared between light and dark skeins.
The slipped stitch idea sound interesting. I never know what to do so I haven’t done much with hand painted yarns (other than tonals) and so far the only thing I’ve tried is alternating rows of the hand painted yarn with a solid color yarn.
I usually hit Ravelry for ideas. I look up the yarn I have/want and check out what other people have done. That way I have an idea of how it will all look before I start. (I guess I don’t like surprises!!
when knitting socks with variegated yarns, I knit swatches with different needles to see how the slight variance in gauge will effect how the colors mix. Depending on the yarn, sometimes using a metal instead of a bamboo needle will be the difference.
I’ve only knit a couple pair of fingerless gloves with hand painted yarn. The best advice I would give is to make sure you get enough yarn for your project. Course, that’s true any time, but with hand painted yarn, you just can’t easily get extra to match, if you run out!
I don’t know a whole lot about hand-dyed yarn, but I would certainly like to know more, so I’m enjoying the comments on this one! (And it’d be very cool to win the Lorna’s.)
Slip stitches and similar stitch patterns that break up the possible pooling and stuff that can happen. ^^ I’ve also seen varigated yarn, contrasted with solid/semisolid yarn, work well with stripes.
My only hint is to purchase two skeins and alternate between the two.
After 2 rows of of one skein switch to the other an continue in this matter.
I haven’t done a great deal with hand dyed yarns, but the slip-stitch idea sounds great. What I have found that works well, it so not choose a pattern with too much in the way of detail. Simple things let the colors do all the work and neither they nor the pattern get ‘lost’ as they fight for attention if things are too busy.
I love to work with hand dyed yarns. If I’m working on something and I see pooling that I find unpleasant I try a different number of stitches or go up/down a needle size.
Thanks for the chance and some great yarn!
amyknit40 on ravelry
When using hand-dyed yarns, I wash my hands often – usually about once an hour – because I find that the oils in your hands will sometimes alter the yarn a bit. Also, I try to always pick a pattern that will let the natural beauty of the yarn shine through and not distract from it… pooling doesn’t really bother me because that is how the yarn “moved” naturally.
I mostly just scour Ravelry until I find the perfect pattern for the yarn. I don’t have much experience with hand-dyed skeins though, I just love the challenge of finding a perfect match of pattern and yarn.
The best thing I’ve found for variegated yarns is slipped stitches or stranded colorwork. I’d love to win some Lorna’s Laces since I haven’t gotten to knit with it yet!
I’ve made drop stitch scarves from several variegated yarns. The dropped stitch pattern is particularly effective and helps break up any pooling.
I got here from Twitter.I apprecaiet your tip & this pattern.I have plenty of hand dyed yarn.I do not have any tips..but I have plenty of books about knitting.
rinebird@gmail.com
I am new to knitting socks. But would love some yummy lorna’s laces to make a pair
I like pooling! I mostly do shawls with sock yarn!
that sock is beautiful.
I dont have much experience working with hand-dyed yarns. So far I’ve only crochet hats with kind of a lattice/cable pattern and it turned out beautiful.
Thanks for all the tips.
The only tip I have, which has been shared several times, is to alternate skeins every couple of rows to avoid noticeable differences between skeins.
I hate it when my hands turn the colour of the yarn. use a good dyer. run away from ones that recommend a colour fix with a sharpie marker. there is little you can do with poorly dyed yarn no matter how pretty it was in a hank/skein.
I usually take a casual approach to hand-dyed yarn and not worry about the patterning – most of what happens is magical anyway. I sometimes will use a short-row heel instead of a flap/gusset heel so that I avoid the pooling at the ankle.
I love hand-painted yarns, but I’ve had trouble knitting with them. Then I discovered weaving! I love lining up the colors along the warp and then getting all that gorgeous variegation playing out as the piece progresses.
I happen to like pooling so I work a plain sock to show off the colors
My tip is to use simple patterns – a simple lace pattern is fine but complicated ones just seem too busy with variegated yarns.
My tip is to go with the flow, especially with socks. I just see where the color takes me.
I’ve never worked with hand dyed sock yarn, but i was making a cowl one time with some hand dyed worsted weight yarn. As I was knitting it in the round I realized I cast on the perfect amount of stitches so that the colors pooled to make a thick diagonal striped running down it. Could probably never do that again if I tried.
I think choosing a pattern that complements the yarn perfectly.
I’m still learning
And I loved reading all the tips. Hope I win some yarn so I can practice
I just use plain patterns to let the yarn shine, so far have just been doing plain socks. Soon want to try playing with shawls and other lace patterns that can make some color pooling look like great big hugs
I’ve been sticking with semi-solid yarns lately, but with handpainted yarn, I like to try to get the colors to stack and make vertical stripes.
thanks for this chance to win!
I’m 100% self-taught – I started by knitting socks, and my favorite yarn is Shepherd Sock. It’s not even close!
I I like to use lighter shades of variegated colorways so they’ll show the pattern better; you can even get away with simple knit/purl combos like gansey socks if the colorway is bright enough (Glenwood is a good example!). For darker mixes, I’ll go with texture like a ribbing of some kind.
I’ve never had any LL yarn leave dye on my hands, and I’m pretty sure I’ve worked with most of their yarns. Heatherly is right – good dyeing makes all the difference, and there are so many choices available from great dyers like Beth that there’s no reason to put up with yarn that leaves your hands red or green.
I think it depends on the color change a pattern that may compliment something with long color changes may not compliment one with short changes. My tip- I will use a pattern that compliments hand painted yarns over and over again.
I’ve never worked with hand-dyed yarn before, but it all looks so beautiful.
I have never used hand dyed yarn before, but I would just let the colours go wherever they want.
Not really a tip, but I love the planned pooling of hand dyed skeins. There’s some pretty creative things that can be done with it.
I have wanted to try the Crusoe socks, but my go to is alternated two different skeins every two rounds.
I like to relax and let handpainted yarn go crazy or work on planned pooling effects.
I think simpler is better with hand dyed. I also like pooling and rarely use hand dyed for a project that doesn’t look good with pooling. That being said I am never afraid to frog a project that doesn’t make me happy. The yarn will find its pattern eventually.
I’m one of those that has never knit with hand painted yarn, but would like to.
The more bold the color contrast is, the simpler pattern is used … The broken ribs, simple knit and purl, etc. If the color variation is more subtle, then I go for broke on crazy lace patterns!
I like to use a pattern that swirls or has an otherwise interesting construction so that the pattern in the colors highlights the construction.
I am a new (but enthusiastic!) sock knitter, and have not yet had chance to try working with this type of yarn, but would love the opportunity to do so!
I don’t have any experience with variegated yarns, so no tips yet! I have noticed though, that pattern is key.
I like to use textured rib patterns for my hand-dyed socks; they have good stretch, and the colors don’t pool so much.
I like to use simple lace patterns, especially up-and-down-y patterns that show off colour changes.
I’m reading to get tips because I just knit a pair of socks with handdyed that pooled more than I wanted. Didn’t even stripe much, just puddled. Thanks for posing this question.
I’ve knit many pairs of socks, but never with hand-dyed yarn. The ones you are making are gorgeous !!! Now I want to try making a pair with hand-dyed yarn !!
Sometimes, no matter what you try, the yarn just wants to pool/flash. Go with the flow
)
I tend to either use slipped stitches to make a pattern that will show up or choose a contrasting plain yarn and do a stranded pattern.
I love how deep ribbing (2×2 up to 4×4, depending on the yarn) works with hand-dyed varigated yarns! Striping it with a contrasting yarn creates an almost checkered pattern.
I like the look of colorwork done with a pretty variegated yarn and a solid color yarn.
I have knit a little with hand-dyed yarn, but not too much. When the yarn is a semi-solid, then I like to alternate my skeins, although sometimes I am too lazy, and it still works
For a variegated hand-dyed yarn, I like to keep the pattern simple. I love knitting shawls, and when I knit with a variegated yarn, then I pick a simple pattern, such as the Baktus scarf, because I think garter stitch looks nice with variegated yarn! Happy Socktober!!
I like using simple pattern or slip stitches when working with varigated or handpainted yarns. If I don’t like the way it is knitting up, I just rip it out and try to find a pattern that will work with that yarn.
I like to use metal needles rather than bamboo to prevent any dye transfer.
Don’t really have a tip, but I do love hand dyed sock yarn.
I actually like a certain amount of pooling, I think it makes the colors pop. But learning a few tricks to keep things under control is always helpful.
Always make sure you buy enough hand dyed yarn. It is horrible to run out with only a little to go.
I don’t let pooling bother me–I just let the yarn do what it wants and just enjoy the color changes. Love hand-dyed yarn!
I pretty much let the yarn do its thing. It’s always interesting to see what happens.
Hand dyed yarns are unique. So every time you should find a unique project to make it worth it
craftink on raverly
I tend to cruise projects (on Rav) for similar color change lengths to see what stitch patterns I do and don’t like with frequency of change. It helps to see how the colors are going to behave before committing to a pattern.
be prepared for anything – and learn to love whatever happens! I love stripedy hand dyed yarns
I also like to do slip stitch patterns or mosaic patterns. thanks! Debbie H
Hiya, my only tip is, take your time, pick something that if its a sock or whatever for yourself that you will enjoy looking at and of course wearing. If its for someone else be sure the coloring is something the person your making for will actually like to wear in public!
Otherwise it may stay at the bottom of the sock drawer or go into the regifting pile. Sad but true.
I really only like to knit with hand-dyed yarns! so much more beautiful and interesting
i dont have a tip
..but i do love handdyed yarn!
I am always amazed that what I feel is unattractive pooling is found to be perfect by other people. Therefore, I no longer really care about pooling as much as I used to!
I found best way to get a pooling pattern I like is casting on a few times to find a nice pooling look that I like! Other then that just leting it do what it wants works well to!
I think that modular patterns (like entrelac) works well with this type of yarn. Or patterns with short rows – like “Clouds sock”
No tips for working with hand dyed yarn. I love the look no matter if it pools or not. I think its interesting to see what you’re going to get.
I don’t mind pooling or variation much.
I would just find a pattern that shows off this type of yarn well.
I like the book Knitting S0cks with Handpainted Yarn for ideas on what types of patterns to look for depending on how variegated the yarn is. I also will look on Ravelry for yarns in that specific color, to see what I think works well, and not so much.
I check Ravelry to see how the pattern looks in variegated yarn first. If it’s very pooly I generally choose a different pattern. If I really want to use that yarn, then alternating skeins every 2 rows helps.
I like projects that are knitted on the bias, or wavy/chevrony patterns to show off handpainted yarns.
Be willing to change your stitch count by a few, if possible – it can totally change the look of pooling or striping you’re getting from hand-dyed yarn.
I like to use stitch patterns that will break up the colors like slipped stitches or a lot of playing with texture through knit and purl and decreases and increases. If there’s a color in the yarn I would like to see a big block of, though, I will knit a plain sock and hope for pooling.
I should give slip stitch patterns a try. Usually I let the yarn do what it wants and hope for a pretty spiral or other attractive pooling, but sometimes I get annoyed enough to rip it out and go down a needle size or switch the number of CO stitches.
I use Wendy’s high-arch foot construction, no gusset/flap or short row. I find it doesn’t leave those weird pools of color on the top of the arch, so I’m happier with the result.
I also favor slip-stitch patterns, but sometimes, I just embrace the process and wait to see what happens!
I always love variegated yarn but never know what to knit with it. Ravelry is a great place to checkand see what patterns work well with that colorway!
I really love a slip stitch sock pattern called Trickery for hand dyed yarn.
My tip is to use a hand dyed variegated yarn as the contrast colour in colourwork, with black as the main colour. I think it looks fabulous!
I’m still just a beginner to the whole yarn scene, but loved reading everyone else’s tips and ideas!
I also use simple stitch patterns or just stockinette to showcase the yarn.
I love the way colors pool and stripe, and am usually happy with whatever I get. If the dyer really knows her stuff, the colors will look good no matter which pattern you use. I have learned that if the colors changes are very short, doing a fancy lace pattern is a waste of time, because you can’t see it anyhow!
I just figured out that entrelac does really nice things for handpainted varigated yarns. Yum!
I”ve never worked with handpainted yarns, but I’d love to start with a skein from Lorna’s Laces. I’ve looked longingly at them for some time now.
I’ve only done a couple projects with variegated yarn. I like the pooling and choose simple patterns that let the yarn shine and don’t distract from the pattern or vice versa.
agree with Kathy Sue, I’m happy with most pooling and striping. It’s serendipity , happenstance, call it what you will, rarely do I want to override the natural flow of a variegated yarn. Have to say though that a very complex pattern won’t do the yarn justice, let the yarn speak !
I never thought of joining slip stitch and socks! Would love to try it on some new yarn.
I know lots of folks who will use a solid yarn with a variegated, but I’ve use two variegated colorways together. It can be done either by alternating rows, or by using a strand of each yarn together. You can get lots of interesting new effects, and since it’s unlikely that the color repeats are the same lengths in the two yarns, pooling should be less obvious. Sometimes the yarns may have a color in common (or nearly in common), or they may just blend well. A splatter dyed yarn with a self-striping can give a really nice result.
To prevent pooling, I will alternate between two balls every couple of rows or so.
knitterlydesigns on Ravelry
The skew pattern looks quite interesting with hand painted yarn!
I usually look through patterns on ravelry and check pictures to see if anyone has knit a pattern with handpainted yarn. The internet is great for seeing what other people have done and learning from them!
And I love Lorna’s Laces yarn
I haven’t yet knit with much hand dyed yarn, though I just bought a bunch to knit myself a sweater. I suspect that I’ll alternate skeins to keep the yarns from doing funny pattern things or having to much color variation across the sweater.
I don’t have any experience with hand dyed yarns – but I’d love to try this one!
I like working it w a solid and let both yarns work together to do what yarn does best look beautiful
I’ve only worked with one hand-dyed yarn, so unfortunately I don’t have any tips
I usually experiment with needle sizes, tension, to get the yarn to do what I want – which is usually not pooling:-) – but that works better on shawls, scarves, etc… For socks, or other items where size is pretty important:-) I like designs with eyelets or scalloped designs, or slipstitch or mosaic designs. I’m sadly seperated from most of my stash this year, so am missing my couple of skeins of Lorna’s Laces… Since it will be another 6 mo til reunited, would love to win this!
Here’s to hoping!
If I have enough or am making a big project I’ll alternate between two skeins… but for socks I just let it go the way it wants (and pray for nice pooling)
I’m a fan of slip stitch/drop stitch for variegated yarn as well.
I guess my tip on working with variegated yarn is to look at ravelry and search your yarn and color and see what other people have done with it. I bought one skein, a couple of years ago that looked great in a skein but when I started to knit it I wanted to cry and run away because it was awful, then I saw what other people did with the yarn and I fell in love with a pair of socks, made them and I could not be happier now I do not want to let go of my awesome socks