How to Make Stripes With Variegated Yarn

Stripes can be created with variegated yarn using some specific knitting techniques.

Variegated yarn is a type of yarn that is dyed multiple colors. This is helpful because the knitter does not need to changed yarns throughout their project. But, variegated yarn can be difficult to work with because the colors often form "pools," in which one color is concentrated in only one area, instead of forming stripes. Variegated yarn can sometimes be confused with “self-striping yarn.” Self-striping yarn is a type of yarn that is dyed specifically to create stripes of color in a knitted fabric. There are two different techniques you can follow in order to create stripes with your variegated yarn.

Things You'll Need

• Variegated yarn
• Solid yarn
• Knitting needles

Instructions

Using Only Variegated Yarn

1. Choose a pattern for the item you would like to knit. Once you choose your pattern, knit a swatch to determine which size needles will get the correct gauge for the item.

2. Choose a variegated yarn for your project.

3. Practice knitting with the variegated yarn to see how many stitches you can get out of each section of color. If you are new at this, you may want to try a variegated yarn with only two colors. That will allow you to easily see how many stitches need to be done to create stripes and not pools of color.

4. Write down the number of stitches for each color, so you can keep track of your project. Although knitting with variegated yarn will never create perfect stripes, this technique will help you to create better stripes with little to no pooling.

5. Start knitting your project using the right number of stitches for your yarn.

6. Continue knitting in the same manner until the item is finished.

Using Variegated and Solid Yarn

1. Choose a pattern for the item you would like to knit. Once you choose your pattern, knit a swatch to determine which size needles will provide the correct gauge.

2. Choose a variegated yarn pattern and a complimentary solid color.

3. Knit alternating rows of the variegated and solid yarn. Try two rows of variegated, two rows of solid, and so on.

4. Continue knitting the pattern. Alternating between solid and variegated yarn will create stripes of variegated fabric mixed with the solid color, which eliminates large pools of color.

References

• Making the Most of Variegated Yarns: Home
• Planet Shoup: Pronounced Stripes or Pools of Colour
• Lindy's Knits and Laces: A Study of Pooling in a Variegated Sock Yarn