Colorwork

One of the goals I set myself awhile back was to learn how to do colorwork knitting.  I’ve dabbled in a few projects including the Plaid Hatter and the Mini Motif Baby Mittens.  These both seemed small and really just a drop in the bucket compared to what’s out there for colorwork. 

I challenged myself for Ravellenics to complete a pair of colorwork mitts.  I scoured the patterns, trying to find a pattern that both appealed to my sense of style, and something I thought was attainable.  I eventually ruled out mittens as I really wanted a pair of fingerless mitts.  It was down to the Transition Gloves and the Endpaper Mitts. 

The Endpaper Mitts won out because there were no really long floats, which tend to be harder to do well.  A successful long repeat cannot be too tight or too loose, it must be just right (or fairly close at least).  If you’re too loose, the fabric won’t be right and the stitches will be sloppy.  If the floats are too tight, your motif won’t show up and your knitting will pucker in bad ways.  So, as much as I liked the Transition Gloves, I figured they were best saved for another time. 

I’ve admired this pattern for a long time.  There are endless color combinations to make the pattern really pop.  Or can be subtle and use colors that are very similar to one another.  You could make 10 pairs of these and they’d all have a different appeal. 

I chose a dark turquoise (Midnight Heather) and a deep fuchsia (Fuchsia) in Knit Picks Palette, knit on US 0/2.0mm and US 3/3.25mm needles.  Knit Picks Palette has a nice selection of colors which can be used for colorwork projects, but I don’t find the yarn as next-to-skin-soft as I do some of their other fingering weight yarn.  I chose Knit Picks because it’s less expensive and I’m usually pretty happy with their yarn lines.  For my hands, it’s not bad and the density of the fabric will keep my hands warm.  I probably wouldn’t use this yarn for a cowl or scarf, though.

I would call this knit a success.  I was able to practice short floats, practice reading colorwork charts, and watch the magic that happens when you properly soak and block your knits.  My floats were pretty decent, nothing too tight or really loose, but they were a little puckered when the knitting was finished.  After a good blocking, that all went away and I have a nice, smooth pattern that emerged. 

Now, I don’t know if I can explain the next part right…the two colors I chose seem to have the same “value” when looking at them.  Although one is more pink/bright and one is blue-green/dark, at first glance, it’s not easy to see the pattern.  But once your eyes adjust, you easily see the diamond pattern and that’s when I truly marvel at colorwork.  I’m very happy with these mitts. 

(And in case you wondered, these are for me, all me!  But now I have the confidence to make colorwork items for others!)