If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and you step outside, you can smell it in the air. Even with the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having, fall is in the air! If you like knitting, it’s probably the best season of them all. Unlike winter, you can wear and showcase your knitted items without having to bundle them under a heavy coat or boots.

And the great thing about the fall when it comes to knitting is that it inspires  …

COLOR!

Color is probably the easiest way to liven up your knitting and turn that simple stocking stitch texture into an exciting mural to showcase a masterpiece! Note I said easy, as color doesn’t have to be intricate or overpowering (although it can be if you choose). And it’s as easy as joining a new ball of yarn to add color as well.

When first playing with color, most knitters do just that – add a new ball of yarn and create stripes. Here are a few tips when doing stripes on a flat piece of knitting …

~ If you’re only using two colors, it’s easiest to do an even number of rows for each stripe. That way you don’t have to cut the yarn when you’re changing colors and can save yourself a whole bunch of darning in later! You do have to remember to carry the unused color strand at the end of each alternate row though, using the strand that you are knitting with. That way the unused color is at the beginning of the row for you to use when you want to switch colors! There are hundreds of tutorials online showing you how to do it so I won’t add another one. I will however, add that when you know you’re going to be knitting with one color for more than 2 rows (this means your stripes will be a minimum of 4 rows wide), carry the contrast yarn every 2 rows to minimize the loop that forms and keep a consistent tension throughout the work.

~ Single row stripes can be created as well. You’ll need a double pointed needle or circular needle to do it. Work across your row in color A. Leave the strand dangling and slide your work back to the beginning of the row on the other end of the needle. Using color B, work across the row again. If you’re working in stocking stitch, this means you’re going to be knitting 2 rows, purling 2 rows alternately. Now pick up color A and work across the row again. Again, drop this strand, slide your work across the needle, pick up color B and work across the row. Continue in this manner until you’re completed your project.

~By adding 2 more balls of yarn and using the above technique, you can create stripes in any number of row combinations. With the addition of a second ball of yarn in each color, all you have to make sure is that you always have one strand of yarn of each color on each end. If you get to it and you aren’t using it, carry it up the side it’s on for when you do! This means you will sometimes be carrying 2 strands of yarn up the side . Once you try it, you’ll realize that it’s not as complicated as it sounds.

~ Keeping your stripes in the pattern of the Fibonacci sequence makes them more aesthetically pleasing! Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician that discovered this sequence of numbers and since then many occurrences of it in nature have been found. I could write an entire book on this topic, but let it suffice to say that it’s implications as a form of inspiration are astounding. To get the sequence, start with 0 and 1. Then add the 2 numbers together to get 3. Add that to the sequence. The sequence then continues by finding the sum of the 2 previous numbers. The first few numbers in the sequence are … 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, … Here is a great little talk about the inspiration that can be derived from the sequence …

~ If you’re using more than 2 colors, you might want to wind your yarn on bobbins or put the balls of yarn in  zip-loc bags with a small opening for the strands to reduce tangling! A yarn bowl with 2 openings is a great way to keep 2 colors untangled!

~ Check out your color wheel when you can’t think of color combinations. Or even better, step outside and look at what nature has put together on it’s easel. I promise you’ll find something to inspire you almost instantly!

Do you have a tip you’d like to share? Post it in the comments and I’ll pick one that I really like and send them some yarn in different colors!

Have fun creating with color!

Hugzzz 😎