Good morning, and happy Friday to you. Today I thought I would share an experiment with you in color and dye techniques.

Whenever I think up a new colorway idea, the first thing I think about are the colors themselves. Next is always the dilemma of how to lay on the colors. There are so many different ways to do just that, and the effects can be startlingly different.

Early this week, I was dyeing up this month’s club colorways, and I was really struck by the way a few of the colors looked together. I decided I’d like to make a new colorway with just those three colors, and then it occurred to me that I could dye them up in different ways and share the results with you so you can get a better idea of how different dye methods work up using the same colors.

The colors I used are Freedom Blue, Regal, and No Shrinking Violet. You can see them individually right here:

I decided I would dye them up using four different methods:

• Splashed and Speckled, where the dyes are laid on in different directions overlapping one another.
• Block Variegated or Planned Pooling, where the dye is laid on separate sections. In this case, each section takes about one-third of the skein.
• Assigned Pooling, where one quarter of the yarn is dyed one color and the other three quarters are dyed in a different manner.
• Segmented, where each color is laid next to the other colors in very short segments.

Let’s get started. First I’ll show you what each pan of yarn looked like before I put it in the steamers, and then I’ll show it to you after it was finished. Here are the colorways in the pans before I put them in the steamers:

You can see how the colors meld together rather nicely for the Splashed and Speckled method. This method almost never produces pooling.

The block variegated/planned pooling would work beautifully for Laura Bryant’s planned pooling method for knitting or Marly Bird’s planned pooling method for crochet. You can see how distinct the colors remain.

For the assigned pooling colorway, I dyed one quarter in Freedom Blue, and then I used the splashed and speckled method with all three colors for the right three quarters. I was originally going to just use Regal and No Shrinking Violet, but then I decided to include some Freedom Blue too so the colorway would look more cohesive when it is used.

For the segmented skeins, I used all three colorways in short segments of less than 1 inch. As you can see, the colors are still more distinct from one another than they are in the Splashed and Speckled method but less so than the block variegated method.

Most of the dyes I use look almost the same before and after they are cooked. However, the dye I use for Freedom Blue looks almost dull before it is cooked and then becomes quite brilliant afterwards.

Here are all four versions dyed up:

Isn’t it amazing how different they look? I decided to name them Dappled Things after the poem, “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

You can see them altogether here. From left to right they are the Segmented version, the Splashed and Speckled version, the Planned Pooling version, and the Assigned Pooling version.

Wouldn’t they work beautifully together? I considered listing them as a set but decided to list them separately so you can decide for yourselves. You can find them all right here in my shop.

Which one is your favorite?

Fresh from the Dye Pots

Since last week, I also dyed up the December club colorways, Sunflower, and Forest Floor on most of my yarn bases. Here is Forest Floor on Squiggle Sock for the first time:

Wouldn’t it be neat to make a project using Forest Floor on Squiggle Sock and on Sock Perfection together?

Christmas Cookies on Sale

No, not that kind of cookies. Since we are so close to Christmas, I’m taking $5 off each skein of my Christmas Cookies colorway. I have it in stock on Sock Perfection and Sparkly Merino Sock.

Sport Weight on the Way

I also wanted to mention that I have decided to add a sport-weight yarn to my lineup to fill in the gap between sock-weight and DK. I carried this years ago, but I’m bringing it back because there are so many lovely patterns that call for sport-weight yarn. Andrea Mowry’s Shift pattern comes to mind, and it’s great for cozy winter socks too. The yarn base is called Super Sport, and it’s made of 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon. It’s a nice, round 3-ply yarn with 328 yards of fun. I’m actually dyeing up Freedom Blue on it today.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. Stay well!