I’m starting a new (hopefully) monthly feature here where I focus on a particular pattern or pattern set and show you some yarn that would work well for that. What better place to start than with the very popular fade patterns?
If you are a knitter, chances are good that you have come across all the wonderful fade patterns out there right now. Today I want to focus on the patterns by Andrea Mowry who, to the best of my knowledge, came up with the idea and started the trend with her Find Your Fade shawl. This pattern and the ones that followed are just so fabulous for showing off the features that are unique to hand-dyed artisan yarn.
Andrea has since added a cardigan pattern, a raglan sweater pattern, and some smaller shawl patterns as well.
I’ve been working on some yarn sets for all of Andrea Mowry’s sock-weight patterns, all with my own unique take on color and texture, and I wanted to show you some of the possibilities today. If I don’t have enough of a particular colorway when you are ready for it, just convo me on Etsy, and I will happily make more for you.
Let’s start with the smallest sets and work our way to the largest. The Free Your Fade pattern requires 3 skeins of fingering-weight yarn, so here are some possibilities for combining the pattern with Purple Lamb yarn. Whether you are intending to knit that particular pattern or another pattern that calls for 3 skeins of sock-weight yarn, here are some options.
These first sets are all dyed on my Soft & Strong Sock Base, which is a 4-ply base made of 75% superwash merino, 15% nylon, and 10% tencel for just a touch of shimmer and reflectivity. The yardage is 433 yards per skein.
- Left Photo: Boysenberry, Venice, and Teddy Bear on Soft & Strong Sock Yarn Base
- Top Right Photo: Boysenberry, Earthen Vessel, and Teddy Bear on Soft & Strong Sock Base
- Bottom Right Photo: Teddy Bear, Northanger Abbey, and Tuscan Red on Soft & Strong Sock Base
All the rest of the yarn sets below are dyed on my Sparkly Merino Sock Base, which is made of 92% superwash merino and 8% lurex. Each skein is 409 yards, and this yarn really sparkles.
These next two both feature a variegated yarn, a tonal yarn, and a speckled yarn.
- In the photo on the left, from left to right there is Anachronism, Irish Moss, and Speckles & Sparkles
- In the photo on the right, there is Anachronism, Burgundy Rose, and Speckles & Sparkles.
Isn’t it interesting to see how much the difference of one skein changes the whole look?
I’m currently working on a cowl using Anachronism in both this sock-weight yarn and also my own handspun bulky yarn in the same colorway, but I’ll be talking about that when I’m done with it.
Each of the next four sets of yarn features my variegated yarn, Purple Iris. Purple Iris has red, green, and lavender speckles over the yellow section as well as variations in color within each color section, so it’s variegated, speckled, and tonal. Am I missing anything? The Sunflower yarn and the Lilac yarn both have lots of speckles to add interest while Eggplant and Irish Moss are good tonal yarns.
- Top Left Photo: Sunflower, Purple Iris, & Lilac
- Top Right Photo: Purple Iris, Lilac, & Eggplant
- Bottom Left: Irish Moss, Purple Iris, & Lilac
- Bottom Right: Irish Moss, Purple Iris, & Eggplant
This next photo has (from left to right) Greenery, Margarita, and Irish Moss. Greenery was inspired by Pantone’s color of the year by the same name.
These next two feature the variegated yarn Black Butterfly. I just finished weaving a vest for my daughter using this yarn as the warp. Mithril, the silver yarn on the left, has some beautiful lavender undertones. Jade, the green yarn on the right, is so tonal that it almost qualifies as a variegated yarn in its own right.
- The left photo shows (from left to right) Mithril, Black Butterfly, and Burgundy Rose.
- The right photo shows (from left to right) Jade, Black Butterfly, and Burgundy Rose. Wouldn’t this be great as something that would look Christmas-y at Christmas time but still work the rest of the year too?
Next up is Burgundy Rose once again with my newest colorway, Snapdragons, and Lilac. Burgundy Rose is lightly tonal, Snapdragons is both variegated and speckled, and Lilac is tonal and speckled. So much fun to knit and just see what comes next!
This next one features Serendipity. This is one I re-skeined, which makes it look a bit different than most of my variegated yarn. The lilac yarn in the right photo is strongly speckled, and the others are nicely tonal.
- Left photo from left to right: Irish Moss, Serendipity, and Margarita
- Right photo from left to right: Lilac, Serendipity, and Margarita
This next variegated yarn, Scandinavia, is one of my favorites, especially for winter as a counterpoint to a white world. I have made several other yarns that match it, which you’ll see in the larger sets. Sunflower is quite speckled.
These last two feature my very favorite colorway–Bouquet. I just recently dyed it on this sparkly merino sock base, and I love it with sparkles even more! I hope you do too.
- Left Photo: Sunflower, Bouquet, and Burgundy Rose
- Right Photo: Irish Moss, Bouquet, and Burgundy Rose
Well, I had intended to go all the way from the 3-skein Free Your Fade shawl up to the 7-skein Find Your Fade in one post, but this is getting quite long already, so I’ll see you next time with the 5-skein So Faded raglan sweater or, if I get enough DK-weight yarn dyed before next time, the Comfort Fade Cardi pattern instead, which calls for 4 skeins of DK-weight yarn.
Thanks for looking, and happy fiber artistry!