Uncategorized

Yarn Pairings and Patterns for DK and Bulky Yarn

Good morning, my fellow fiber artist!

Over the last couple weeks I have shown you some yarn pairing possibilities for patterns made for a semi-solid and a variegated skein together. This week I will complete the series with DK and Bulky yarn.

One Plus One Patterns for DK-Weight Yarn

Let’s start with DK, which is probably my personal favorite as a yarn weight for both weaving and knitting. It’s light enough to wear even here in the Southwest, but it works up a lot faster than sock-weight yarn.

Here are some great pattern possibilities for knitting this one plus one idea in DK-weight yarn:

  • Strolling on Cloud 9 by Suzanne Nielson – This is a big mobius cowl that looks delightful.
  • Dissent Cowl by Carissa Browning – This is a very cool-looking flared cowl with mosaic knitting
  • Toph by Woolly Wormhead – This hat by Woolly Wormhead looks like a fascinating project as all her hats are.
  • Touchstone by Laura Aylor – This lovely small shawl pattern by Laura Aylor was made for just a single variegated colorway, but I think it would look fantastic using a semi-solid for the eyelet sections and a variegated yarn for the other sections.
  • Terra Shawl by Joji Locatelli – This brand new shell shawl by Joji is going in my favorite list right now! It’s on sale until tomorrow FYI. I think it would look beautiful switching between the semi-solid and variegated skein at every set of eyelet rows.

I don’t crochet (yet), but I know many of you do. Here are some crochet patterns for one skein of variegated and one skein of semi-solid:

Now let’s talk about the yarn that would go beautifully with all these patterns. Below you can see photos of some combinations of a semi-solid skein with a variegated skein. All of these colorways are in stock right now in Squoosh DK , but if something sells out, you can order it from the Dyed to Order section of shop.

Yarn Pairings on Squoosh DK

This first yarn pairing is Black Butterfly and Caribbean Blue on Squoosh DK. Black Butterfly is an ikat colorway that will knit up as black with little “stars” of color in Caribbean Blue, Burgundy Rose, Seafoam Green, and Lilac.

Black Butterfly and Caribbean Blue on Squoosh DK

Next up is Contentment paired with Pagliacci. Pagliacci is a Splashed and Speckled colorway, so it isn’t very likely to pool.

Contentment and Pagliacci on Squoosh DK

I think I’ve shown this pairing to you on every base because I’m sort of in love with this combo. It’s Enchanted Forest with Annunciation Blue.

Enchanted Forest and Annunciation Blue on Squoosh DK

Next up are Javert and Jean Valjean. If you are familiar with Les Misérables, you’ll know that these two characters couldn’t be more different, but the yarn colorways work beautifully together. Javert will work up as mostly white with little stars and dots of black while Jean Valjean will be an adventure to create with since the color placement is unique for each skein.

Javert and Jean Valjean on Squoosh DK

Here we have Monet with Burgundy Rose. Monet is reminiscent of my favorite artist’s style rather than a particular painting of his. It has the quintessential feel of  impressionism. Burgundy Rose is a warm, rich magenta that goes beautifully with so many things.

Monet and Burgundy Rose on Squoosh DK

This next yarn pairing includes another artist-inspired colorway. This is Renoir, inspired by his painting called “Mademoiselle Irene Cahen d’Andvers.” I paired it with The Winedark Sea, inspired by the frequent phrase in Homer’s Odyssey. As I’ve mentioned before, the ancient Greeks had no concept of the color blue, which I find mind-boggling. What colors are there in the world for which we have no name today?

Renoir and The Winedark Sea on Squoosh DK

This next colorway combo is ocean-themed. On the left is Seashell, and on the right is Dreams of the Sea. Dreams of the Sea isn’t quite a semi-solid. It’s actually on the edge between tonal and variegated with blues and greens blended together. Just like the ocean, it has great depth and variety in the midst of its own unity.

Seashell and Dreams of the Sea on Squoosh DK

One Plus One Patterns for Bulky Yarn

Next let’s look at a few patterns for bulky yarn.

Here are a few for knitting:

Here are some crochet patterns for bulky yarn:

Now here are some great colorway combos to go with all of these patterns:

This first one is Annunciation Blue with Beautiful Universe.

Annunciation Blue and Beautiful Universe

This next colorway is perfect for fall! On the left is Chocolate, and on the right is Autumn Leaves.

Chocolate and Autumn Leaves on Quick and Cozy Bulky

This next lovely yarn pairing has Epiphany with Eggplant.

Epiphany and Eggplant

Next up is The Hands of the King with Renaissance Blue. The Hands of the King is one of my many Lord of the Rings inspired colorways, and Renaissance Blue is similar to Annunciation Blue but about half as dark.

The Hands of the King and Renaissance Blue

The last one I have to show you today is Unicorn with Eggplant. I love the juxtaposition between dark and light here while staying in the same color family.

Unicorn and Eggplant

Just in case you’re wondering, Unicorn was inspired by the regal legendary creatures from Medieval literature and not so much by the modern rendition of the same. I just feel the need to defend my thematic honor a bit here.

More Worsted-Weight on the Way

If you’re wondering why I left worsted-weight yarn out, it’s because I only have Wonderful Worsted in a few colorways right now, and none of them are semi-solid. I’m going to be rectifying that problem, though. I got a big shipment of undyed yarn yesterday, and one of the yarn bases I got is my Wonderful Worsted yarn, so expect to see more colorways on that base in the next week or so.

While you’re waiting, take a look at Andrea Mowry’s brand new Honey Moss shawl pattern that came out yesterday. It uses worsted-weight yarn, and it looks really lovely!

Joseph’s First Skein

I’ll leave you with one more tidbit of exciting news from the Hanson family. Joseph, our 15-year-old son, is a fantastic maker of art batts and has helped me out at more festivals than I can count.

He asked me recently to teach him to dye yarn, so I have been tutoring him step by step on how to do it and do it well. This week he dyed his first completely independent colorway. Here it is:

Isn’t it beautiful? I’m so proud and impressed by him as always!

He also wants to learn to weave, so he has one skein all balled up and ready to go. I’ll be helping him warp a scarf this weekend.

Happy fiber artistry! Never stop learning, and enjoy every step.