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Fairmount Fibers, Ltd.
U.S. Distributor of Manos del Uruguay Yarns

Working with Color

Many people are drawn to our yarns for the color, ranging from subtle semi-solids to bright, intense colorways and fun variegated colors; there is something for everyone. Sometimes colorways, especially those that have multiple colors or tonal variations in them, make you pause. Here are a few tips for working with those colorway variations and making the yarn work for you and your project.

Manos del Uruguay yarns are not labeled with dye lots. Two skeins of yarn that are dyed in the same dye pot can end up with different saturations of color, so intentionally blending them in this way will help to avoid unwanted pooling or flashing. Each skein is uniquely hand crafted and we recommend alternating skeins while knitting or crocheting. Work two rows from one skein, then two rows from another skein. Of course, you do not have to do this. You may find you love the results! Shown above left, is the Chiton pullover knit by Ravelry member knitIam, in Serena. Above right is parker47's Sweater Dress knit in Maxima.   Variegated yarns are so tempting with all the colors they contain, but what works best to show off those colors? Your choice of knitting pattern and stitch pattern can make all the difference, and you often do not have to worry about alternating skeins! Consider the Cross Stitch Scarf, Holding Hands Feeding Ducks, or My So-Called Scarf, shown above from left to right.  These are great quick projects, as well as inspiration for stitch patterns that work well with Wool Clasica. Each of these knitting patterns would also be striking in a solid colorway as well! The last image on the right is the Citric colorway. Another option is to pair the variegated yarn with a solid or semi-solid colorway. You could brush up on color theory or check out this Knitty article on "Technicolor Knitting". Keep in mind, as the tricksy-knitter writes,
Combining colors can be an infinite exercise. But knitting is time-consuming, so we prefer to experiment with winning relationships. You can arrange your yarn colors in skein form, but don't forget that the effect of color relationships has a lot to do with proportion and placement, so swatch your color combinations too!
Let's not forget the visual collection found on Ravelry! We have started a thread in our Ravelry group to start generating some ideas, and encourage you to post when you need some feedback on color pairing.  Here are just a few finished projects to inspire you and your color selection! On the left is RagtagandMotley's Perpendicular project, knit using three different colorways of Silk Blend. On the right is a Color Affection knit by Chrimano, also working three different colorways of Silk Blend. Do you need help in selecting colors? Have you found the perfect color match up? Tweet us @ManosYarns, post to our Facebook page or the Ravelry group!  

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