How To Knit Colour Confident

Brighten up your knitted wardrobe with these clever tips and tricks

We all have our go-to colours, our ‘safe shades’, those hues that we automatically reach for when browsing a clothes rail. And if you’re anything like us, you’ll probably find those tones dominating your hand knitted clothes too. Your stash might be a whole kaleidoscope of colour – because let’s face it, who can resist pretty yarn – but how many of those bold and bright skeins are you really going to wear? Our guide will give you a few ideas on how to incorporate even the most vibrant hues into your next project.

Knitted Accessories

The best way of testing out a colour is with an accessory. Skinny scarves are a pretty addition to any spring outfit, whereas larger wraps have the added advantage of keeping off those cooler evening chills. Most accessory patterns use just a few balls, so are perfect if you’re unsure whether a shade will suit you. Choosing a bold, vibrant shade will inject colour to a neutral outfit. This cheery yellow scarf (above) is made in Stylecraft Cotton Classique 4ply and cotton fibres take dye brilliantly. That means there are some fabulously bright colourways to choose from like the vibrant purple shade in this tasselled wrap (left). You can find both
patterns on leaflet 9517, stylecraft-yarns.co.uk

Use A Colour Accent

© Plucky Knitter
We’re not all designers, but we do have creative instincts, so trust in these when you’re choosing your colours. Accent shades are a great way to add interest to a design. This Stripe Parade jumper from Amy Miller alternates green and grey stripes with a brilliant pop of coral. This contrast transforms an everyday project into a real statement piece for your knitted wardrobe.

How To: Knitted Colour Techniques

STRANDING

This involves working with two colours across a row and carrying the shade not in use across the back of the work. It’s ideal for frequent colour changes and the technique is used to knit fabulous Fair Isle patterns. The pattern shown here is available for Let’s Knit Together members.

INTARSIA

In this method you use small bobbins of yarn to work blocks of colour or picture designs. Each colour section on your row uses a separate ball of yarn. Twist the
yarns when you change colour to avoid a hole.

SLIP STITCH

Here, you are actually knitting in a simple stripe pattern. By slipping certain stitches onto your right needle without working them, you can reintroduce colours from a previous row onto your needle to create gorgeous designs.

Perfect Colour Combinations

Some colourways are a match made in knitted heaven, like blue and white, a stalwart of the spring and summer seasons. Let’s Knit Together members can download the pattern for Jo Allport’s
nautical-inspired knit. Green, red and black also pair well with white or cream – work in stripes for that classic Breton look. Alternatively, chalky pastels are right on trend too, so you can colour block to your heart’s content!
When picking out your colour combinations, it is important to think about the tone as well the colour. For example, match clear bright shades with similarly crisp colours. Likewise, muted shades will pair better with other dusky colourways.

Use Colour Change Yarn

Some yarns are multi-coloured, which means those clever creative types at the manufacturers have done all the shade matching for you. All the tones in a variegated yarn will blend together to produce a gorgeous fabric. Yarn cakes are a quick and easy way to introduce colour into your knits and most work up into bold stripe effects.