Experimenting with Multicolored Yarn

Using a multicolored yarn is the easiest way to get more color in your knitting, but it's not always clear from looking at the skein or ball of yarn exactly how your finished knitting is going to look. Sometimes you'll love the look of a colorway in the yarn but not like it in the knitting, or vice versa. And of course different stitch patterns will produce different results in the same yarn.

This swatch shows a multicolored yarn in Garter, Stockinette, ribbing and Seed Stitch. © Sarah E. White.

That's why swatching with multicolored yarn is so important. Experimentation is vital to determine how a particular stitch pattern is going to look with a particular yarn and whether you like a different stitch pattern better than the one you had originally planned. Stockinette can look a lot different from ribbing or a textured stitch pattern in a multicolored yarn; the only way you'll know whether it's successful is to try.

Consider this "playing with yarn" rather than "swatching" if it makes you feel better. Though you will end up knowing your gauge for your chosen stitch pattern when you're done, you'll also have a lot of fun along the way.