The Knitter's Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn: Techniques and Projects for Handpainted and Multicolored Yarn [Paperback]

Lorna Miser (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 16, 2010

Cast on for your next variegated yarn project with new skills and renewed confidence
 
Do you covet the gorgeous colors of multicolored yarn but have been disappointed by patching, pooling, and other unintended “designs” that develop as they’re knitted?
 
In The Knitter’s Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn, hand-dyed yarn guru Lorna Miser transforms the experience of working with these beautiful yarns, whether they’ve been dyed by hand or commercially produced.   
 
This informative stitch dictionary includes 10 simple, accessible techniques, 65 stitch patterns, and 20 projects that make the most of the dazzling color combinations and creative possibilities that variegated yarns have to offer. 
 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

LORNA MISER is the founder and original owner of Lorna's Laces, a well-known brand of hand-dyed yarns. She teaches classes and workshops on knitting technique and knitwear design at yarn stores, knitting guilds, consumer knitting shows, and yarn industry trade shows around the country. She is also the author
of Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft; Original edition (November 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082308552X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823085521
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #886,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Spectacular Results With Multicolored Yarns! December 7, 2010

By Lynne E. TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

What knitter doesn't love to look at, and knit with, skeins of handpainted multicolored yarn? In the skein, the yarns are "eye candy", and the changing colors entertain while the knitter knits. But these yarns have a shady "dark side": in the knitted fabric, the colors may stripe, stack up in straight or diagonal columns (flash), or create large irregularly shaped areas of single colors (pool). So what can a knitter do, to make sure that the gorgeous-in-the-skein yarn will produced an equally gorgeous fabric?

This book shows you how to analyze a multicolored yarn, by examining the untwisted skein, to predict what the yarn will do in your fabric before you start to knit. Yarns dyed in spotted, short-repeat, and long-repeat color sequences will produce different effects, as will yarns dyed in "calm" and "active" colorways. But you can make these differences work spectacularly by choosing the right knitting technique: (1) going for stripes by adjusting your gauge or adding solid-color yarns; (2) adding bobbles, cables, or other textural effects to consume yarn at different rates; (3) using slipped stitches or surface floats to mix up colors; (4) using tucked-stitch patterns to stack colors; (5) alternating mismatched handpainted skeins to achieve a consistent appearance; (6) using the multicolor yarn for portions of a Fair Isle design; or (7) adding holes with lace patterns.

Not only does author Lorna Miser (the founder of the highly successful Lorna's Laces yarn company) explain how to do these techniques, she illustrates their effects with simple patterns for a wide variety of knitted items (shawls, cardigans, vests, a tank top, socks, a neck cozy, a coin purse, mittens, a hat, wristlets, a placemat, a laptop case, throws). She also includes close-up swatch photos that demonstrate in detail how different stitch patterns work to manipulate the colors in multicolored yarns.

This is not just another oversized book of simple knitting patterns. It is an excellent reference for any knitter who wants to understand more about knitted fabrics. And for the serious "technical" knitter or knitting book collector, it complements the excellent discussion of handpainted yarns that is found in Carol J. Sulcoski's Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn, by expanding the discussion to include all types of knitted items.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hand-Dyed Variegated Yarn - Patterns and a Directory of Stitches November 18, 2011

By Bonnie Brody TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love knitting with variegated colored yarn. This book has it all - nice patterns and a stitch directory that offers different stitches to use in order to make your patterns unique. The author of this book, Lorna Miser, is both a knitter and a dyer of yarn. The book discusses different types of variegated yarns - spotted or watercolor yarns; short-repeat yarns; long-repeat yarns; striping or self-patterning yarns. The author explains how to understand the colors in the skein versus the colors that will appear when knitted. In order to get the best results a nice swatch has to be knit up to get a good sense of the colorway. She then goes into how to choose the right knitting technique for your colorway - calm colorways vs. active colorways. Ms. Miser discusses how to combine two different yarns and have it appear as if you are using one colorway. You can do this by double stranding or alternating skeins. You can also knit different sections with different yarns or use multi-directional patterns.

There are several nice patterns in the book. I especially like the English Rose Tunic, a calm colorway in soft pinks, greens and rose hues. It is knit by the double stranded method and is a pullover with buttons at the top. The Primary School Cardigan is charming, knit with two different skeins and perfect for that special child in your life. It is sized from 4 to 10. My favorite pattern in the book is the Monet's Garden Quilted-Lattice Top, a short sleeved sweater knit with cashmere and another type of yarn. It is knit entirely in the round with little finishing needed. It is for an experienced knitter but I may take it on anyway despite considering myself intermediate level. The Blue Ray socks make you want to swagger. It has swirling patterns of purple, black and red and calls for mixing skeins. The Big Sky Basket Weave Hat is nice for winter time. It uses two different yarns at different parts of the hat. The MIghty Mountain Chevron Throw looks warm and luscious. It calls for a chevron-stitch pattern and is knit Schaefer yarn in different colorways. My second favorite pattern in the book is the Firestorm Lace Shawl in a bright orange and pink colorway. It utilizes Lorna's Laces yarn and is for intermediate knitters (pick me!). The Daybreak Textured Throw is calming and variegated in color and density. It would look nice on a sofa or bed or can be used to keep you warm on a cold day. As you can see, there is a variation in the types of patterns in this book which, to me, is a real plus.

My favorite part of the book, however, is not the patterns themselves. It is the directory of stitches. They are categorized by type such as Holes are Beautiful; Same Colors, Different Yarns; Stipe it Up, etc. There are scores of different stitches in different colorways so that any knitter can find a motif that they like and utilize it for their favorite pattern. This is a multi-faceted book that is a great resource and has good patterns that are easy to read. Without a doubt, I will be using this book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful guide to using colored yarn June 19, 2011

By D. Boyken

Format:Paperback

The In-Depth Look:

You all know Lorna of course, so I don't know how much I need to say about ...

Wait, what? You don't know her? Yes, of course you do! You've heard of Lorna's Laces yarns, right?

Yes. THAT Lorna.

So, when I tell you this book is all about choosing and using multi-colored yarns, you know she knows what she's talking about.

She does, too. In fact, this book is a piece of multi-colored genius. So much detail! The focus of the book is helping you, the reader, use your hand-dyed and variegated yarn to its best effect. Long color repeats? Subtle changes? She explores them all, from the different dyeing techniques used to get the colors to how to get your knitting to do what you want it to do, without any unfortunate color pooling. Just like anything else, it helps to understand the subtleties to make things work.

This is NOT a book on dyeing. Nor is it about the patterns. It's dedicated to a knitter who loves hand-dyed yarn and wants to work with it. Lorna says in her preface, "My hope is that this book will empower knitters to make informed decisions about how to show variegated yarns to their best advantage even before beginning a project, so they avoid disappointments and gain satisfaction with the beautiful color combinations and the exciting creative possibilities these yarns offer."