Monthly Archives: January 2015

Color Palettes Using Apps

51880220

Picking color palettes has never been easier with the widespread use of smart phones and tablets. I’m going to feature four free applications that I use on my iphone to either pick from a photograph found online or a picture I snap as I walk around my neighborhood! Above is the sample image from a recent photo shoot that I used to test drive these different applications.

Read more »


Color Combinations for Knitting

It’s easy to get into a color slump – we’ve definitely all been there. The good news is that it’s just as easy to reinvigorate your creative senses and get inspired! One trick to creating color combinations for knitting is by beginning with a picture that makes me happy or evokes a strong feeling. By having a tangible reference or goal, it is something you can refer back to in your color selection process to help guide you (instead of being overwhelmed by indecision)!

After I’ve decided on a picture, I choose a yarn that I want to use for the color palette. It’s a fun challenge and forces me to choose unexpected combinations by paying attention to the smaller details that are sometimes overshadowed by the main elements. For example, here is a darling kitty and an equally sweet color palette in Lindy Chain.

color combinations for knitting

Lindy Chain (L-R): Swan, Blush, Celery, Ash, Black

Read more »


Cold Snap Collection Look Book

As knitters, we embrace brisk winter days and cold nights. We look forward to breaking out our winter woolens and more importantly, we delight in the season that gives us purpose to keep knitting and knitting.

With winter-worthy projects in mind, the Cold Snap collection is filled to the brim with cozy sweaters and accessories. Want to see more? Take a peek at the Cold Snap look book to see gorgeous knits set against the beautiful scenery of the Columbia River Waterfront.

Read more »


Chill Zone: New York State of Mind

nyc

 

Do you look forward to the weekend as a time to unwind, “chill”, and maybe do some lazy stitching while you listen to a podcast, sip a favorite drink, and eat your favorite snack? We’re starting new series called “Chill Zone”, where we’ll suggest a few good options, inspired by a favorite place, person, or time period. This week, we’re starting with New York! So to set up your New York City Chill Zone may we suggest that you:

Read more »


Behind the Scenes of Cold Snap

Cold_Snap_still

Have you checked out our Cold Snap pattern collection? Inspired by chilly days by the river and whipping winds on the mountains, this collection of garments and accessories in winter whites and light and bright colors will have you casting on for knitwear you’ll wear over and over again. For the collection photo shoot, Hannah chose a glorious day on the riverfront, where birds and boats waved hello as they passed (well, they didn’t really wave, but, you know…). Come along and have a peak behind the scenes in this video, and see if anything in our Cold Snap collection, catches your eye!

Read more »


Color Theory Part 2: exploring hue, value, tint, shade and tone

When you first start to explore color theory, chances are that you’ll run across a lot of new terms (and they might seem at first to all refer to the same thing – color)! However, once you dive into this fascinating topic – you’ll learn the subtle differences between things like hue, value, tint, shade and tone.

To start, let’s go over the broadest term in this group of color theory words: hue. In painting, hue actually refers to a pure color – red, yellow, blue – without any white or black added to it. But in a broader sense, hue is just a fancy word for color!

Another term you’ll come across is value – this word is synonymous to what we describe a color as light or dark. You can also think about value in terms of how bright a color is.

Tint, shade and tone are three other terms you might see when reading through color theory. Let’s explore these qualities a bit more in depth.

 

color theory for knitting

Read more »


Monkey See, Monkey Do

monkey1
Have you picked up any of our Special Reserve Yarns? As soon as I saw the Alpaca Wool Twist, I knew what I’d like to do with it: make a Sock Monkey Sweater for my toddler! I was looking around the internet for inspiration when I saw THIS sweater by the Canadian company “Roots”. I decided to make a mini version using THIS (free) pattern. Along with the Special Reserve Alpaca Wool Twist, I used Bare Andean Treasure and Swish DK in Serrano. I followed the pattern exactly for size 4, doing 6 rows of bare, 3 rows of Serrano, and 6 more rows of bare for the cuffs and bottom ribbing. I love a shawl collar, and the Andean Treasure is super soft! I added 5 red buttons to …

Read more »


Wildcraft Studio School Natural Dye Class

sorrel
Last summer I was lucky enough to be able to take a day long class at the Wildcraft Studio School about an hour and a half outside of Portland. It was so nice to be able to spend the day outside exploring the woods and gathering plants with a group of other people interested in natural dyes and I came away with some insight into where I can find some of these plants on my own. I’ll be talking about dyeing with Blackberry, Sheep Sorrel, Horsetail, Lupine and Fennel on wool yarn and silk fabric.

Read more »


Intro to Dyeing with Idyes

Have you ever heard of idyes? Me, neither! Alison, our fearless Knit Picks Director, tells me that they’re acid dyes (like the kind Kim uses) but have a combination of cellulosic dye (for plant fibers such as cotton) and protein fiber dye (for animal fibers like silk), allowing you to use them on a large range of natural fiber projects. Inside each envelope is a little water-soluble packet (kind of like those dishwasher detergent nuggets) which you just pop into your washing machine and Vwalaa! You’ve dyed your own yarn.  I asked her to describe her process and take some photos. Here we go!

skein

From Alison: “IDye packets can be a nice option for folks who

Read more »


An Intro to Jacquard Dyeing

Have you ever dyed fiber with Jaquard Acid Dyes? Neither have I! Kim here at Knit Picks is a pro, though. So I asked her to do some dyeing and take some photos, and she made it looks so easy!  She has two methods: one uses a crockpot and takes about 3 hours (including cooling time) and one uses a microwave and takes about (wait for it) 4 minutes! Can you believe it? It’s totally clean and easy, too. Here’s Kim’s description of each method:

2012-10-29 01.41.37

From Kim: “I love to dye fiber! The bolder the better! Here I’m showing you two techniques that I used with wool fiber.

Read more »