My second stranded colorwork knit: “Into the Wild”
Knitting the Bowfell jumper really got me into knitting stranded colorwork. As soon as I was finished with the yoke, I was just obsessed with starting a new project! Here it is : “Into the Wild” by Tania Barley.
My tips to start knitting stranded colorwork
This is only my second stranded colorwork project so I am an absolute novice – therefore in the perfect position to know what problems other novices may face!
- Find a good reference book to help you – mine was « Tricoter le jacquard en rond » by Anna Dervout, sadly only available in French.
- Take plenty of time to chose your colours.
- Start with a pattern that only alternates two colours on the same row. “Into the Wild” alternates three, so I would not advise it for a first project. But Bowfell (only available in Anna’s book) and Marieke (available on her web site and on Ravelry) work.
- Control your tension constantly. This is by far the biggest challenge of stranded colorwork; and I am definitely not there yet…
- Get yourself a yarn guide – I just cannot recommend this little piece of kit enough!
Knitting Into the Wild: pattern review
I had a lot of fun knitting this jumper: the pattern is very straightforward and well written; and the chart is not that complex to follow. The only challenge for me was to integrate a third yarn in the equation, but I managed it very well with my yarn guide.
Size-wise, I went for the smallest available but it wasn’t my best idea. I wanted a tight fit and the body is exactly how I like it but the neckband is too small – of well… Next time I’ll use the same size but will make sure to cast-on more stitches for the neckband.
Yarn choice
After Bowfell, which has abstract patterns, I was quite keen to have a go with a fun motif; and the little foxes of the “Into the Wild”jumper clearly had my name on them. Here is the (gorgeous) pattern presentation picture.
That said, I was not keen at all on the colours used – green and orange are my hate pets; and in general, earthy tones are persona non grata in my wardrobe, thank you very much!!
So I thought and thought and … well, I just went for my usual knit colour palette: pink, purple, burgundy, does it remind you of something?
It means that my foxes look more like little devils but I’m happy with that – better than knitting a jumper I would never wear!
Yarn-wise, I used:
- 7 balls of Drops Merino Extra Fine / Dark Heather (35)
- 1 ball of Drops Merino Extra Fine / Heather (34)
- 2 ball of Drops Merino Extra Fine / Powder Pink (40)
It was quite a change from my usual Drops Baby Merino/ Drops Kid Silk double-stranded combination… and much easier to handle for colorwork!! That said, the fluffy nature of Kid Silk makes it much more forgiving, so I feel all my mistakes are much more obvious without it.
Conclusion
This jumper is in no way perfect but it is a great object of pride, as it is my first attempt at “drawing with my needles” as I see it. More will probably follow, although I currently have a third stranded colorwork project on my needles currently and I am running out of steam. So my next project is more likely to be lace..
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