Rowan Yarns Digital Magazine Rowan Spring Summer Newsletter 2019 | Page 52

H OW TO
SUBSTITUTE COLOURS
by Katherine Lymer
Our colour choices for knitting can be extremely personal,
often linked to strong emotional memories – how often have
you heard that a specific colour can’t, or won’t, be worn as it
reminds the speaker of their school (or work) uniform? There
can be positive correlations too, e.g. recapturing a colour – and
the associated memories – from a favourite garment, button or
broach in your mother’s wardrobe or a perhaps flower observed
during a happy, holiday walk. We all know which colours we
prefer to knit with – the adventure really begins when we knit
these - and others – onto the canvas so beautifully created by
the garment designer.
When you’re browsing through the latest Rowan magazine,
what it is that first draws your eye to a pattern? Is it the design,
the colour its knitted in – or a mixture of both? Clearly the
designer’s colour choice(s) are far from arbitrary: Perhaps
they’re chosen to work within the theme of the collection (e.g.
the monochromes in “Reflections”) or the fibre content of
the yarns. This process is extended when combining multiple
colours – including the exact number of colours and how they
work together. Take Sasha Kagan’s “Kirkin”, from Magazine 65,
knitted in four shades of Summerlite 4ply and two of Kidsilk
Haze. Using 100% Egyptian cotton, the smooth, matt finish of
Summerlite lends itself particularly well to soft colours, while
giving excellent stitch definition. Contrast this to Kidsilk Haze
where we experience the rich, mohair fuzziness from the lime,
“Jelly” colour and the shimmering silk so readily visible in
the cream. The overall effect is one of dramatic colour and
textural changes. But what if these greens and yellows aren’t
“your” colours? How would you tackle knitting your version
of “Kirkin”?
Consulting a colour wheel can be a useful first step to choosing
alternative colours. It can help us better understand how the
colours are formed as well as the relationships between them.
For example, and back to “Kirkin”, we can see that analogous
colours (neighbouring colours on the colour wheel) have been
used (green, yellow green, yellow and yellow-orange) and so, if
we wanted to create the same “feel” as the designer’s version,
we should also select analogous colours, albeit from a different
52
Newsletter April 2019 | Spring Summer
section of the colour wheel. We also need to consider the
“value” of the shade, that is, how dark or light that colour
is. This is important when providing contrast or balance to
your colour choices. I find this easiest to evaluate by taking
a greyscale photo of the yarns, which is simple enough to do
these days as almost every mobile phone has an integrated
camera. From this, we can see the high contrast between the
four Summerlite, and two Kidsilk Haze, colours and – again
- it will be important to replicate this with our own colour
choices. So, now we know how the six colours (and textures)
work together, we need to find the versions that better suit us
and our wardrobe – and this is where having access to a Local
Yarn Shop (LYS) is invaluable.
While shade cards are a useful resource for assessing the available
colour palettes of the various yarns, when it comes to bringing
colours together, visiting your LYS provides an unrivalled
opportunity to explore different colourways. Having studied
the pattern to unravel the basic colour “recipe”, we have a
strong idea of where to start: We know the yarns we need,
the number of each type and how the colours interact with
each other. Take your pattern/chart so that you can replicate
the order in which the yarns are knitted: Are you pleased with
the way the colours look together? Have you maintained the
overall “look” of the original design or have you completely
changed its “character” by, for example, substituting pastel
colours for richer shades? For Fair Isle and Intarsia work, have
you kept the same arrangement of shades, tones and contrast?
And have you kept true to your design and not succumbed to
the draw of leaving the shop with all the yarn, even if it’s not
the “right” yarn? No two shades within a yarn range are the
same and so, for example, a rushed Summerlite substitution of
“Periwinkle” to “High Tide” may not work for the design that
you’re trying to achieve. So if your colour choice is unavailable,
be patient (while you wait for its return) or be open minded to
the possibility to other colour choices.
Even with single colour garments, there are simple – yet
striking – additions that we can make to adapt and personalise
our knitting. Taking our cue from Grace Jones’ “Katz”, we can
add a contrasting colour to the cuffs and neckline. “Mix” your
palette by working two colours together – this is especially
effective when knitting with Kid Silk Haze: E.g. rather than
working both Fine Lace and Kidsilk Haze in the same colour
(as in Martin Storey’s “Rakki” or “Simple”), use different
shades to change the overall finished, appearance. Kidsilk
Haze is also an excellent tool for colour washing and has been
used by Rowan designers for years. By holding two strands
of Kidsilk Haze together throughout the work, it’s possible to
fade and blend colours to made new shades to stunning effect
- as with Kaffe Fassett’s “Earth Stripe Warp” (available for free
download from www.knitrowan.com) and Lisa Richardson’s
“Paige” from Magazine 52.
Trying new colours not only provides the potential of knitting
more of the designs that we love but also creates new possibilities
within our wardrobe. The inclusion of shades normally outside
our “comfort zone” can lead to eye-catchingly beautiful
garments, while still maintaining an overall colour palette to
match our mood or situation.
Newsletter April 2019 | Spring Summer
53