Have you fallen down the gradient yarn rabbit hole? I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!
This is 150 grams of gradient heaven from Knit Circus Yarns. The yarn is called Thrilling, 80/20 Superwash Merino/Tussah Silk, colorway Starry Night. 575 yards is going to make a shawl that I can really wrap up in! The long continuous color change is going to work perfectly with the design I’ve plotted out.
The other gradient that I’ve knit with recently is from Black Trillium Fibres. Rather than a continuous shading, it’s in five even mini-skeins.
The mini-skein put-up was perfect for the design I was working on, where the color changes are distinct and need a start and end point.
Have you knit with gradient yarns? Do you plan your gradient projects based on the type of gradient, or do you choose your gradient based on the project? Or do you just wing it, and apply glorious gradients to whatever you’re knitting? Inquiring minds wanna know!
PS: I had a math error on my last post: It was 40,000 stitches, not 20,000! I was thinking in terms of the right side row patterning, rather than both right and wrong sides. No wonder it went on and on and on! But definitely worth the effort. So pretty!
PDXKnitterati 
I’ve only knit with gradient yarn once. I really liked it and I planned the pattern to take advantage of the color. I love tussah silk. That was in the yarn I used too.
Just had to be careful when I had to frog back. Silk doesn’t like to be frogged much.
Hoping to not have to frog. I have it all charted out, so the only reason to frog would be me messing up the stitch pattern. At 350 sts/row, I would really like to avoid that!
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Oooh… I adore gradient yarns. I’m currently loving the gradient yarn from Canon Hand Dyes — now I just need to find the perfect project for it.
Amy Lee’s gradients are gorgeous! Is it a 100g put-up?
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We have two gradient yarns from local dyers in the shop. Thoroughly Thwacked does four and five-skein kits and Alexandra’s Crafts does 400+ yards skeins that change gradually from one end to the other. Some even have sparkles. She also does double knit blanks in gradient so you can knit two socks at a time and have the gradient match. So much fun!
Sounds like there are even more gradient rabbit holes than I knew! Looking forward to exploring them ALL.
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I love gradients! Especially rainbow. It makes me happy. This is one lovely cake!
Rainbow is good! Thanks for your comment. I’m loving this cake! It’s 150 grams (not yards, my typo) of fun.
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I haven’t done gradient but really, really want to. My LYS doesn’t carry any
Both of these dyers sell over the web. I’ve met them both in person, and they are lovely people!
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(Part 2) so I will have to order from the web…thus the delay.
Oops! Yes, you already knew that…
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I have been wanting to make a Wirbel shawl out of a continuous gradient for quite a while now. I noticed that there is at least one place on Etsy that sells different put-ups of a gradient. 400 yds, 600 yds, 800, and I think even a bigger one. This is a huge deal as for a long time it was 400 yds, and that was it. Not helpful if you need 525 for a shawl. The only thing I need to figure out now is how to determine where to start. For example, with your white to blue gradient, if I want a LOT of the deep blue to show at the bottom edge of my shawl, where do I start with the white? If it is a 600 yd skein, but the pattern says I need 520 yds, then I would guess maybe start 20-40 yards into the skein. It would be super annoying though to have a really different gauge, and run out of yarn. It seems like it’s the ultimate yarn chicken.
That does sound like ultimate yarn chicken! In your last example, I don’t think I’d start later in the skein, because I’m generally a loose knitter and I’d hate to run out. On my current project, I’m starting with the dark blue, and working bottom up on this shawl because I know I want that lovely dark blue on the bottom edge!
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This is precisely the reason why dyers make mini skein gradient kits. With the mini skeins you get to choose the color changes, where they happen, and you can buy multiple kits to fit the proper yardage and stack the colors. The cons are weaving in more ends but I personally think it’s a small price to pay to have more control over your project. My $0.02!
I don’t mind weaving in more ends, not a problem. And for some designs, having discrete colors is a plus. But for other designs, it might be nice to have a slow shading from one color to the next, like in the Noro yarns. So glad we have so many choices! Looking forward to playing with your gradients, too!
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omg I can’t even find knitting needles much less yarn or instructions. We’re into food and I know why there are no foodie posts. Empty nest= knitting and music. I cannot follow but appreciate everything you do and still do wear Pippi in the winter, thanks so much. If I ever hear of a band that sounds like yours I’ll be there and cook you and the day old’s dinner.