Hints & Tips

Hints and Tips for working with hand painted yarns.

Don’t be intimidated by hand painted yarns. They can give you unique items in beautiful colors and bring out your creative talents. There are just some points to keep in mind when knitting with hand painted yarns.

This rule applies to every yarn that you knit with, but swatching is especially important with a hand painted yarn. How the colors in the yarn look when knitted may differ from how the colors look in the hank. Don’t be afraid to experiment with stitch patterns or techniques. Try seed stitch or mosaic. A slip stitch or Fair Isle. Or combine two yarns together. Stitches that add texture usually work wonderfully or try simple basic stitches if you want to accentuate the striping pattern inherent in hand painted yarns. To blend colors further in your project and prevent stripiness, alternate skeins as you knit by knitting two rows from one skein and then two from another.

Although Color Me… strives for reproducible colors, they do vary from dye lot to dye lot. Always buy enough yarn for your project. Different types of yarns will take up the dye differently. For example, Moonshadows tends to be very muted and pale after dyeing whereas Softly Mohair comes out very bright. Keep the color saturation of the yarns in mind when working with your patterns.

Washing instructions:

Wash completed items in lukewarm water. Use a mild soap such as used for dishes. Don’t agitate the water, just let the item soak. Avoid large water temperature changes. Squeeze gently—don’t wring or twist--and rinse until water is clear. Roll in a towel. Dry flat away from heat and sunlight. Yarns are thoroughly rinsed after dyeing, but there still may be some bleeding occur. The dye is harmless and will usually not settle onto other areas of the yarn.

Enjoy, experiment and create something truly unique!