International Knitting Patterns

I am currently working on a pair of color work mittens (and have been working on several color work hats, pattern here.) and I thought I would share some information on color dominance in stranded color work. When I first began knitting with two colors I was both amazed and frustrated. I was amazed at how you could combine two colors of yarn to create something so beautiful and I was frustrated because my work always seemed lumpy. There are a few reasons why stranded knitting can make a lumpy fabric, but this focuses on how color dominance can influence it.

When working color work, one color will always be the dominate color which will “pop” out of the fabric, while the other color will seem to recede.  In Swatch 1 the dominate color was white. The white knit stitches seem to “pop” out of the fabric. Swatch 2 shows what happens when the colors are reversed and the dominate color is coral. The white seems to shrink into the back. Swatch 3 shows what happens when there is no dominate color and it varies from row to row. *SURPRISE* this is what I was doing on my stranded knitting and it was creating lumpy results).

People often look at the tags on my handmade goods and declare that my prices are outrageous. I did the math and THIS is what that handmade beanie you want for $10 ACTUALLY cost to make.

So if you see that $30 on the label, be courteous. Know that I am paying myself far, far less than minimum wage in labor ($2.22 per hour, to be exact) to even come to such a supposedly ghastly price. I can't take that $10 for a hat because no one can live on $0.37 an hour, much less sustain a business.

People often look at the tags on my handmade goods and declare that my prices are outrageous. I did the math and THIS is what that handmade beanie you want for $10 ACTUALLY cost to make.

So if you see that $30 on the label, be courteous. Know that I am paying myself far, far less than minimum wage in labor ($2.22 per hour, to be exact) to even come to such a supposedly ghastly price. I can't take that $10 for a hat because no one can live on $0.37 an hour, much less sustain a business.