Matching, take three
Published On: February 13, 2021

Yarn and pattern matching, take three!⁠

Now, I don’t actually have much in the stash in heavier weights (most of my knits are in that dk to light worsted range). And if I stick with single ply yarns, I have even fewer choices on hand. But I did have this, so I figured I’d swatch it up and see.⁠


And we’re pretty darn close here. I wouldn’t mind if it were a hair thicker (but I think this will still be lovely, which is important, because I want to have the pattern work at a range of yarn thicknesses so you’ll be able to make it with lots of different yarns). ⁠

And I generally want to use a lighter color, because it seems to catch people’s attention in photographs better that way (and not to be tacky, but ‘will people like the photos of this’ is an absolutely vital first step in the ‘will people buy this pattern’ calculation that happens when I’m designing a pattern).⁠

So the next step is to take what I’ve learned (I want a bulky, single-ply yarn in a light color with a bit of variegation, but not a ton) and go yarn shopping.⁠

In pre-pandemic days I’d swing by Halcyon Yarn or Cashmere Goat (or, let’s be honest, both) and look at things in person, because visiting yarn stores in person is fun and half the time you find stuff you didn’t even know you need but clearly do. But I’m not going in stores right now if I can possibly help it, so I asked for recommendations on twitter and did some online shopping.⁠

I found two options that I think will work and ordered both, and now I wait for them to arrive. ⁠

When they get here, I’ll swatch them and show those off and continue talking about the process. But for now, we wait on the valiant efforts of the postal service for more progress.⁠

(Oh and someone always asks, so for swatches like these, I just unravel them…though I’ll probably leave these in until I’ve swatched all the yarns so I can show them to you all at once some time when we talk about this. But no, swatching does NOT waste yarn, it just all comes out and can get reknit no problem, yes even mohair if you’re careful about it.)

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