We've had some good questions come in* about the Garden Wedding Shawl so I thought I'd put together some answers for you!
What if I run out of yarn?
We have worked hard to make sure you will have enough yarn! We had several testers for each size to ensure that our yardage estimates were accurate. Each kit includes an extra half skein (approximately 100 m) of extra dark blue yarn, because sometimes gauge swatches lie and you might need a little more to complete the project. All our testers finished their shawls with 50m - 100 m of extra yarn left over. We have also built in extra green and red yarn.
Is there a fingering weight version?
No. After much thought and testing, Andrea decided to work with worsted weight for this project. The yarn we chose is a 100% superwash Merino that is bouncy enough to make those cables pop, and light enough that it doesn’t weigh itself down.
Are there other colour options?
No (for now). The collaboration was a big project for both Andrea and I, and we decided to keep it manageable by focusing on one colour palette. So far the pattern and yarn have been very well received (thank you!) and so we may create more colour options at a later date.
Can I substitute yarn?
Yes. A 1200 yard, worsted weight gradient is not a common thing (I can’t think of any others) so if you like the slow colour change in the body of the shawl, this is the yarn for you. However, the pattern gives instructions for substituting yarn and would work beautifully in a solid colour.
What else can I knit with this yarn?
The world is your oyster. However, to get the most out of this yarn, I would personally choose a project that showcases the gradient by using all the yarn in one continuous piece of fabric AND that shows off the pink-to-red mini gradient and green contrast yarn. So basically I am describing the Garden Wedding shawl. This is not a coincidence, we absolutely did tailor the yardage and flow of the colours in this kit to this shawl.
How do I work with this gradient?
This yarn is dyed to create a long, subtle gradient that moves from a light periwinkle blue at the cast-on to a deep grey blue at the border. The yarn is divided into four skeins for practical purposes, but the gradient continues uninterrupted from one skein to the next. The colour change is so subtle that it is hard to see, so it is important to pay attention when joining a new ball. Each skein in the main colour gradient is marked with an off-colour section at one end. These are in rainbow order (pink, orange, yellow, green) to help you determine which skein comes next. Cast on and add in new yarn starting with the marked end of each skein, otherwise that section of the gradient will flow in the wrong direction.
How do you dye a gradient like that?
People are too polite to ever ask this question but I’m going to answer it anyway. For us, the way to create a beautiful, smooth colour transition is exactly the same as the way we dye our self-striping yarn, except that each stripe is almost the same colour as the last one. For this shawl, we use 34 different blues and apply them in order from palest to darkest.
*Actually only three of these were real questions from knitters. I made up the rest, but I do think the answers are helpful.
Find the yarn in our shop here. The pattern is available through Andrea Rangel here.
