Day: June 8, 2009

The New Rainbow Sweater

kaleidocherryLeave a comment
 
The pattern for the New Rainbow Sweater is finally on the web at http://www.us-picks.com (select "Free Knitting Patterns" and you will see it at the top of the list that follows).  I’m doing some hem experiments with black & white today and will decide on a hem before tomorrow sometime.
 
Some info about it:
 

The Color Gamp Kit from Lunatic Fringe Yarns ($72) should provide enough of all the colors needed.  You will need to wind each cone into at least two smaller balls since there are times when you will be working with three strands of the same color at once.  Or you could just buy three Color Gamp Kits and work with each strand coming from its own cone.

The sweater is knit in the round with three strands throughout.  Each group of colors will be 4 rows wide.  The color work begins with three strands of the color "5 Purple Blue."  The second group of strands will be two strands of "5 Purple Blue" and one strand of "10 Purple Blue."  The third group will be 1 strand of "5 Purple Blue" and two strands of "10 Purple Blue."  The next group will be three strands of "10 Purple Blue"…etc.  The final group at the shoulders/neckline will be three strands of "10 Blue."  There are 58 different color groups:  twenty colors times 3 different variations.  However, there are no groups containing both "5 Blue Purple" (our start color) and "10 Blue" (our end color). 

My Color Progression (from hem to collar) – I’ll be starting at the white line and working counterclockwise.

  • 5 Purple Blue
  • 10 Purple Blue
  • 5 Purple
  • 10 Purple
  • 5 Red Purple
  • 10 Red Purple
  • 5 Red
  • 10 Red
  • 5 Yellow Red
  • 10 Yellow Red
  • 5 Yellow
  • 10 Yellow
  • 5 Green Yellow
  • 10 Green Yellow
  • 5 Green
  • 10 Green
  • 5 Blue Green
  • 10 Blue Green
  • 5 Blue
  • 10 Blue

 So I will color change as follows:

  • 3 rows of 3 strands of 5 Purple Blue
  • 3 rows of 2 strands 5 Purple Blue and 1 strand 10 Purple Blue
  • 3 rows of 1 strand 5 Purple Blue and 2 strands 10 Purple Blue
  • 3 rows of 3 strands of 10 Purple Blue
  • 3 rows of 2 strands 10 Purple Blue and 1 strand 5 Purple
  • 3 rows of 1 strand 10 Purple Blue and 2 strands 5 Purple
  • 3 rows of 3 strands 5 Purple
  • 3 rows of 2 strands 5 Purple and 1 strand 10 Purple
  • 3 rows of 1 strand 5 Purple and 2 strands 10 Purple
  • 3 rows of 3 strands 10 Purple
  • 3 rows of 2 strands 10 Purple and 1 strand 5 Red Purple
  • (etc.)

You could actually start and finish this with any of the colors you like, as long as you follow the spectrum progression.