Introduction
Do you love colour, but feel intimidated by more advanced knitting techniques? Here are some simple ways to add colour to your knitting projects without having to use the stranded or intarsia techniques - you can get stuck straight in using just one colour. Intrigued? Let's get started.
Method one - embroidery
There are lots of different ways to embroider onto your knitting, but the main ones are either by following the shape of the knitted stitches (Swiss darning or duplicate stitch) or using your background knitting as a grid, or by using traditional embroidery stitches in a more random way.
In the Patricia Cardigan I used the background colour as a grid and duplicate stitch for the V pattern.
On the Rizzo Jacket I've embroidered Lazy Daisy stitch on the shoulders, interspersed with lots of little buttons for added colour and texture.
Method two - contrast bobbles
Think of every bobble as an opportunity to use a different colour. Cut a short length of yarn for each bobble and weave in the ends later. As your bobble will only be worked on one stitch of your background knitting, just strand the main colour across the back after the bobble is complete.
I've used this method in both the Patricia Cardigan and the Persinette Cable Cushion.
Method three - tubular cord decoration
Method three - tubular cord decoration
In the Persinette Cable Cushion I knitted a tubular cord (also called an i-cord) and threaded it through eyelets to form a chain or fake cable effect.
Method four - pompoms and tassels
As pompoms and tassels are made separately and attached later, it's easy to mix up the colours. The pompoms in the Colourwheel Cushion are made from the two adjacent shades in the colourwheel to give a blended effect.
And, also, the colour segments in the cushion are simply stripes with integrated short rows to create the wheel effect - so easy!
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