by Susan Quilty

Created on: July 19, 2009

When starting a new knitting project, it is always a good idea to buy enough yarn in the same dye lot to finish the entire project. Otherwise, there may be slight variations in the color of your yarn and these variations can ruin the look of your finished project.

However, there are times when you may decide to use yarns from a different dye lot. Perhaps you underestimated the yarn needed when first buying supplies for your knitting project. Or maybe you love a particular yarn that isn't available is all one dye lot, and decide to take the risk to be able to use it.

There are some steps you can take to lessen the impact of variations due to knitting with yarns from different dye lots.

* Tips for Multi-Colored Projects *

The easiest way to use multiple dye lots is in patterns where the color is divided by other color section, such as in a shawl with wide alternating stripes. Use yarn with the same dye lot within each color section. It also helps if you divide the dye lots throughout the project.

For example, imagine you are making a shawl that alternates stripes of blue and yellow. The knitting pattern calls for 2 skeins of yellow and 2 skeins of blue. You have yellow in the same dye lot, but blue in two different dye lots.

In this example, let's call the yellow "Y", call one of the blues "B1", and the other blue "B2". When alternating stripes it is better to alternate the blues: B1, Y, B2, Y, B1, Y, B2... and so on. This will make any color variations less obvious than if you were to alternate Y and B1, until it runs out and then start alternating Y and B2.

If the sections of a color in your knitting project are large enough that you cannot complete them with one dye lot, then treat the section as if it is a solid single color and follow the tips below.

* Tips for Single-Colored Projects *

Knitting projects that use a single color of yarn present a little more of a challenge when using multiple dye lots. This includes variegated yarns of different dye lots. Despite the multiple colors in a variegated yarn, the variations from one dye lot to the next can still be noticeable in a finished knitting project.

When using multiple dye lots in a single-colored knitting project, it is important to blend the new yarn in gradually. This will create a more subtle switch and any shade variations will be less obvious than if you abruptly change to a yarn from a different dye lot.

Stop using the yarn from your first dye lot when there is still enough left to make several complete rows. Switch to the yarn from the new dye lot for the next row. Alternate each row with the two different dye lots. This will make any variations have a more gradual effect and be less noticeable.

If you have equal amounts of each dye lot, you can switch yarns every row throughout the project as well. This is a bit more work, but it will keep your color consistent throughout your knitting project. This is often the best option if working with hand-dyed yarns which tend to have even more variations than machine-dyed yarns.

It is always best to buy enough yarn in the same dye lot for your entire project. However, with a few extra steps, it is possible to minimize the variations caused by switching from one dye lot to another.

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