How to Create Semi-Solid or Solid Yarns

Originally published June 14, 2010

Solid colored yarn is an oft-forgotten phenomenon at Yarnia; when you can combine colors in so many thousands of permutations, it’s easy to forget that you can keep it simple and create beautiful colorwork by incorporating stripes, fair isle, or alternating colors within the work itself.

How does this work?  Well, let’s say you find that perfect shade of teal bamboo that you love, love, love.

We can just take that color and make it as thick as you’d like, by winding together multiple strands of the same yarn.  If you don’t want your yarn to be 100% bamboo, but rather a nice bamboo/merino blend, chances are we can find a similar if not identical shade in the fiber you’re looking for, to create an essentially solid color.

If the two fibers are slightly different shades, this can create a really cool effect of color depth, making the yarns look solid once they’re knitted up, but with the shade variations reflecting the light at different levels to make the color look more vibrant than if all the strands were exactly the same.

I’m working on a project myself that’s incorporating all of these guys, and can’t wait until it’s ready to share!