Introducing the Farmyard Fade Set - plus a recipe for creating a gradual faded gradient!

Hello!

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has looked at, admired, and daydreamed about a faded sweater / shawl / hat / blanket after seeing some spectacular patterns and projects.

I am pleased to tell you that as of about a week ago, I am stocking some lovely natural undyed fade sets comprising of 5 shades of 4-ply weight / fingering-weight yarn. It's a fine, soft 50% Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) 50% Masham blend, perfect for a variety of projects. It's worsted spun and will show up cables, lace and colourwork beautifully! I’ve called the set “Farmyard”, with the shades varying from white through grey to dark brown – called Farmyard Mud, Farmyard Storm, Farmyard Drizzle, Farmyard Mist, and Farmyard Snow. 

I wanted to cast on a gradient sweater as soon as I received it, but decided to curb my enthusiasm - or at least re-channel it - into a swatch first. Not only did I get an idea for the handle of the yarn, the fabric it creates, and so forth - I also got the chance to try a gradient blending method that I had in mind. I think this method is especially useful and effective if the yarns you have aren't speckled, or if the yarns have a slightly higher colour contrast between each shade.

So without further ado, let me dive into how I made my gradient as smooth and gradual as possible. (It's really not tricky and I'm sure I'm not the first person to have thought of it, so hopefully it will be of use to some-one!)

I started by casting on 48 stitches using a long-tail cast on, although any cast-on method would work. It might be a good idea to practice the cast-on method specified in the pattern – a tip I would do well to take on board myself!

I proceeded to create 8 rows of garter stitch to prevent the “hem” of the swatch rolling, and to give me an idea of the gauge in garter stitch.

Then came the actual faded part. I held the yarn double to turn the 5 colours of the fade set into 9 colours of yarn, so to speak (see table below). I knit a 6-row section of each colour and a 6-row striped section in between each colour to create smooth transitions. I hope the table below is relatively self-explanatory. I’ve added a wordy section below it as well.

You could easily adjust each section to 8, 10, or more rows as needed to fit a pattern, so hopefully this post will be helpful as a recipe (rather than a pattern).

Feel free to send me an email (ro.natural.dyeworks@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

I hope you enjoy knitting a faded item! Happy Knitting!

In other words...

Long-tail cast on (or other of your choice), cast on 48 sts using 2 strands of Farmyard Snow together

Row 1-8: Knit all sts in garter stitch (knit all rows) holding 2 strands of Farmyard Snow together

Row 9-14: (6 rows) Knit all sts in stockinette stitch (knit odd-numbered rows, purl even-numbered rows) holding 2 strands of Farmyard Snow together. This will establish the knit side and purl side of the work.

Row 15: Continue in stockinette stitch (knit on the knit side, purl the purl side), holding 1 strand of Farmyard Snow with 1 strand of Farmyard Mist together

Row 16: Continue in stockinette stitch (knit on the knit side, purl the purl side), holding 2 strands of Farmyard Snow together

Row 17 and 19: repeat Row 15

Row 18 and 20: repeat Row 16

Row 21-26: (6 rows) Continue in stockinette stitch (knit on the knit side, purl the purl side), holding 1 strand of Farmyard Snow with 1 strand of Farmyard Mist

Row 27: Continue in stockinette stitch (knit on the knit side, purl the purl side), using 2 strands of Farmyard Mist held together

Row 28: Continue in stockinette stitch (knit on the knit side, purl the purl side), holding 1 strand of Farmyard Snow with 1 strand of Farmyard Mist together

Row 29 and 31: repeat Row 27

Row 30 and 32: repeat Row 28

Continue knitting each colour for a 6-row solid colour section, striping for 6 rows (alternating every row) with the next colour, then knitting the solid colour section of the next colour, and so forth.