Dotty Strange Brew

Recently I was sorting through my MASSIVE pile of works-in-progress (commonly known as WIPs), and I came across this a nearly finished kid sweater. While some projects didn’t make the cut, this one seemed ready to be finished and worn! This little motif was a concept knit I started while we were developing designs for the Strange Brew collection.

It needed sleeves, but to polish it off quickly, I decided to just add few rounds in ribbing, bind off and call it good! And as it turns out, it fits Neve, and is super cute! Who knew that no-sleeves would work? I guess now I do!

Inspiration and ideas

This colourwork concept was inspired by a scrappy Playdate cardigan made by undone57 (she’s BRILLIANT at adapting patterns, and putting together exquisite finished knits… we featured some of her beautiful projects here).

The idea of using the simplest possible colourwork patterns – just stripes and dots, was intriguing to me. So I cast on, and found myself a colour palette that I liked. Instead of simply 3-row stripes with a single row of dots, I alternated 3-row stripes with 5-row stripes, in which the ‘dots’ changed colour each round, to maximize the ‘sparkly’ effect of tiny contrast dots.

The icy pale blue is a common theme in this sweater, it is both the main colour used for the body and the CC ‘dot’ colour throughout the yoke. It’s a light and bright ‘pop’.

combining yarns of different weights in colourwork:

Colourwork can be daunting for newbies, as it requires a pretty extensive stash! I suggest heading to any stash of wee leftover balls from other projects and try combining yarns of different weights.

In this case, I used 3 yarns of slightly different weights. Ulysse is 202 yards yds / 50g, or 4 yds per gram; the thickest of the yarns I used. Loft is 275 yds / 50g, or 5.5 yds per gram, the thinnest or lightest yarn of the three. J&S 2-ply Jumper Weight is 125 yds / 25 g, or 5 yds per gram, placing it in between the others. Due to different natures of the yarns, a yards / gram comparison doesn’t tell the WHOLE story. But my beautiful finished knit DOES prove that despite the apparent difference in weights, these yarns work perfectly well together!

I highlight this to help you extend your view on your stash. If you allow yourself to mix yarns of adjacent yarn weights, how would this open up the door to making more exciting colourwork combinations?

a chart for this Strange Brew knit

This little T-shirt was worked following the Strange Brew colourwork yoke sweater recipe. I worked the top-down version, following the sock weight instructions for the 1-2 year size. Increase 1 was worked before I started the pattern. Then, as you can see from the chart below, I worked increase rounds 2 and 3 on pattern rounds 5 and 16 (both single-colour rounds).

I separated for body and sleeves on pattern round 32 (also a single-colour round). I continued the patterning down onto the body (working rounds 33-48 on the body stitches).

The little ‘cap sleeve’ ribbing is just 6 rounds! I thought it looked REALLY silly, when I was knitting it, but when Neve put it on, it was adorable! Now I’m curious how a cap sleeve like this would work for my size; I may have to try it.

For more info on how to use Strange Brew to create your own colourwork yoke design, check out our blog series here!