I have mentioned before that I love variegated yarn, mainly because you get all the wonderful color changes without all those pesky ends to weave in. I know that most manufacturers recommend on the ball bands of variegated yarn to use two separate skeins/balls and alternate them every two rows to avoid getting 'cow patches'.

I'm ashamed to admit that I rarely do this, using one ball at a time works out okay. Usually I knit flat back and forth in rows and the variegated patching hasn't been much of a problem. Lately though I have knit several items in the round and then the colors do seem to 'patch' much more. I assume this is because in flat knitting you are mixing up the order of the colors more by alternating direction as opposed to round knitting and the colors come in the same order on every round.

Anyway I guess my question is if you are knitting in the round with variegated yarn, would you alternate the strands every round instead of every two rows as in flat knitting?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Knit-M-Up Marilyn,

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if you are knitting in the round with variegated yarn, would you alternate the strands every round instead of every two rows as in flat knitting?

Yes, you would switch after each round, if you want to change how the color-changes line up. Each strand is available for use at the end of each round.

And of course it depends on the length of each colour change. I loved the last variegated yarn I used - white/beige/pink/grey - and the recipient was delighted. Each colour burst was only about 2 inches with white only half-an-inch every 10 - 15 inches or so. The random was random all the time, and made no difference to the "pattern" in the round, flat like for a doily, increasing for sleeves, etc. This is the skill of the yarn designer.
ATB, John

So, John, who is this "skillful" yarn designer?

There is a very big difference between machine dyed multi-colored yarns and hand dyed yarns. Factory, or machine dyed yarns, can have very small repeats that are often stamped on the strands and then set. Hand dyed or hand painted yarns are handled in a dye skein, whose circumference will dictate the pooling, patterning or stacking that occurs when the correct number of stitches and gauge are used (quite often inadvertently) for that particular dye skein size (which dictates the color repeat). Alternating balls will mix the colors up more, but not really break patterning--it will now occur every other row, leading to a more complex look, but patterned nonetheless. Alternating balls is, however, a great way to minimize dye lot differences that can occur in hand dyed yarns even from skein to skein or beginning of skein to end.

I bought some Alchemy yarn to make a pair of socks. The yarn is soo soft and fine. The maker recommends blending two rows from one ball and then two rows from the other ball. I knit both socks on two circular needles at the same time. I don't finish one sock and then do the other. As soon as I finish the pair of socks I am on now which is any day now as I am very near the toe. I plan on using this yarn but I don't intend to blend. I don't see any white as it is shaded greens with a bit of yellowish green and yellow color. I hope I don't get yellow spots but switching seems too much work and carrying.

In some places and for some people that pooling or patterning is considered a feature. I have even seen directions for making it happen intentionally. I have used the old Dancing from Knit Picks which does a fancy spiralling effect on socks knitted in the round.

I have never seen instructions on making the colors pool intentionally and would love to know how to do it. It always just seems to happen as I work and I hate to start a new skein because it never will pool the same way with the new one.
Love to work with variegated and have a dozen skeins of a cranberry blend set aside to make a cardigan but keep putting it off because of the "great unknown".

Making variegated yarn pool depends a lot on the individual yarn and how it was dyed, and it's pretty unpredictable from skein to skein. The general idea is that you cast on and knit a row to find where the colors come on the row; then you cut the yarn and restart so the beginning of the row matches the color you started with. It usually runs fairly evenly without being so exact that it stripes vertically. It works best in the round, otherwise you have to start over too often. If you add or decrease it will go back to looking random or start pooling in a different way. When you change to a new skein you have to be careful to start where the colors match again. It can look pretty striking.

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Each colour burst was only about 2 inches with white only half-an-inch every 10 - 15 inches or so. The random was random all the time, and made no difference to the "pattern" in the round

Oh yes, John, I know just what you mean! I am working with Bamboo yarn from South West Trading Company. It is variegated colors of dark purple, medium purple, bright gold, and bright raspberry. Very weird color combination, I know, but each color change is only 1 1/2 to 2 inches long and they totally 'ramdom up' very well. When I first started I thought it would look like a mish-mash because of the frequent and bright color changes -- but they do blend in a haphazard way and it looks nice. BTW, I am back to my usual flat knitting for this variegated project.

I just went to the SWTC website
http://www.soysilk.com/yarn.html
and if you look at the yarns the bamboo picture is the color I purchased. There are 67 different colors and mine is either called 'Purplexed' or 'Serendipity'. The pictures are a bit dark and therefore hard to tell for sure, but the picture for the main bamboo category is it.

This yarn is definitely NOT cheap, but it feels really smooth and oh so soft. It feels like silk gliding through your hands. Have any of you ever used bamboo yarn before?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Knit-M-Up Marilyn,

I've made a few pairs of socks from yarn that was largely bamboo. Very silky, indeed! Not a lot of memory, though.

I realy love knitting with variegated yarn, but seldom find just the right colors in just the right yarn. If you like doing dye work as well, check out the book "Yarns to Dye For". It gives good directions for painting your own yarn, and you can do a repeat of about 12 yards pretty easily. You paint the colors on, wrapping with saran wrap as you go, and then steam the whole rope once the painting is complete. 12 yards will get you about 12-13 rounds on a sock, which is a bout what most of the self patterning yarns give.

I admit its abit slow and painstaking, but the results are GREAT!