Work Introduction 6: Gear-Style Doily Rug
Long time no see.
August was quite hectic...
Just as things settled down, I tested positive for COVID, and by the time I recovered, my period arrived, which brings us to now.
This time, I'm introducing a gear-style doily rug.
I started this about a year ago...
It all began with hand-dyeing the yarn.
I let the yarn I dyed like this dry...
And used a yarn winder to make it into balls to make it easier to knit.
There are 8 colors in total. Since it took 2-3 days to dry, I would dye and dry them in between knitting sessions.
By the way, it took about an hour to dye each color ^^;
I knitted doilies of various sizes with the yarn I wound into balls,
and connected them all together to make a rug.
I'm currently knitting a background-like piece with the same yarn, and the final plan is for it to become a rectangular rug.
It's a bit hard to tell since I'm knitting with circular needles ^^;
The biggest advantage I felt with hand-dyed yarn is
being able to create a gradient within the same color
I suppose.
There are many commercially available yarns with multi-color gradients like rainbows, but there are few with single-color gradients.
Like a blue-only gradient or a red-only gradient.
There are gradient yarns that change color within a single ball, but that's something different ^^;
When making large items like rugs or lap blankets, even if you want to incorporate a monochromatic gradient or pattern, it's hard to find the exact colors you want.
I think when you're making something big, you're putting a lot of heart into it, so I think hand-dyeing is a good option when you don't want to compromise on color.
This time I dyed the yarn before knitting, but if you're doing something like motif joining, I feel like it could also be fun to dye it after knitting while checking the balance.
As for points of caution, or perhaps disadvantages...
Since it's hand-dyed, it will inevitably fade more than store-bought items.
It also takes time and effort.
You can't really imagine how it will turn out until you try dyeing it once.
Even so, it makes me happy when I can create colors that are just to my liking.
2023 was the year I learned that when you can't find the colors you like, hand-dyeing is an option.
This year seems like it will be a year of maintaining the status quo.