Creating petals and leaves in stitches was an unexpectedly fun experience, but also one with a lot of frogging. So, as I travel the journey back through the process, here are some tips for you to succeed the first time through!
Tip 1: picking yarn colors – check the grey scale.
I asked Diane at Eco Stitch to pick out the colors for me with the caveat that they were 2 color families – I picked pinks or purples and green – and they were highly contrasting. Here is what she surprised me with!
Checking the colors out on grey scale reveals the amount of contrast between each color.
When picking your colors make sure you have a contrast between CA and CB. CC and CD also need to have contrast. You don’t HAVE to have grey scale contrast between CA and CC or CB and CD.
As you Toni’s sample shows you don’t have to stick to the colors in the garden. Having completely different colors creates a very different look to the petals!
So, go wild and bold with your color choices or soft and sublime. The more color contrast the more the stitch work pops. The less contrast the more the overall shape of the flower shows.
Tip 2: tuck the yarn inside!
My first sample, I cut my yarn at each transition so as not to carry colors. Then the designer brain took hold, and I ended up frogging leaving me with a lot of small yarn bits. (These got upcycled into scrunchies 😉.) I quickly returned to my “NO CUTTING UNTIL THE END” principle. With the reversible one, the yarn got tangled up rather quickly, so check out this (IG reel) trick to prevent the same tangles on your WIP.
Tip 3: skip the frog!
One the beautiful things about God’s creation is floral uniqueness. Originally the petals I designed were mirrored and symmetrical both horizontally and vertically. But where’s the fun in knitting that? So, I put in a few little differences to keep the petals and leaves looking more natural. If, like me, these catch you by surprise, don’t frog, check out this (IG reel) trick to hide your mistakes.
Tip 4: watch it
Check out these quick stitch tutorials for some of the cables used in Floral Chic
1/1 RC without a cn
1/1 LC without a cn
Grafting without undoing the provisional cast on
If you’re new to working with linen, it is a great fiber, but it does act differently than others. Check out this blog post from years gone by for more tips on working with linen!