Colour Alchemy sock recipe: a customisable pattern to transform self-striping yarn with a simple stitch pattern.
You remember my Colour Alchemy socks?
I showed them here a few days ago. They got the name Colour Alchemy because the small pattern I knitted beautifully transformed the colour gradient of the yarn. If you missed the post, you can find it here
I have now written down the pattern. Well, it is basically not a pattern, but rather a recipe. It explains how I made my pair of socks, but does not include basic instructions on how to knit socks. So, for example, you should already know how the needles on a set of DPNs (double-pointed needles) are numbered, how to knit a short-row heel and so on.
A word about the construction
The recipe can easily be customised for other sizes by casting on more or fewer stitches, knitting the leg and/or the foot shorter or longer.
The socks are knitted with a solid-colour short-row heel. Normally, the two transition rounds between the short-row and the extended-row section of the heel would create a single-coloured stripe on the front of the sock. I wanted to avoid that! The heel construction may therefore read a bit complicated at first glance, but it certainly becomes more logical once you start knitting.
Of course, you get the same effect if you knit the short-row heel without the transition rounds. But just keep in mind that this will change the fit of the heel.
With these socks I decided on a round toe. I used it for the first time and was amazed and delighted at how easy it is to knit and how nicely it fits my foot. But of course, you can use any other toe as well. Just go with what you like!
A word about the yarn
I used 6-ply sock yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Mandola and Gründl Second Life. Mandola is a self-striping yarn in orange, aubergine, fuchsia, dark grey and violet. Second Life is a single-coloured yarn in aubergine. Unfortunately, both yarns have since been discontinued.
The recipe works just as well with any other self-striping or colour-changing yarn! Just give it a go! The more colourful the yarn, the prettier the effect.
See how a simple stitch pattern transforms self-striping sock yarn into a colourful mix in these Colour Alchemy socks.
Colour Alchemy – my new socks
Do you enjoy knitting socks? If so, do you prefer stockinette stitch or a pattern? And which yarn do you favour – solid-coloured or gradient?
I genuinely enjoy knitting socks although it can be a slow process and it takes me ages to finish a pair. And I love to knit patterned socks. That’s why I prefer plain-coloured yarns.
Most patterns simply look better in a single colour. A variegated or a self-patterning yarn can easily look rather busy when combined with an additional pattern. Colour and pattern often end up competing with each other, and neither really comes into its own. So, I am definitely team plain-coloured! At least, mostly…!
On our last holiday by the North Sea, I spotted some gradient yarn and I had to get it — I just couldn’t resist the colours!
My yarn and what the pattern did to it
Lana Grossa
Meilenweit, 6-ply yarn
Mandola, colour 9500
Colour 9500 is a lovely mixture of orange, aubergine, fuchsia, dark grey and violet.
Mandola is a self-striping yarn and works up quite nicely.
Nevertheless, just knitting the socks in stockinette stitch and letting the yarn do the rest seemed a bit too boring to me. But what kind of pattern would be suitable for this yarn?
At first, I’d thought of a slip stitch pattern. But then I remembered a pattern I’d knitted some years ago. A combination of twisted knit stitches and purl stitches, arranged in a staggered pattern. I adapted it slightly and look what the pattern has done to the simple stripes:
It completely broke up the relatively large blocks of colour and turned them into a lovely, colourful mix that makes it impossible to make out the exact colour sequence!
Heel and toe
How much the pattern affected the colour sequence really became clear to me when I was knitting the heel.
I knitted a standard short-row heel, but I didn’t like the result at all! Luckily, I found a plain-coloured yarn that matched perfectly. And I much prefer this result!
However, I didn’t want to skip the usual two rounds between the short rows and the extended rows, nor did I want a purple stripe on the front. It was a bit more complicated, but I managed it!
To match the heel, I’ve also knitted the toe in a single colour. It was the first time that I knitted a round toe (or star toe). I was amazed at how simple it was to knit and it fits really well.
Conclusion
Although it took me around six months to finish this pair of socks, I am absolutely happy with how they turned out.
Unfortunately the yarn I used is discontinued by now. But I am sure the pattern will work with any other gradient yarn as well.
If you’re interested, I’ll be sharing details of how I knitted the socks in my next post.
A small knitting project and a crochet shawl: my progress on a Sophie Scarf inspired knit and the Nordic Shawl, a crochet project.
I know it has been very quiet here in recent weeks. I have been busy revising some older posts. In addition, I have reworked and redesigned pages from my „Good to know” section:
That took quite a lot of time, so there was little time left for crochet or knitting. At the moment, I only have two small projects on my needles and hooks.
A Sophie Scarf inspired knitting project
My knitting project is sort of a Sophie Scarf. It is nearly finished and only needs washing and blocking.
I say “sort of” because I’m not entirely sure whether my version actually follows the Sophie Scarf instructions.
Last year, I bought the pattern for the Sophie Shawl and some beautiful wool to go with it.
The Sophie Shawl and the smaller version, the Sophie Scarf, seem to be everywhere at the moment. I like the simplicity of the design! But I am afraid it is not as easy to knit as it looks. At least I quickly realised that I probably needed a bit more practice.
I had never knitted an I-cord edge before. Once you get the technique, it is surprisingly easy. My edge itself turned out very well. Only the stitches directly after the edge looked a bit slouchy. Getting the tension right still seems to be one of my biggest problems in knitting! Besides, the increases and decreases that are needed to shape the shawl were very clearly visible. I didn’t like it at all.
So I decided to try making a small scarf first. I followed the instructions for the larger shawl. I only re-arranged the spacing for the increases and decreases at the sides as I thought best. So I am not sure whether it is exactly what is instructed for the Sophie scarf.
After several attempts, I am now reasonably satisfied with the result.
Sophie Shawl and Sophie Scarf are both designed by PetiteKnit and available on Ravelry.
Besides knitting I have also a crochet project on the go.
The Nordic Shawl – A crochet pattern
The Nordic Shawl by Lucia Luciano is my current crochet project. I spotted it on Ravelry shortly after the pattern was released last year.
The Nordic Shawl is also a rather minimalist design and has an elongated, flat triangular shape. The pattern looks different on the front and back and is very attractive on both sides.
Here too, it took me several attempts. This time, however, it was the yarn that caused me to start over three times. I initially wanted to use yarn from my stash, but in the end I ordered the original yarn used in the pattern. And I’m happy with it! It is Cotton Merino from Katia Concept. My colour is 132 – Whitish green. The yarn is so soft and fluffy. It is a pleasure to work with. I am using a 6 mm hook.
For the first few rows, Lucia’s video was very helpful and the Brioche stitch became clear to me.
But I have to admit, when working the first rows, I tended to skip a stitch at the beginning or end of a row. I had to count carefully. The different stitch counts in the front and back rows made it difficult for me. But I got the hang of it! Now it works without any problems. I only mark the first stitch of a row. That makes counting easier for me.
My progress on the shawl is rather slow, though. But winter is over here anyway. So there’s no rush. I’m simply enjoying the process.
In this post I share my first experiences with stranded colourwork and the challenges of knitting with two colours. After a lot of experimenting, I found a method that works well for me and makes knitting feel relaxed again. My Christmas stocking turned into a practice piece, but two Christmas baubles and a small new project came out of it.
My Progress in Colourwork
Last month I shared my excursion into knitting – more precisely into stranded colourwork, a technique that was completely new to me. I started practising it by knitting a Christmas stocking. If you missed that post, you can find it here.
Even back then I wasn’t sure whether the stocking would be finished in time for Christmas. I’m quite proud of how much it has grown since then – and yet I’ve decided not to finish it.
That may sound frustrating, but it really isn’t. By now, I truly enjoy knitting with two (or more) colours. Getting there, however, took some effort.
Learning Colourwork the Hard Way
I learned to knit decades ago, using the continental style. That means I usually hold the yarn in my left hand, wrapped once or twice around my forefinger. When it comes to knitting with two colours, there are countless ways to manage the yarn – and even more tutorials.
I watched many of them. And I tried many of them.
None of these techniques worked for me in the long run. Either I felt like I was about to break a finger, or after just a few stitches everything got hopelessly tangled and I had to stop and rearrange the strands. I found it exhausting – and I was close to giving up.
An Aha Moment
My turning point came almost by accident. While reading about colour dominance (a topic you inevitably encounter when dealing with colourwork), I watched a video by Arne & Carlos about tension. In that video I noticed how Arne knits with two colours.
I tried his way – and so far, it works surprisingly well for me.
I now knit with just one strand at a time, as I’m used to, and pick up or drop the second colour only when needed, usually with my right hand. It doesn’t feel slower at all. My tension isn’t perfect yet, but it’s much more even, my fingers no longer get tangled, and knitting feels relaxing again.
When Practice Shows
Of course, all that experimenting turned my Christmas stocking into a real practice piece – and unfortunately, it shows.
If you look closely, you can clearly see the improvement over time: the stitches in the later sections, starting after the first green part, are much more even than at the beginning.
That alone wouldn’t have bothered me too much. But I also discovered a few mistakes in the early part of the pattern. That was the deciding factor.
The stocking is a thing of the past.
From Stocking to Christmas Baubles
Instead,
I knitted Christmas baubles…
…. and I love the result!
Like the stocking, the bauble pattern is by Arne & Carlos. It’s their 2021 design and includes a basic pattern for a Christmas bauble plus 24 different motifs. So far I’ve made two of them: motif #19 on the left and #24 on the right
A Small, Last-Minute Project
Besides that, I’ve just started a small project that might become a last-minute Christmas gift: a phone cozy.
The pattern comes from the book
SOXX Look by Stine & Stitch (Kerstin Balke),
a German pattern book featuring stranded colourwork designs for beanies, loops, socks and more. Unfortunately I’m not sure whether it’s available in English or outside Germany.
The phone cozy pattern has a short repeat, which makes it easy to adjust the width. It also includes instructions on which section to repeat if you need more length. With a bit of simple maths, it can even be adapted to make a tablet cover.
A gentle dive into my renewed love for knitting — from experimenting with gradient squares to tackling my first Christmas stocking and discovering the joy of learning new techniques along the way.
It’s already mid-November – just a few weeks left until Christmas.
Honestly, I have no idea where this year has gone.
Much of my year was influenced by health issues with my eye. They often forced me to pause and to slow down.
Over the months, I collected several different diagnoses, and I’m now recovering from a stay in the hospital and eye surgery. Further treatment will accompany me for another three months, and a small hole in my retina will likely remain.
Still, I’m hopeful that by spring, with new glasses, I’ll be able to see reasonably well again.
As difficult as all of this sounds, it also allowed me to discover and learn completely new things.
I have developed a new fondness for audiobooks – very calming companions! And I learned that knitting is far less demanding on my eyes than crocheting. So I picked up my needles again and began searching for a suitable project.
Squares – this time knitted not crocheted
Some time ago, I ordered a beautiful gradient yarn from Wool Warehouse in the UK: Yarnsmiths Lagoon. I had originally planned to crochet a blanket made of differently sized squares, but I had never quite settled on a pattern that would do the colours justice. Now I wondered whether knitting might bring out the gradient even better.
I used to knit a lot – mostly socks and fine doilies, in a kind of lace knitting known as Kunststricken here in Germany. Back then, I mostly followed patterns, without thinking too much about the basic techniques. Only now did I realise how little I actually knew about increasing, decreasing, or constructing simple shapes like squares.
So I researched and experimented a bit … I finally decided on a relatively simple variant: diagonally knitted in garter stitch. I think this best shows the gradient of the yarn. Besides, knitting garter stitch is very relaxing for me.
Aren‘t these colours beautiful?
Along the way, my search for different techniques and tutorials took me in another direction: colourwork, especially stranded knitting. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I never have…
My first Christmas Stocking
I discovered – or better re-discovered – Arne & Carlos, two Norwegian textile designers. Their work is full of charm and tradition. Every year, they have new Christmas-themed designs: a Christmas stocking and 24 Julekuler (baubles).
Right now they’re hosting a mystery knit-along (KAL) for their 2025 stocking. If you enjoy knitting, the KAL is free – and it‘s still time to join. Just have a look at their site.
I did not join the KAL so far, but I treated myself to the pattern for their 2024 Christmas KAL, Jingle Bells Stocking. A lovely design!
Now I just hope my stocking will be finished in time for Christmas – there is much to learn! And my progress is very slow!
A Christmas Stocking is just a single sock ?
No! It‘s a completely new challenge!
The stocking is worked from toe to cuff, something I’ve never done before. I tried Judy’s Magic Cast On and the Turkish Cast On; after a bit of practice, both worked beautifully. But knitting the first rounds with only 16 stitches proved fiddly, so I ended up using a long cast-on and will close it later.
Next will be the heel, which is a so-called afterthought heel that is knitted in afterwards — another ‚first‘ for me.
In the meantime, I’m still experimenting with how to hold the yarns. I usually knit continental style, holding one strand of yarn in my left hand. Two strands, however, feel quite strange. Trying to keep both colours in position and not mix up the threads affects my tension. It becomes too loose.
A view inside
If, like me, you have never done colourwork knitting before, here you can see the little strands, called floats, that emerge when the unused yarn is carried. They need to be held at the correct tension – not too loose and not too tight.
So I tried a mixture of continental and English style: holding the main colour in my left hand and ‚throwing’ the contrasting colour with my right. Not my style either – my tension becomes too tight.
Well, it’s probably only a matter of practice.
Still, I’m quite pleased with the result so far. For a first attempt, it doesn’t look that bad at all.
So I’ll keep knitting a little each day — without pressure, just for the fun of it. Sometimes that’s exactly what a creative hobby should be!
