Five Tips from YarnCraft Podcast #12

April 15th, 2008 by Zontee

In each episode of our podcast, YarnCraft, we feature a segment called “Stash This–Ideas for Your Crafting Life.” It’s a chance for me and my co-host Liz from our Design Department to share with you some interesting tips about knitting, crocheting, and yarncrafting.

In podcast episode about “Selling Your Knit/Crochet Items on Etsy & Tips on Customizing with Color,” our “Stash This” was about working with color, the meaning of colors, and personalizing patterns. Here are five tips from episode #12:

1. Don’t be afraid to swap out colors in patterns. Make yourself a chart, noting which color you’ve used for each letter. For example, I might be making the Simple Earthy Squares Afghan, but want to swap out some of the colors. I would write at the top of my pattern to help me remember: Color A = Wood, Color B = Barley, etc.
2. Choose colors that have personal or cultural meaning for you or your recipient (for example green is always popular for St. Patrick’s Day; red is considered lucky in many Asian cultures), and include a note with gifts that explains the color choices.
3. Think about colors that look good with your skin-tone or your recipient’s skin-tone. Are you an “autumn” or a “spring”?
4. A wonderful gift is a birthstone-colored afghan. Homespun is a great yarn for this purpose, because of its jewel-like tones. Take a simple afghan, perhaps one of our 5 1/2 hour afghans, and make it in a color that coordinates with your gift-recipient’s birth month.
5. Personalize a project by making it in your or your gift recipient’s school or sports team colors.

For more ideas, check out the podcast every other Tuesday by visiting YarnCraft.LionBrand.com, and tell us what are some ways you’ve used colors to personalize a project!