I’ve been swatching for weeks! Inspired by the pansies in my garden during our sunny period, I began with the rich purples and pinks of the Harrisville Shetland Wool collection for my summer fair isle cardigan.
There is a feeling I wait for while I am swatching with many colours. It is how I know the swatch is right. It is not a cognitive decision, but an emotional response to colours when they work well together. When swatching for a Fair Isle project, however, there are some basic colour principles involved. The pattern must be clear and readable. In Fair Isle work this has everything to do with the contrast between the background colour and the pattern. The contrast between these two must be strong enough, that each colour stands alone within the design.
Traditional Fair Isle patterns employ only two colours per row. Focusing on two at a time is helpful for someone as easily distracted as I am ~ when the ‘swatch not working syndrome’ had kicked in, even telephone booths with a purple backdrop were looking attractive. But, the sunny period ended, the pansies lost their glow, and wouldn’t you know it? I spotted this amazing distraction, an Offhand Design at three bags full.
It came home with me, and swatching went back to the drawing board. Soon I had found the colours that would work: a chocolate brown, rich wheat, and oatmeal for the background with burgundy and pinks for the pattern. It took a few tries to get the contrast rhythm going, and I’ve changed the pattern shown in the original Plum Frost Cardigan design, but now I’m singing! suddenly I see. . . Autumn Mist, a Plum Frost variation, is on the needles at last.
Fair Isle classes will run at three bags full, and The Working Hands White Rock Studio. Check the schedule page on this website for details.