Jul 13, 20162 min read

Making Do With What You’ve Got

It’s a rare thing to find the makings of a sweater right there in your own stash.

I’d originally bought two contrasting skeins of Colinette Jitterbug to make a two-color shawl. I even attempted to knit one shawl with the yarn but, for various reasons, it wasn’t working out. That misstep made me realize, though, that Jitterbug is not best suited for shawls – it’s way too bouncy, has a high twist and none of the drape a shawl needs. And even though it’s categorized as a fingering, it’s more of a sport-weight yarn.

Nearly 800 yards of sport weight… wait a minute! That’s a sweater quantity. Almost.

By this time my LYS was no longer carrying Jitterbug and, as it later turned out, Colinette have stopped dyeing yarn. Scouring through Ravelry, I was lucky to find one more skein of the main color out of a fellow knitter’s destash. Now this I could easily turn into a striped cardigan.

The problem was, the two skeins of the main color didn’t match - at all. They weren’t the same dye lot, in fact, they were a completely different color despite the colorway name. But I was able to hide it in the striping. Can you tell the difference?

On Ravelry: Make Do
Pattern: Make Space by Veera Välimäki from Interpretations Vol. 1
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Velvet Plum (624 m/682 yd) and Oyster Blush (252 m/276 yd)
Needles: 4.0 and 4.5 mm
Mods: Started striping earlier to use more CC (and save MC), made sleeves slightly shorter and body slightly longer.