Which Came First?

Sometimes when planning a new project the yarn inspires the pattern or the search for a pattern. At other times the pattern inspires the search for yarn or an excuse to buy some yarn. Then there are those rarer times when it ends up being a combination of the two and it is hard to say which came first. Like that age old chicken or the egg debate.

A few weeks ago I had one of these types of situations when I was looking to start a new project. I had recently finished my first Brioche knitting project and was excited to start a new one (click here to read more about me learning this new technique). Something that would be just a step harder than just the basic Brioche pattern. So, I set out on a pattern search and found a pattern that I liked and thought would be just a bit harder than the basic Brioche. I didn't want to be too ambitious, after all I am still just learning this skill.

Now that I had a pattern it was time for me to search for some yarn. Brioche patterns always look better with two colors of yarn, so I set out to find two colors that would look good together. Sometimes this is its own struggle. I want them to have enough contrast that there is a distinction, but too much contrast that people question why those colors were even paired. After a bit I decided to use some yarn that I had just recently gotten for Christmas. I thought that this yarn would be a good choice because it is self-striping. This would make one of the sides stand out even more than if there were two solid yarns. The pattern used variegated yarn as well, which is one of the reasons why this new yarn came to mind during my search. I pulled out this new yarn and I found a gray yarn that I thought would work well with it.

When in doubt with color choices I tend to lean on neutrals like gray, navy, black, or tan. They work with any other color. This tends to be how I make fashion color choices as well. I sat down with my self-striping yarn and the gray and began to work on my project. But, something wasn't right. I quickly realized that this was not going to work. The colors looked good together, so that was not the problem. The problem was the pattern and yarn combination. This yarn was just not meant to be this pattern.

Would it have worked? Yes.

Was something actually wrong with it? No.

Am I being a bit unreasonable? Maybe.

Something with this yarn reminded me of another pattern the Pioneer Braid Scarf by Hither and Yarn. One that was on my list, but ending up being forgotten about. This is one of the problems with Pinterest. It allows me to keep getting longer and longer knitting lists.

As soon as this project came to mind I knew that I would not be able to use this yarn for any other project. This yarn and this project just seemed belong together.

I am glad that I listened to my gut instinct and changed the pattern. Although either pattern would have paired nicely with this yarn, this braided scarf was the best fit for this yarn.

This pattern initially stood out to me because it is 100% reversible. Unlike other patterns there is no top, bottom, front, or back. I like reversible knits especially scarfs because I know that the end product will look good no matter which way it lays. I personally have a few non-reversible scarfs that I love, however I know which way to wear them. I also might fiddle with them throughout the day to get them to lay "right". This is one reason why I tend to look for reversible patterns when planing gifts. I realized a long time ago that other might not see the "right" and "wrong" sides like I do. This is especially true if he or she is not a knitter. With a pattern like this it doesn't matter. It can be worn in any way. 

One of the reasons why they go together so well is because the pattern uses short rows at an angle which allows this self-striping yarn to be used in a unique way. Rather than producing stripes the yarn looks as though the colors are interlocking. The length of the stripes is almost perfect for making each section different colors which adds to this effect. This pattern with this yarn allows both of them to shine. They come together so well and produce an interesting scarf that is sure to stand out.

Although I am still not sure which came first I am glad that they found each other.