I usually work with sock yarn that either makes clearly defined stripes, or is a semi-solid color. But this sock yarn I'm knitting right now (Opal Surprise! Yes the exclamation point is part of the name, not just me getting excited) is a little bit different. It has color shifts that transition more gradually. And it's got me worried about pooling.
"Pooling" is when a bunch of color repeats stack up in a weird way. Have you ever been reading a book, and noticed that the spaces between the words all line up in a sort of river down the page? Pooling colors is kind of the same thing - once seen; never unseen.
Sometimes pooling is fine. It may zig and zag and wind around the project in a way you find fetching. Other times it creates a crazy lightning bolt shape, which can be fun. But sometimes you get really bad luck with pooling, and it turns into a big weird blotch on your sock.
What to do? The obvious solution is "knit with something else." But if you are really determined to knit with that yarn, there are a few tricks to reduce or minimize the appearance of pooling.
1. Switch it up
Knit alternating rounds from the beginning and the end of the skein respectively. This breaks up the pooling. You can also knit stripes with another sock yarn (ideally a solid neutral color) which makes the pooling less noticeable.
2. Rip it out
When you spot pooling start to happen, wind off a whole bunch of yarn and start again in a different color repeat. Often just taking out a few yards is enough to stagger the color change enough so that pooling is defeated.
3. Change the stitch count
Adding or removing just a few stitches can shift the pooling so that it tends to swirl, rather than form a big blotch.
Image courtesy Flickr/mcnutcase
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