Working with gradients and ombres is inspiring, fun, and they create stunning colour effects in all sorts of projects. But which is better: gradient mini-skeins or one-skein gradient yarns?
While lots of patterns use one-skein gradient yarns, I gotta tell you that — personally — I prefer gradient Mini-Skein for those projects. Yeah, it is because SpaceCadet makes Mini-Skeins (of course!) but, here, let me share with you the six reasons why I love gradient Mini-Skeins way more than one-skein gradients:
1. With Gradient Mini-Skeins, You Control the Colour Changes
So you’re knitting something beautiful and the lace section is coming to an end… and that’d be the perfect place for the colour change to happen, right? With a one-skein gradient, you don’t have any control over that — you just have to hope everything lines up — but with gradient Mini-Skeins, you are totally in control. If the lace section ends a few inches before one colour finishes, you simply switch to the next Mini-Skein and carry on knitting. And your project looks so much more stunning — because you are entirely in control of the colour changes!
2. You can use Mini-Skeins to Add Pops of Colour to Any Project
When you pick up a bundle of gradient Mini-Skeins, it’s easy to think of them as a single unit — something that has to be used up in one project like a one-skein gradient — but Mini-Skeins aren’t like that at all. Break that bundle up and what you have a bunch of yarn-crayons that you can use anywhere and in any combination. Pick one colour for a contrasting edging on a collar or cuffs. Or take a basic gray sweater and line the pockets in bright red that just barely peeks out.
3. You Can Use Gradient Mini-Skeins to Create Larger Projects
We do something amazing with our gradient Mini-Skeins — each month’s colourway blends into the next month’s colourway so that, month after month, you can collect a stunning Never-Ending gradient. One-skein gradients work perfectly in one-skein projects — and, with careful thought, can sometimes work in larger projects — but with the Never-Ending gradient Mini-Skeins, you are free to use your gradient Minis in as large a project as you like!
4. Gradient Mini-Skeins are Fabulous in Modular Projects
Modular knitting patterns are worked up in small pieces that are either joined together as you go along or sewn up at the end. Think of mitred squares, individual blocks, or join-as-you-go vertical strips. Unlike one-skein gradients, using gradient Mini-Skeins for these kinds of patterns allows you to distribute the colours in unexpected ways: keep them in their colour order or swap them around to increase the contrast. Plus, their small size means you can make quick colour changes and there are rarely leftovers.
5. You can Start Anywhere
So you’ve found this gorgeous gradient and the thing you love love love about it is that amazing magenta right there in the middle of the skein. Except you want it right on the edge of your shawl where it will really stand out, not buried in the middle. With a one-skein gradient or even with most mini-skeins sets, you’re stuck — the colour progression is set and it wouldn’t work in any other order.
But SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein gradients are uniquely designed to work in a complete circle, so that instead of starting a project at Skein 1 and working through to Skein 5, you could start a project anywhere in the set, and the skeins all work together. You you won’t get that in any other gradient. So hooray — your magenta can be on the edge. You’re completely in control!
6. You can Mix and Match between Gradient Mini-Skein Sets (Or… Your Favourite Colour isn’t Trapped in the Gradient)
When we dye a set of gradient Mini-Skeins, we’re telling a colourstory — a story that starts with one hue, moves gently through several others, and finally ends with the last hue — just like a one-skein gradient. So these colours all work together beautifully within the set, but the cool thing with Mini-Skeins is that you are not limited by the colourstory we dyed. If you find yourself wishing you could pair up a colour from one set with a colour from a completely different set… well, you totally can! Your favourite shades aren’t trapped within the gradient — they’re Mini-Skeins, so you just take them out of their sets and put them together any way you like.
My assistant Jade did exactly that when she spotted three Mini-Skeins from two different sets that she thought would work beautifully together. Each skein played a bright shade against a background of gray and so, while the brights pop and bounce, the gray ties everything together. Because they were dyed on Mini-Skeins, none of these colours was trapped within a different gradient — and the result is gorgeous!
So you see, Mini-Skeins gradients give you amazing control and endless options for colourplay! Go for a big project or small, create eye-catching pops of colour, and mix-and-match your skeins. Best of all, you are always in control. And for that reason more than any other, I love Mini-Skeins for gradients!
You’re ready for a colour adventure… And there’s nothing as exciting as your delivery of mini-skeins from the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club!
Richly dyed in stunning hues, we design these delightful little yarn-gems to guide you on a colour journey that will inspire you to create uniquely eye-catching projects. Each month, your parcel arrives bursting with glorious colour ready to be untwisted and explored!
The Multicolour Mix gives a range of hues in complex colourways to add interest to any project. And the Ombre&Gradient Mix is dyed an amazing Never Ending Gradient in colours that flow from one month to the next… and onwards to the next!
The result is a guided journey through colour that is wildly exciting and so much fun to cast on!
