Carding for Color Part IV: Spinning for Colorwork Knitting

By Deb Gerish

My color-blending journey began with a specific goal of designing and spinning colors for Fair Isle knitting. Once I learned a little color theory and understood how to blend fiber colors (see Carding for Color, Part I and Part II), it was time to tackle a real project. I planned a cowl based on one of Ann Feitelson's designs, and the yarn itself was simple. I would spin a 2-ply sportweight with a woolen draft, then slightly felt the skeins in the finishing process. That was the easy part! The colorways would be more challenging: I would need 10 colors in 2 sequences that followed Fair Isle color rules.