Designing Marquita Colorways

Are you a knitter who makes the pattern in the yarn shade shown? Or do you like coming up with your own color ways when you choose your next knit? I have (almost) always gone out on my own, choosing colors based on things that are inspiring me in the moment and not always based on the colors that I want to wear or that make sense in my wardrobe. This is something I’m trying to get better about, but in the pendulum swing to try to make more rational choices, I ended up with a wardrobe that was almost entirely neutrals! The design Marquita knit in Berroco Pima 100 came out of my desire to have a wardrobe basic sweater that can still have a little bit of color fun too.

The sample was knit in Stonecrop 8406, Goat’s Beard 8470 and for the contrast stripes, Dianthus 8419. The principle for how to place your colors with in the stripes is to choose a main color (here it’s the light grey), then a second color (dark grey) that stands out agains the main color, and finally a  third contrast color that is similar to the second color but with a little pop! My rule of thumb: The real contrast should be in the value between the main color and both the contrast colors, which should be different hue with a similar value. Hue is the actual color (red, green, blue, etc.). Value refers to the lightness or darkness of color. The easiest way to check value is to take a black and white photo—a quick phone picture with a black and white filter works perfectly.

The first alternate color way that pops into my head is to substitute a warm bright orange, such as Marigold 8441, for the pink.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with the lovely ladies at Yarn in Montpelier, Vermont, my own local yarn shop, along with the Pima 100 trunk show. My favorite thing about getting to hang out with a bunch of knitters seeing what colors they choose to make their projects. This post was inspired by Jennifer and the gorgeous beachy Marquita that she’s starting. Jennifer wanted something brighter, with a little more contrast, but not too much contrast—she chose Wisteria 8403 and Basil 8440 with a contrast of Forget-me-not 8421.

This  color way is so good! It got me thinking about more color ways:

Dahlia 8461, Goat’s Beard 8470, and Marigold 8441

Alyssum 8441, Bee Balm 8437, and Evergreen 8439

Forget-me-not 8421, Columbine 8445, and Foxglove 8444

Yarrow 8400,  Nasturtium 8436, and Peony 8450

Cotton sweaters not your thing? Berroco’s 100% superwash Ultra Wool is a perfect match for Marquita or any of the other patterns from the Pima 100 Booklet #385.