Knitting in Color! Yarnplay author Lisa Shobhana Mason

Today I am so excited to be talking with Lisa Shobhana Mason. You may know her by her Big Bad Baby Blanket pattern in Stitch’n’Bitch, or by her blog, My Life in Stitches. And now, with her new book Yarnplay, there’s even more of Shobhana to love! The title Yarnplay is apt – Shobhana encourages her readers to play with beautiful fibers and striking colors to create fabulous projects. She combines these fibers and colors with modern shapes, creating cool, wearable designs.

Regular Knitting Aloud readers will know that although I love color and rarely knit with neutrals, I’m a little shy about mixing things up. So when I had the chance to talk with Shobhana about her book, I wanted to talk about color and how to work with it for the best results.

I'm pretty new to mixing colors in my knitting projects. Where would you recommend I start?

There seem to be two groups of knitters, those who are into color and those who are into intricate stitch patterns. Working with color is so second nature to me that I'm often stunned when I find someone struggling with color. (similarly, my friends are shocked when I reveal my lack of patience and skills when it comes to intricate lacework.) I've seen some really dreadful color combinations. It makes me wonder if some people are hard of color perception. Seriously. where to start? The more intricate the design, the less color you want. If it's a really simple pattern you can go crazy with color. Depending upon the intensity of the design, choose a few colors that you like. Take them out into the sunlight. Colors tend to look much different outdoors than they look in the shop or at home. Give yourself a few days to hang out with the colors that you've chosen. Chances are you'll make a few changes before settling upon a final selection. Get feedback from a friend whose taste you trust. If you can't even get started than you probably need a little inspiration. I find that quilts and wallpaper are good resources for color.

I love pastels (think duck egg blue), but I think an all-pastel sweater would be too blah. What are some ways to spice up a pastel/light colored garment?

Try using a different color for the trim. You could use a crocheted border around the neckline, cuffs, and hem. Or you could use a contrasting color for the first couple of rows at the hem and cuffs. I love duck egg blue with fire engine red, baby pink with black, powder blue with dark brown, and both pale yellow and peach work well with charcoal. As for seafoam green -- I don't have much use for that with or without a contrasting color!

When selecting a color palette for a project, is it all trial and error? What is your process for doing this?

It depends on my mood and what I feel drawn to at the moment. My personal preferences seem to change about every 6 months or so. I try to go for combinations that I’ve never worked with before and that I haven't seen anyone else work with lately. I start with one or two colors that I like and then I try to add a color that is unexpected. For example, when I started the 'Everything but the Kitchen Sink' sweater I was really into blues and greens. I added lavender to shake things up a little.


When mixing colors, I'm never sure how to deal with warm and cool tones. Is okay to use both in one project?

Sure! I think it works well with 2 colors, like violet and lavender, or with a few pairs of warm/cool combinations.

The color combinations in your book are modern without being overly trendy. How can I select colors for knitting projects that will still look great years from now?

That's tough. I find that color dates garments just as much as style. When I see grass green, I immediately think of summer / autumn 2004. When I see certain shades of pink I think of 2003. I'm sure that a couple of years from now when I see plum I'll think of autumn 2006 (and, if the runway shows are any indication, spring 2007). If we're talking about anything beyond red, navy, and your basic neutrals, color dating is hard to avoid. My advice is to choose colors that you know you'll still feel comfortable wearing in a few years.

I love seeing kids' knits in more modern colors, as in your "Baby A" design. It seems we're moving away from dressing kids like crayons! At the same time, it can be hard to choose colors for kids that aren't too 'grown up'. What colors and shades are you enjoying in kids' designs right now?


I like anything that makes kids look like people and not like dress up dolls. I really like to see kids dressed in blacks and charcoals and greys, but I’m just goth that way.

The holiday season is approaching! Although I love to give hand-knit gifts, sometimes it's hard to select a color for another person. How can I think about color when I'm making something as a gift?

This can be tough. Not tough to figure out, but tough to execute. What I mean by that is that you can observe what colors a person tends to wear and make your decision pretty easily. Unfortunately, I find that when I knit for someone the colors that they wear are usually colors that I find pretty boring to knit with. There's nothing worse than having to endure a whole project's worth of knitting in a color that doesn't inspire you. Choosing a color for someone that you think they should like or that you think that might look good in, but that you haven't actually seen them wear is usually a big mistake.

What do you think about sweaters made entirely of striping, bright yarns like Silk Garden?

The key is that the pattern needs to be really simple. Otherwise, it just gets a bit too noisy if you know what I mean.

Is there such a thing as too much color?

No! I knit a Koigu coat with about 65 different colors! If you're going to work with multiple colors or yarns you need either 7 or 37. Seriously. A weird thing happens when you have like 11 or 18. Somehow it just doesn't seem to work. Again, with something like this you need to keep in mind that the project is meant to showcase the colors and not the pattern. Keep it super simple!

I love how your Poppy pattern uses color to shape the silhouette of the wearer. How can I choose colors and combinations that show off my figure like this?

Honestly, I have no idea. I'm on the skinny side and I design sweaters that I want to wear. I, mostly, like garments that are fitted. I think it's sexier. I don't like to see anyone wearing a tent. I think bigger women look fabulous in sexy, fitted sweaters. The key is that the gauge needs to be fine. Chunky sweaters make you look bigger and nobody wants that!

Thanks, Shobhana for your wonderful book and your thoughtful comments. I can’t wait to get started on some of these fabulous Yarnplay patterns! You should too. Pick up a copy of her book -- Amazon link here-- and then hop over to Lolly Knitting Around on Monday for more discussion about the book.