Done Like Dinner

It's done!
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Sweater from Yarnplay by Lisa Shobhana Mason
Knit with 33 different worsted/aran weight yarns on 5mm needles
Gauge: 18 st = 4" on 5mm



This was a really fun sweater to knit. It went more slowly than other sweaters I've done because of all the colour changes, but totally worth the work. I love this sweater! I already have plans to knit a second one in browns and fall reds and oranges.

I knit the body in the round to the armpits, and then finished the front/back on straight needles. The pattern instructions say to knit the sleeves on DPN's, but I knit them flat. The kitchen sink effect is created by switching yarns on a whim every row or two or three. I ranged from one row to five of one yarn and followed only my own intuition as I went along. That was the fun part. I really enjoyed the process of choosing yarns and widths of rows as I went along.

All of the yarns I used were wool or mostly wool, so I spliced them together as I worked (spit splice) and finished with only the cast-on tails and final tails to weave in.



I think that to be truly kitchen sink, the whole thing should be random, but I matched my front to my back and my two sleeves to each other. It worked better for me that way.





As for the thirty-three different yarns...I was thinking of holding a contest to see who could guess the most of them. But then I realized that I would have to receive and "mark" the entries, and that was not too appealing.


You need a lot of different shades and textures of yarn to make the effect work well. The pattern suggests at least 18 colours/textures. I used from ten to about fifty or sixty yards (at most) of the following yarns. All of them were in my stash except for three of them (I bought the two Gedifra living colours and the Cascade 220 skein specifically for the sweater). I would say that at least two thirds of these yarns were from leftovers or one-of balls in my collection. I have a lot of one-of balls for mixed projects and to try out yarns to see what I like. The rest were raided from projects that I know I have more than enough yarn to cover.

So here they are if you are interested: Thirty-Three yarns in my sweater (see if you can find them in the photos)

1. Noro Kureyon 154
2. Noro Kureyon 170
3. elann.com Highland Wool in: Eggplant
4. Celadon
5. Peridot
6. Deep Blue Sea
7. Lotus Blossom
8. Patons Classic Wool (merino) in: Leaf Green
9. Worn Denim
10. New Denim
11. Dusky Blue
12. Peacock
13. Navy Blue
14. Brown Sheep Company Worsted in: Amethyst
15. Fuchsia
16. Turquoise
17. Mr Joe Blanket in Fern Green (two strands together)
18. Cascade 220: Turquoise marl
19. Gedifra Living in: Teal
20. Cedar Green
21. Unknown (Schachenmayr??) yarn in my stash in: deep blue
22. Purple
23. Berroco Ultra Alpaca in: Blueberry
24. Lilac
25. Himilaya wool/recycled silk blend in deep blue
26. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrahkan in Cedar
27. Katia Mexico in Green/Blue/Turquoise blend
28. elann.com Sierra Aran in Fiddlehead Green
29. King Extra Merino (light blue marl)
30. Fleece Artist Kid Silk Aran in Cosmic Dawn
31. Valley Yarns Charisma in Navy blend
32. Malabrigo Worsted in Geranio
33. Valley Yarns Amherst in Sweet Pea

This was my first time knitting with Brown Sheep Company Worsted, Cascade 220 and Valley Yarns Amherst. I have to say that I really like all three of these yarns. The Amherst is a real honey of a merino. It's from Webs' Valley Yarns line, and it is a lovely yarn. It was also my first time with the Fleece Artist Kidsilk Aran. That yarn really glows with life.