Opinions on self stripping(striping?) yarn

[faedragon]

I thought the idea of a yarn that would form stripes all by itself ws good..if it worked. then I tried some.......When I do stipes, the colors don't change in the middle of a row, or any place except the end of a row. the self striping yarn seems to me to be just a varigated yarn with larger patches of color, so you get much larger areas of one color at one time, which the yarn makers have interpreted as "stripes". I don't want the stripes to change color mid row, to me that just doesn't present the look I want in something that has stripes. I was so dissapointed in how the "stripes" were formed that I won't purchase this type of yarn again.

[loopy1]

Your topic caught my attention cause I've only casually heard of self striping yarn but had no idea what it was. Anyway, I Google'd "self striping yarn". Maybe you've already tried Google but if not, maybe the answers you need are there. Hope you do find help!

[mizduck]

Patons SWS (soy wool stripes) doesn't do this...it's brilliant!

[01buckler15]

I am using the bernat baby bulce that has the large patches of color. I am doing a pattern that has shells in it. It isn't exactly what I had expected, but it is turning out OK. Watch for the show and tell some time next week. Hopefully! I'll post it in the babies and children section.

[chrissyf]

I have made a few scarves with self striping yran. It does change color mid row frequently but the overall effect is still stunning here are pics for what I have madethe first is Red Heart Strata, the second is Bernat Sassy stripes and the last is Bernat sweet Stripes

[Tiga]

I think most of the self-striping yarns are designed more for knitting stitches than for crocheting stitches - knit stitches are a different size, so the color pools differently.

 

I know that when I knitted up a swatch of RHSS Monet, it looked totally different than when I crocheted it - much softer and the colors melted into each other more than when I crocheted it. When I crocheted it, it was more stripe-y.

 

I did a self-striping afghan with Bernat Co-ordinates and had the same problem with the "stripes" changing in mid-row.

 

It didn't look bad, but it wasn't "striped". When I want true, even stripes, I do it myself. If I just want lots of color change without weaving in tons of ends, I'll use a self striping yarn.

[Melissa]

Also the stripes depend on what you are making. Many self-striping yarns are designed for their color-repeat to be the right length for socks. Here are some pictures of some socks I knitted with Lion Brand's 'Magic Stripes.' I was quite pleased with the way that they managed the stripes - they have lengths of solid color that ease into a vareigated fleck-y pattern to hide the transition, then ease back out into solids. The toddler socks I linked to above had nice fat stripes, but I used the same yarn for adult socks and while they still striped the stripes were quite thin. So, sometimes, whether or not it stripes - and how well - depends on the size of the piece you are making.

[Me&P]

Ditto, above. It really is going to depend on the size of the item you're making. Some are made for socks, some for baby blankets, etc. So if you're trying to make an afghan out of sock yarn, you probably aren't going to get the desired effects.

[ZingyZoid]

The striping effect is going to change depending on your project too.

 

Here are some things I've made with the Patons SWS.

The head wrap is knit but the short length made the colors pool. The scarf was done lengthwise making more of a stripe.

[Shell]

I read this thread earlier then was looking at a show and tell on a blog and I saw the post under the one I was looking at was made with self striping yarns. soo... here goes http://madcrochetingfool1.blogspot.com/ the Mary Maxim kit spiral throws. I like them

[Chrome Kitty]

I prefer the self-striping yarn that gradually fades into the next color rather than a harsh color change. I like Joann's Rainbow Boucle and the "painterly" (I think that's what they call it) Homespun colors. Here are two seraphinas made in JRB so you can see what I mean:

 

[Sylviaf]

I've gotten nice results, too, from the Rainbow Boucle, but I made a scarf for my daughter with a different one (Sassy Stripes, maybe?) and ended up with really funky looking color blocks. It is a pretty neat scarf but not at all what I was trying to do or what I expected.

[Happy_Hooker]

Some are better than others... As stated above, knitting and crochet are two different things where self striping yarn is concerned...

 

My advice is to swatch before you start and make sure you know what the gauge is for what you are making... It will help you figure out where the colors change is in relation to your project.

[JCB]

I've used both the SWS self-striping and Noro Kureyon. Both of these yarns change colors gradually, allowing the colors to blend, rather than one color abruptly ending and a new color beginning. You didn't say which yarn you had used. I love both of these yarns, although the Noro, which is 100% wool, is kind of scratchy unless it is felted. Once felted, it becomes wonderfully soft. With the SWS I've made scarves the long way which really takes advantage of the self striping.

 

I just remembered that some of the Homespun colors... the one I've used is the color, Tudor,... also have a gradual self-striping effect.

 

I love using them... it looks like you've taken great pains to achieve the effect... which, of course, you haven't!

 

Joan

[faedragon]

The yarn I used was one of Bernats .It was a self stripping baby yarn. I used the purple and whitecolor combo and the pink and white. Both changed colors mid-row. in the color to white, they did not do a gradual color change, but an abrut one. i frogged both items I waa making and re-did them using the Bernat yarn and a solid colored lace weight yarn together. That softened the color change, as a colored yarn was carried through out. I like Joannes rainbow boucle, but that isn't advertised as 'self- striping". and the color changes in it are graduated. I also like Lionbrands homespun, again, not proported to be "self stripping. i guess I'm just "a little" anal about some things. It has been interesting to read everyone's experience and opinions.