Pattern or color(s) first?

[catsncrochet]

Ok, so I was wondering...when you are getting ready to start a new project...do you pick out the pattern first or do you choose your yarn color(s) first? Just curious.

 

I usually pick whichever pattern I want to work on and then choose the yarn color(s).

[Addey]

It depends. Some days I find the yarn and figure out what to make with it, other days I know what I want and find the yarn.

Take for example some of my current projects:

tank top for me: I knew I wanted a tanktop and I knew I wanted cotton. I then found the yarn, but needed to find/modify a pattern.

RR for my cousin's baby: I knew I wanted to make them a RR, and just yesterday found the most beautiful and bright yarns to make for a rainbow one.

Shawl for mom: knew what I wanted to make, found a pattern and then chose yarn/color.

 

So, I come to projects from every different angle...

[crochetluvknot]

i do both most often its the yarn i find first

[iamnichole]

I usually choose the pattern first and go buy the yarn. But sometimes I find really pretty yarn and just buy one or two skeins and make something little with it.

[Sofia]

patterns I think, I have never been one to buy yarn just because and try to find a pattern for it...... but I have bought yarn for a project that never got started and went on to use it for something else.....

 

So many patterns..... so little time.

[alibra]

Pattern first, then yarn...

[antara]

Usually, I pick out the pattern first. If there's a really nice yarn on sale I just have to buy, I'll occasionally choose the color before the pattern.

[RachelG]

Pattern/Item first, then thread color. Only very occasionally will I purchase yarn/thread without a specific project in mind.

[Mermaiden]

Depends for me too. Once in a while my eye lands on a yarn and I think of a perfect pattern I may have seen, or something I'd like to have from it...I guess probably more often I find a pattern then decide on the perfect yarn for it.

[Crocus58]

I usually find the yarn first then the pattern finds me.

[JaneMarcy]

95% of the time I find the pattern first, and then choose the color and yarn. When I occasionally buy yarn on an impulse without a pattern in mind, I never know how much to buy, so I end up just making scarves out of it.

[RoseRed]

sometimes, if you already have the colors in mind then you need to find a pattern that'll work with it.

[jmccrochet]

Sometimes I"ll have an idea and go get the yarn, then look for a pattern. Right now, I have all this Homespun in colors to match my bedroom but I haven't figured out what pattern to do. It just depends on what I am doing with the end result. For my auction items, I went and picked up a bunch of Caron pounders on sale and was relieved to have enough yarn to finish them.

 

Joyce

[monkeybabies]

It depends for me too. But more often than not, I have a pattern in mind then buy the yarn.

[squeakygirl]

Usually pattern first. But sometimes I see a yarn that just begs to come home with me....

 

Jo

[hooked2]

It depends: sometimes I want to use a specific pattern - then I look for yarn. But, sometimes I have yarn I want to use - then I look for a pattern.

 

So many patterns, so much yarn -- not enough time...

[Tampa Doll]

First the subject then the pattern, finally the colors.

[papersmiles]

I love looking through pattern books and sites so usually I find a pattern then look for fiber to make it. When I go to SALES at yarn stores, THEN I will pick up a yarn/thread that I just can't pass up and put it in my Large Lot stash container until I find a pattern.

[xerxesa2]

The yarn finds me! I swear it does I have HUGE containers full of the stuff, mostly found at thirft stores, yard sales & hand me downs from my MIL

I learned to crochet without using patterns (is that bad?! )

[misssmaggie]

I almost always pick the pattern first...then check my stash...and decide nothing is right and go buy more !!!

[Yammy]

A little of both, usually I find a pattern first and then see what yarn I have on hand that I could make it with. Other times, I see great yarn or a sale and I know I have a pattern it would work with or that I can gift it.

[yarn_monkey]

Usually I find a pattern for something I like and then I figure out what yarn I have (or need to buy) to make it. Sometimes, and especially if I find a great deal, I find the yarn first and then pick a pattern. Like I saw the Garden Scarf in SNB:HH and went digging through my yarn, or last week I found Moda Dea Cache at Michaels for $2 and I bought 4, thinking I would just figure something out after the fact. Still working on that...

[brennae74]

I usually pick the pattern then find the yarn to with it. But I did pick a pattern to go with some colors I knew the person would like, then I was having trouble figuring out how to do some of the stitches ( I am still a beginner and I am currently working on my fifth blanket). So I decided to pick a different pattern that used some of the yarn. I still have two bags of yarn left though. Oh well, another project is just around the corner.

[sonnets_and_stitches]

Most definitely pattern for me.

[Ellie 13]

I'm in the stash busting CAL, so it's yarn first now, but it's pattern then yarn most of the time.

Xerxesa2, working without a pattern is not bad, but if you come up with something new, write it down. You might want to do it again someday.

Ellie 13