Negative Space

This is the second in a series of posts recommending patterns for variegated lace yarn.  We are saying goodbye to Findley Dappled in Have Shawl Will Travel.  Join us!

I know that at first blush "negative space" isn't necessarily what you might think you want in your project, but it's really just a fancy term for the open, lacy bits.  Lace is all about the juxtaposition of positive (where the yarn is) and negative (where the yarn isn't).  I find that when a lace pattern has a lot of negative space, it's easier to pair it with a variegated yarn, since the busy colors won't be detracting from any shapes that the positive space is forming.

With that in mind, I've chosen for knitting the Easy Lace Stole.  It is the epitome of mindless knitting, but the result is quite lovely.  You could wear it as a scarf or a shawl as the mood strikes you, and the simple pattern repeat makes it easy to customize the size.

The crochet pattern I chose, Fantasm, has a little more positive space, but it's still very airy.  I especially like that it's top-down, so you can choose how large you want it to be.  Make a bandanna for a quicker project or a giant shawl for a special occasion!  Again, check out the projects for some multi-colored inspiration.

Although there are line-by-line instructions for this shawl, you will likely want to be able to read crochet charts a little to correlate the written with the visual.  Chart reading isn't scary at all, and it opens up a world of possibilities!  Working from patterns that have both charts and line-by-line instructions available is a great way to warm up to using charts on their own, whether in knitting or crochet.