What is a speed swatch?
Speed swatching is a technique I've developed to help me evaluate color choices quickly. Well, relatively quickly. Speedy in comparison to a bad blind date, that kind of quickly. Speedy in comparison to trying to figure out which colors to put in a motif swatch and then swatching and then changing an element or two and then swatching, ad nauseam. By grabbing all yarns in the color families I'm interested in and doing a simple swatch in diagonal stripes, I can see what is out of place, what is out of value order, and what might be needed. By the time I've determined the motifs I want to use, I am more aware of how the colors work together and have a better chance of having the subsequent swatches work out. In my workshops we use this technique to play with colors and narrow down our designs.
What is the best buttonhole for corrugated rib?
When I was asked this question, I had to admit that I had never done a buttonhole in corrugated rib. But being the Fair Isle obsessive that I am, I decided to test a few. My absolute favorite so far is called "Medrith Glover's Buttonhole for Corrugated Rib" and the instructions can be found in Sweaters from Camp, an invaluable collection of stranded garments plus complete techniques and design introduction edited by Meg Swansen, Amy Detjen, and Joyce Williams.
I don't have a macro setting for my camera, so I can't show this to you very well. The lower buttonhole is "Medrith Glover's Buttonhole for Corrugated Rib." This picture demonstrates another important swatch concept: you can swatch for color AND technique. This is a speed swatch done as corrugated rib with buttonholes thrown in here and there.
That's all we have room for today. Please let Ms. Feral know if you have any other questions pertaining to Fair Isle knitting or how the world could be run better.
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