Fall 2014 color trends and a KAL

I love color.

Or better put, I love my colors.  Pink, purple, red.  Love em.  Peek into my closet – or even the blog itself – and you’ll see half black/grey and half pink/purple/red with a sprinkling of unsuccessful purchases such as a light blue cowl top.  I love the style but I don’t feel awesome when I wear it.

My experience with that light blue top taught me a valuable lesson.  I can’t just buy something in a different-for-me color and have it be successful.  I need to be more mindful of how I inject color variety in my wardrobe.

Let’s take a look at the colors in the Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Color Report.

I see a few of my colors – Sangria and Radiant Orchid and maybe Mauve Mist and Aurora Red.  But I don’t envision wearing a sweater in Royal Blue, Bright Cobalt, Misted Yellow or Cypress.  And never Cognac.  I finally admitted to myself that I don’t love brown.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t add these colors to my wardrobe – and to my knitting – with accessories.  Adding a pop of a trendy color with the right accessory isn’t just stylish – it’s smart.  Accessories mean quicker knitting and smaller quantities of yarn.

Let’s take a look at a couple ideas.

Striped Scarves and Shawls

Browse the category on Ravelry

I selected designs that are easier to knit, will give a great impact to a more subdued outfit or give you the option to pair one of the trend colors with a neutral.

• Pendulum by Amy Miller – a great option if you want to give equal weight to 2 colors
• Nangou by Melanie Berg – with a primary and accent color you can choose to add a pop of color or go wild and make the MC the trend color
• Kaarisilta by Tiina Kuu – the stacked colors allow you to make the top part of the shawl a color that you like to wear near your face and add the trend color at the bottom
• Tonnau Scarf by Abigail Phelps – a great option for a gradient yarn
• Edison by Lynn Di Cristina – pair 3 trendy colors or just add one for a pop
• Migee by ambah – another gradient design paired with a solid

Mitts and Mittens

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Hands are a great place to add color you may not want to wear by your face.  And bonus – mitts and mittens are quick.  I’ve selected both stripes and color block options.

• Hexagon Mitts by Sybil R – the unusual construction will draw attention whether you use 1 or 2 trend shades
• Green Memories by La Maison Rililie – simple blocks of color give you lots of options
• Part Deux Mitts by Amy Miller – blocks of colors with a few stripes thrown in
• Fletcher Mittens by Amy Swenson – chevron stripes are a classic color choice for knitting
• Monstermitts by Julis Allen – another chevron option
• Beethoven Mitts by Melanie Berg – a great option if you want to add just a bit of trend color

Legwarmers and Boot Cuffs

Browse the category on Ravelry

I broadened my search to include one-color options as well.  I started out by looking for just multi-color designs but I just didn’t find that many choices.  Plus, when I think of what I’d want to wear, a funky colored pair of legwarmers is a great way to bring in a different color.

• some cloudy day by tiny owl knits – the simple lace pattern makes this both interesting to knit and wear
• boot cuffs Boho Style by Sol Maldonado – quick cable cuffs to add a touch of color on top of your boots
• Cimidar by Melanie Berg – basic legwarmers with a colored picot edge at both ends
• Alpaca Sox Legwarmers by Pam Allen – another fun lace pattern to wear with boots, under a pair of pants or even with a skirt
• Everlong by Lisa Mutch – a basic rib with 3 colors highlight
• Lexi Leg Warmer by Lion Brand Yarn  – tiny stripes either in 2 colors or a self-striping yarn to make these the ultimate in easy knitting

Color Combos

Norah Gaughan mentioned in an interview about her hexagon obsession that she finds putting some parameters around her designs get the creative juices flowing. It makes sense – when you have limits around what you can do you’re forced to make it work.

Here are a few color combos that I see in the Pantone palette…

radiant orchid, mauve mist and sangria

And then, just replace Radiant Orchid with Aluminum you get this…

aluminum, mauve mist and sangria

Combining a couple of complimentary colors, you get…

 royal blue and misted yellow

And then a classic combo made a bit subdued…

aurora red and cypress

 Combining a neutral with a color pop…

cognac and bright cobalt

And another neutral and pop of color…

mauve mist and aluminum

The KAL

The Yarniacs announced their second annual Colors of Fall KAL.  The rules are simple – knit something in any of these colors.  The twist – keeping with the theme of trends and fashion, you need your FO pic to show an entire look.  Last year’s FO thread was a lot of fun and gave tons of inspiration – especially with the colors that aren’t traditionally my colors.  And who can’t use a little inspiration to get out of a wardrobe rut?

What color combos do you like?

I’m casting on my first project today.  It’s a sweater so I went with one of my colors – Radiant Orchid.  Here’s a sneak peak of my swatch in Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in the Punky Fuschia colorway.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.