a sweater of a different color: part I

Since the initial release of our 11 piece Atelier collection, we’ve been consumed with visions of alternate color palettes for each design. Featuring our wool blend yarns, Piper, Crane, Owlet, Owl, Wren, and Tern, with a few of our classic core wools, Finch, Chickadee Organic Heathers, and Lark, we can’t help but let our imaginations run wild with color pairings. We thought it only made sense to share some of our swatching fun with you for a few of the patterns. Our hope is that you’ll find a little inspiration of your own before casting on any one of these fall-ready designs.

First up, Isabelle Ryan’s Poché sweater. With striking colorblocked accents, Poché is a modern take on a classic raglan pullover. Poché is worked in the round from the top down and features a bateau neckline, a close-fitting body and sleeves worked in marled stockinette, and contrasting blocks of color at the split hemline. This design is knit with two strands of Piper for an unbelievably cozy fabric with incredible drape and halo. 

Above: Poché by Isabelle Ryan, knit with two strands of Piper (shown in colors Abilene and Bandera).

In the sample knit above, we chose Piper colorway Bandera, a deep stormcloud gray-purple, and Abilene, the palest of lavender grays, to achieve a beautifully marled (speckled) fabric. Similarly, in our first alternate color swatch below, we chose two high-contrast shades of green: San Angelo, a light springy green, and Lone Oak, a deep gray green.

Above: Poché swatch knit with Piper in San Angelo, a light springy green, and Lone Oak, a deep gray green.

For our second swatch, we wanted to see what would happen if we played with warm and cool colors of a similar value. We opted for Piper in San Antonio, a rich, golden honey bronze, to pair with Sweetwater, a warm medium blue. The result? Another scrumptious marled fabric that almost seems to shimmer, adding another layer of dimensionality to the simple stockinette stitches.

Above: Poché swatch knit with Piper in San Antonio, a rich, golden honey bronze, paired with Sweetwater, a warm medium blue.

Still stumped on color pairings? Here are a few more ways to help you choose the perfect pairing for designs that use multiple colors:

• When online, use the “Compare Colors” feature on any of our yarn pages to compare and contrast alternate color schemes.
• Prefer to see (and touch) the yarn in person? Visit a Quince retail stockist near you; or, order a batch of Quince Color Cards so you can always have our colorways on hand.
• When in doubt, swatch! You may also enjoy our previous post, Gennaker Reborn.

Above: Poché swatches knit with Piper in San Angelo and Lone Oak (left) and Piper in San Antonio and Sweetwater (right).

We hope this post helps you in picking out color combinations for Poché and future projects. Stay tuned for our next blog post in our A Sweater of a Different Color series, featuring another beautiful design from this show-stopping collection. For more woolly inspiration, be sure to check out 5 woolly wonders blog post!

Which color pairings would you choose for your Poché sweater? Let us know in the comments below! And be sure to tag us @quinceandco with your WIP photos, so we can follow along on your knitterly adventures.