It’s entirely possible that I may have written before about my love for this simple shape. You know, it goes way back, the chevron, to Norman and Scandinavian heraldry and before that to the Greeks who used it in pottery painting. Of course, it’s use as military insignia is well known. Then Sonia Delaunay and Luibov Popova got their hands on it and turned the humble inverted V into a masterpiece.
I suppose this is all a bit lofty. When I sat down to bend some yarn over the weekend, procrastinating my work-knitting and knitting for loved ones instead, I picked up some of KnitPicks limited edition Fellici, a self-striping, super soft merino sock yarn in magnificent rich colors. (I wonder when, if I ever, I will outgrow this guilty pleasure fascination with self-striping yarn. I think it is related to my dislike of weaving in ends 😉 Because I have a huge basket full of ’em, I’m always looking for unique ways to use the self-stripers so I picked up Margaret Radcliffe’s book “The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques” to see what she had to say on the subject. As it happens, this handy book has an entire chapter devoted to working with multicolor yarns which Margaret calls “the eye candy of the yarn store”. When I read about how ripple and chevron stitch patterns could bend longer color segments of variegated yarns into V’s, the light bulb clicked on. These are for Carl in the “Lost Lakes” color way. Here’s what happened.
In order to preserve the stripe sequence, I’ve used a mini-skein for the toe and ribbing (dyed by the lovely and talented Kelly McClure of Boho Knits…this color way is “Doubting Thomas”), which I had intended to use for the heel as well. When I realized that the stripe sequence would be navy when the heel was reached, I opted instead for a tiny skein of “My First Regia” in aqua. It brightens things up. I like it! For the chevron pattern, I used a simple chevron lace stitch pattern, substituting directional increases for the yarn overs. Originally, I thought I’d run the chevrons up the back as well, but I found that the sections of straight, regular stripes gave some context to the undulating V’s.
This was some fun knitting! I enjoyed it so much, I cast on a pair for Mumsie in the color way “Time Traveler” with a slightly different, more feminine chevron pattern with a little lacy element. I’ve chosen a purpley-blue “My First Regia” for the toes and, should the stripe sequence permit, my old fall-back Pace sock yarn in a slightly disturbing shade of honey for the heel. I figure I’ll work them alternately so I avoid second sock syndrome. Looks like weekend knitting for the next little while!
knittedblissjc
Love this chevron post, and the Felici sock yarn is always so tempting… I had to hold myself back from their last update! I still have some in my stash.