I am always drawn to hand-dyed, variegated hanks of yarn and then never know what to do with them. With their bold color changes, they would make most stitch patterns a complete waste of time, so the question becomes how to make a stockinette stitch garment easier to stomach. I detest flip flopping between balls of yarn every other row and like pooling only when it’s consistent, which rarely happens with a garment’s stitch count changes. I’ve tried the solid color here and there to anchor the wildness, but for some reason that would feel tiresome too. I like how Garter stitch looks in its ability to break up big pools of color, but it can be bulky. I like Reverse Stockinette stitch, but seriously, do I want to purl a whole sweater? (Answer is no.)

I decided to work the sweater by a road less traveled—from the inside out; that is, with the non-public side facing the knitter. That way I could get the Reverse Stockinette without the doldrums of purl after purl after purl. Adding in a column of twisted stitches helps to further mottle the pooling, giving the eye nice strong vertical lines to follow. Now, even when pooling is uneven, the harshness of it is softened, and I am able to appreciate the beauty of the yarn that captured me from the beginning.