Urgh! Dye lot colour problem again!

I am SO gutted.

I’m three quarters of the way through a cardigan and have just discovered my yarn doesn’t match where a new ball is added in.
My yarn was bought all the same dye lot, I checked on delivery and rechecked today. But for explanation sake I’ll call them yarn A and yarn B. The difference between the 2 is significant.
A for All right
B for Bad!

After (very very) much huffing and puffing and investigating I have decided that some of it can stay as it is.

Here’s what I think happened on the cardigan pieces -
Back yarn A, ball 1 and an imperceptible join of ball 2 near the top.
Front right yarn A (must have been continuation of ball 2 I think)
Front left yarn B. Must be ball 3 started to work both fronts at the same time. This is not all that noticeably different purely because the entire front panel is in one yarn ball. I think with fabric drape, shadows, body movement, this piece would not be noticeable even though on close inspection it is different.

Sleeves worked at same time
Right sleeve yarn A, (must be what remained of ball 2 used on top of back and the right front) , ball 4 joined in, if I look very closely I see the change from ball 2 to 4 but blink and you’ll miss it.

Left sleeve PROBLEM yarn B (continued with ball 3 used on front left) worked 100 rows. Ball 5 joined in and worked about 13 rows in the new ball before I realised the colour problem. It is so obvious!

Due to the dark yarn I know the photo is not particularly clear but the left of the picture, around 13 rows is more of a tweedy black and white mix whereas yarn B which is almost the whole sleeve, is more of a grey in mix.

I don’t know what to do.
Cry?
Rip out the entire sleeve and reknit using only ball 5 and discarding ball 3?
Something else???
Magic?
Some sort of colour design feature I haven’t thought of?

I have one more yarn ball, ball 6. I can’t tell by looking at it if it will be like yarn A or yarn B.
I’ve knitted about a third of the total project in Yarn B before I noticed the problem but the sleeve difference really is a problem. I know we are our own worst critics but… Well, I wouldn’t wear this with the colour change like this.

Advise and/or commiserations welcomed.
This is my second experience of a bad dye lot and I am not handling the disappointment any better than I did this time last year!

I’ve read that when you’re knitting with possible different dye lots the safest approach is to knit one row with one skein and the next row with an alternate skein. This sounds tricky and I’m not sure if it’s helpful but oh my, you have my sympathy!

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So frustrating. I had this happen on the back of an aran knit jacket. The yarn was from Cascade Yarns. I took it back to the local yarn shop and showed them all the ball bands, all indicating the same dye lot. They complained to the yarn manufacturer who sent a complete bag of a new dye lot but in a matching color so I could reknit the jacket back.
I’d recommend taking or sending the yarn back along with photos of the project and ball bands.
What yarn were you using and what is the country of origin for the yarn?

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https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/yarn/king-cole-big-value-dk-recycled-limited-edition-all-colours

King cole big value DK recycled limited edition.

I have emailed my supplier with photos.
I imagine they will offer to replace the one ball. They still have plenty of this dye lot in stock.

Super annoying. I wish I could tell looking at the yarn before I start!

ETA. They are based in the UK.

As you’ve so nearly finished, would it be worth completing it and then dyeing the finished article to get a more even colour?
I sympathise - I had this happen to me but the cardigan construction was such that alternating skeins was not possible as you parked the back to pick up the fronts. I just live with the imperfection!!

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Thanks. I don’t think I could cope with dying. In my experience dying works best on natural fibres, unless there are specialist products for acrylic and plastic bottle… I don’t think I’d want to go down that route it sounds less than eco friendly for a lot of yarn I chose in an attempt to be a little more eco friendly.

I appreciate the ideas though. I really do.
Always learning.

The shop have offered to send a new ball and they have forwarded the info to King cole too.
The replacement ball may well have the same problem though.

Will wait and see!

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Creations,
WHAT A BUMMER.

Do you have a fun, new project you could work on as a palate cleanser before tackling whatever you decide will be your fix for this challenge? It might make the return to your lovely sweater a little easier.

Just a thought.
Claudia

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Thank you. Yes, I have yarn and pattern ready for the next project and I turned my mind to that. Although there’s always a bit of a dither at the start of something new, what sort of cast on would look best, should I run a second colour around the hem, should I cast on with a different size needle.
Decisions decisions.
Making a couple of swatches to get a feel for how to start.

Then I started tinking back the cardigan. I’d like to see if the sleeve can be rescued before tearing it out completely. Don’t trust myself with a life line in cables further down so just tinking slowly row by row.

Thank you everyone for your support and tips. It’s great to have you on my side and the advice and ideas are all milling around in my head. All fab ideas.

Wonderful color. I do see the transition.

Obvious to your eye because it is a sudden transition. You could transition using a dither effect of k2 ( in color B) then k1 (color A) etc with a tradition [transition] to k1 B, K1 A, then k 1B, K2 A, K 1B, etc. And finally just K A across
All while switching stitches K or P in pattern.

Sorry, I see that sounds cryptic.

Reddit post (355902)
tells you how to dither between two colors for a smoother color change even when the colors are significant different.
Good luck.

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Another great tip. Thanks for taking time to post.

I’m in the process of reworking and seeing how it looks. I’m hopeful I won’t need to rip out all the front and sleeve.

I got a YouTube video of Chicago’s You’re the Inspiration when I clicked on the link! Is that the new Rickroll? :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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I Fixed it. It now has a “color fade” knitting video. Chrome has been giving me grief when trying to copy a webpage or video address to my clipboard.

I could not find the Reddit post i had tried to link the first time.

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I know the feeling. I tried sending my brother a link to a video about a Japanese crepe made to look like an alpaca, but ironically he got sent a link to one about a knitting technique. Still a great song, though!

Hello Creations,
I have a rather odd question for you. Is it at all possible that you started the different balls from different “ends”(ouside and inside) of the skeins? I always roll skeins of yarn before starting a project because I have had problems with tangles when I don’t.
I worked at a yarn factory (Spinrite in Listowel Ontario) many years ago and was made aware that because of the twist of the yarn, it will catch the light differently if you work one skein from the outside and the next from the inside. For anyone who rolls their yarn before starting a project, make sure that they are all rolled either from the center of the skein or the outside of the skein. I hope you are able to solve your colour problem. Good luck to you.
Vicki

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Vicki, That would sure be worth a try. But s twist vs z twist is a pretty big error from a yarn company, if you meant that. Might you mean the free ends that we see fluff up a bit would vary from one end to the other? The bottom part does appear to have a bit of halo and the top part doesn’t.

Anyway great tip.

And I’m so sorry this happened’ Creations. Nothing worse than investing all that labor and then have to rip out a big part, from no fault of your own.

Ive done transitions from 1 color to another before. But never to hide a dye lot problem. It was more to make an hombre effect.

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If you take two skeins of yarn and wind them into balls before using them to make an article, be careful to always wind them the same way. If you take the tail of the skein from the outside to wind the ball and on the second skein you take the tail from
the inside of the skein the twist of the yarn will be opposite when you are working them into an article.

Try it just for fun sometime when you are bored. You will see how the light hits them differently because of the twist in the yarn. It can make it look like two different shades of colour.

I hope this explanation is clearer. Happy knitting.

Vicki

Thank you snowfleas.
I have seen a video tutorial on the results of twisting yarn when pulling from the centre rather than the outside of a ball (although I think it has a bigger effect with some yarns more than others, some members here said they have no problem working from the centre of a ball).
I have used all my yarn from the same end, the outside free end.
So, this was not the problem but well worth mentioning as it could have been the case.
Thank you

The texture is different as well as the colour, you are correct.
Oddly it is very hard to tell the difference on an unused ball and the difference is not even that noticable on different sections, but glaringly noticable when worked together.

I am making great progress though.
My yarn shop offered to replace or refund the yarn.
And I tinked like it was a form of meditation rather than a source of frustration.

I didn’t much like this yarn anyway once I received and swatched it.
The cardigan I’m making is a nice pattern but its loveliness is lost in this yarn, it would be much prettier and effective in a different yarn.
I’m just seeing this as an extra layer for cold days rather than a a fashion item or a great knitting achievement.
I wouldn’t be so easy going about it if I had loved this yarn or if it had not been such a budget price! I feel bad for people who go through this with more expensive yarn or an even bigger project!

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Thanks for getting back to me. I really wish that had been the problem. It would have been so easy to fix. I hope you find a solution that isn’t too expensive. Good luck.

Vicki

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