Guide to Using Mandala Yarn for The Sanguine Sweater
Over the last two months I’ve been writing up my very first sweater pattern and it’s been so…… incredibly fun… immeasurably challenging, and undoubtedly worth it!
The Sanguine sweater pattern is endlessly versatile, it can be a brilliant stash buster, you can plan out repetitive colors carefully, or…. you can even leave the color changing to a skein of Mandala Yarn. All you have to do is pick a Mandala color way, choose a base color that compliments that color way and you’re in business! Note: Keep in mind when choosing your Mandala color way that if your base color shows up in the Mandala skein, they will eventually line up and your color work will be invisible. Either cut the Mandala yarn when you get to that point and cut out the matching base color portion then reattach, or just choose your Mandala skein carefully as to not be too close to your base color, it’s up to you! (And to be honest, it’s really worth cutting out the white portion of some skeins if you’re using white as your base color, because there are some extremely beautiful mandala skeins that feature white portions).
Note: The sweater was designed to use 4 colors repeatedly and white for the base, but that’s just a suggestion. To make choosing your color scheme 100% simpler, I’ve designed a free Sanguine coloring page that you can find here.
My Sanguine Sweater:
2 skeins of the color way “Centaur” purchased at Walmart because it’s about 25% cheaper. This was plenty of yardage for size 3 (and a dog sweater). But for sizes 4 - 7, I would suggest using 4 skeins of Mandala, and sizes 8 + 9 use 5 skeins.
I used 1 skein of white Bernat Baby Sport yarn (although it was a little thicker than the Mandala yarn, I’d recommend trying Lion Brand Touch of Merino, although it sheds like no one’s business).
How to make a Sanguine Sweater using Mandala Yarn:
Follow all of the instructions from casting on the neck, all the way through to finishing the torso. Do not try and manipulate when the color changes, just let it flow, yo!
Now you are going to do the sleeves next. Take your second ball of yarn and divide up all the colors into separate balls so you can manually change the colors for the sleeves, otherwise your color chunks won’t match up with the torso of your sweater.
Follow the sleeve instructions for the decreases while maintaining a close eye on the torso for when the colors change and then switch colors in unison with the torso.
Here’s a free tip: weave in all of your ends after you finish the first sleeve, it’ll make the second sleeve seem less daunting, because we all know that weaving in the ends is truly the worst part of making a project.
If this all seems a little too challenging for you, check out my complete check list of skills to learn before attempting the Sanguine Sweater here. Knitting should always be relaxing and enjoyable, right?
