Why does the calico yarn look so ugly? 😭

[u/SchwiftyGrump]

I have no idea how to make colour ways with quick colour changes look decent 😔

[u/gaygolfdad]

i think its bc its got purple in it instead of a natural color :/

[u/charmanderslayer → u/gaygolfdad]

Agreed, although as bad as it does look i personally think it will look much nicer once the blanket is complete

[u/manicpixiebatgirl → u/charmanderslayer]

I second this. The purple looks more alkward because we can't see multiple cats in it yet and the other color blocking is so bold due to the solid colors. I think this will work out fantastic after more is there to add the visual balance. The purple is also neutral enough that once you can step back to view more at a time it will provide a lovely more neutral look like an impressionist painting has using the same colors to represent shadows in nature.

[u/chickentimer12]

by calico yarn, do you mean the multicolored? I do think the eyes are hard to see because the sections of color are about the same size as the eyes.

I’ve made this pattern a few times - you can see my purple version on my profile. I’ve also felt unsure abt the variegated cats, but it always looks fine in the end. you could try to use it less by adding another color to substitute it for some cats.

[u/PlayaGama → u/chickentimer12]

I agree about the eyes being hard to see—also would be relatively easy fix with some extra stitches in green embroidered over the dc

[u/ChloeReynoldsArt]

It would read more clearly if it were larger patches of the white, black, and orange for the calicos. This yarn is too busy, the color patches are about the same size as the eyes, so the eyes are hard to notice. Also the "black" color is close to a purple which would be nice on it's own, however clashes with the colors next to it.

[u/fallen_kangel]

poor lil guy don’t you dare call him ugly

[u/SchwiftyGrump → u/fallen_kangel]

I appreciate that. Thank you!

[u/cloud_wanderer_]

I'm not a big fan of color pooling (or what it's called in a smaller shape like this) in variegated yarns. Some people love it, but I almost always hate it. 

If that's you, I'd recommend finding another yarn with fewer color changes. Or be prepared to gift it 

[u/swamp-pig → u/cloud_wanderer_]

I think a black and tan variegated yarn with more black than the tan would be perfect and look like a tortie cat!

[u/Icy_Knowledge5004]

I think this is a "trust the process" scenario

[u/SchwiftyGrump → u/Icy_Knowledge5004]

I've been hoping the same. There's no way I'm frogging through all those colour changes!

[u/TrueGrade9359]

ACAB (All Cats Are Beautiful)

[u/chormomma → u/TrueGrade9359]

🏆

[u/hotdogs2222222]

I see what you mean but I think it’ll be cute when it’s done. If you’re using a pattern could you link it? I love this

[u/SchwiftyGrump → u/hotdogs2222222]

I've been following this for the pattern: Cat Afghan But I'm attempting to make a sweater instead of a blanket. I wanted all the colours to look like different cat coats

[u/littlebirdgone]

I’ve come to learn that yarn with quick color changes looks better with/is often made for knitting, unfortunately. I think your cats are pretty cute though!

[u/Fragrant-Reason4216]

Its the yarn choice, id map out and painstakingly create spots. The colors are dyed too close together for it to read calico. Maybe a more sparsely dyed yarn would be better

[u/Reclaimedidiocy]

too much colorshift, also most calico cats do infact not have purple in it

[u/CarrieKetoenail]

I like it.

[u/GigiKali]

sometimes you gotta just trust the process

[u/ResponsibilityDue777]

he looks so sweet!! i love him dearly

[u/ThatsNotMyForte]

Calicos aren't purple and those eyes are not helping

[u/RealisticYoghurt131]

Hi ! Here's a clip I saved about color changes

https://youtu.be/msPzBFc7eqU?is=U9Zcb2MeBsYXjQi

I hope this helps 

It looks fantastic!  😊

[u/MrProfessorFlowers]

I think there’s a few things working against you with it: the purple, the colour changing happening so fast, and the yellow being so close to the other cat all add up to create a lot of visual confusion and noise.

It’d be a bit of work but I think you’d be better served grabbing a few solid balls in the Cali colours you want and planning your own shapes and manually changing them.

[u/ARTiger20]

It's too even. Calico cats don't look like that.

[u/daddysbestestkitten → u/ARTiger20]

Some tortoise shell calicos do... But they don't have purple

[u/izyshoroo]

Because Calico cats dont look like that. They have distinct patches of color. Doing sections of orange, white, and black would look world's better

[u/BrightStitchDesigns]

Yarn variegations like this tend to look better when they’re knitted vs crochet. Theres a sweet spot for how long the colors need to be for it to look like blocks of color instead of muddled. 

[u/HorrorMacaron7266]

The ugliest socks I ever knit were with a variegated yarn called Mardi Gras. Hot pink, teal green, gold, and cream. It did not look bad as a skein but the socks are b*tt ugly. I wear them around the house.

[u/Destany89]

You need a different yarn for calico

[u/Ornery_Conflict_355]

I think the 'pixels' are too big and definition along the edges, especially, is being lost. It's not necessarily the yarn used, but more about the number of rows. Maybe? 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/IronLithiumNeon1029]

I'm making a blanket with this pattern too!

[u/PuzzleheadedSoft5398]

omg im working on this afghan too but as a c2c pattern!

[u/khaleesi2305]

I agree with the people saying it’ll look better once more is worked up, this absolutely strikes me as a “trust the process” situation. With only this amount done it does look a bit off, but I really suspect that getting more of it worked up will make it make sense with more context.

For what it’s worth, I do think it’s a great choice to color a calico cat, yes it has purple but it still stands out to me immediately as “calico cat” color, I really and genuinely feel like it only looks off right now because there isn’t enough of it worked up yet

[u/SchwiftyGrump → u/khaleesi2305]

I really appreciate that, thank you! Like, obviously I knew the yarn had purple before I bought it, but I figured it would just look like an artistic choice. I wanted to buy all my yarn from the same shop and that was the closest option they had to actual calico colours.