Welcome to Jimmy Beans Wool's Guide to Hand-Dyed Yarns!

• Characteristics: yarns have a more tonal variation, with multiple shades of the same or similar colors blending together in the yarn
• Pros: easy on the eye; "watercolor" effect adds visual interest without being overwhelming
• Challenges: each skein is unique, so there can be much variation between skeins of the same colorway
• Other tonal favorites: Malabrigo Chunky, Manos Del Uruguay Fino

• Characteristics: dye is applied by hand, so each skein has subtle variations; the dyer completely controls color application and can create truly unique combinations and effects
• Pros: instantly recognizable as hand-crafted; very artistic look
• Challenges: larger projects can be difficult due to variation between skeins
• Other hand-painted favorites: Urth Yarns Uneek Worsted, Koigu KPM Solid

• Characteristics: a soft-blend effect between multiple colors of yarn on the same skein, achieved by adding different-colored dyes to the dye pot at the same time
• Pros: even high-contrast colors are able to intermingle beautifully for a unified effect
• Challenges: colors are placed at irregular intervals on the skein, so it can be difficult to tell exactly what it will look like when knit up
• Other kettle-dyed favorites: Manos del Uruguay

• Characteristics: speckles and splashes of color, achieved by flinging or spraying dye directly onto the yarn
• Pros: super-fun, one-of-a-kind, stippled effect
• Challenges: like other hand-paints, skeins can vary greatly
• Speckled favorites: Madelinetosh Prairie

• Characteristics: yarn is dyed in very long color runs, so your knitted project has color shifts that gradually blend from one to the next
• Pros: you can create gorgeous, ombre-effect knitting without switching between skeins of different colors
• Challenges: choosing the right project to show off this uniquely-dyed yarn

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