Swatch-ola, the Waffle Pullover Jukebox

1, 2, 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock: swatch!

It seems like the people want to see as many pairings of Jane shades as possible for Amy Christoffers’s Waffle Pullover.

Because of the way the background grid of Color A dominates the twinkly dots of Color B in this mosaic stitch design, snapping a photo of two skeins side by side is not cutting it for the future sweater makers of our upcoming Bang Out a Sweater knitalong.

I volunteer to knit as many swatches as I can, and catalog them here. Bookmark this page (here’s how), and watch the colors spiel as the days go on.

My windowsill is getting to be a very happy place. I’ll keep adding swatches to this page until I’m all swatched out—scroll on down to see if your combination is there yet.

Breaking News: Three Swatch Sizes

How small can a swatch be, and still convey a useful sense of how two colors look as A and B?

I started with a luxurious 8 x 8 inch swatch that is suitable for framing. Then I did a quarter-size 4 x 4 swatch. One of the latter takes 45 minutes or so. Well worth the time in color-picking power.

Could I go smaller? Yes! Introducing: the 1/8 swatch, a 2 x 2 inch little beauty that takes 15 minutes or less and leaves plenty of yarn for the main event.

Here’s the revised recipe, with instructions for all 3 sizes, from mini to midi to maxi.

Flat Waffle Swatch Instructions

Cast on 13 (25, 49) stitches in color A using the long-tail cast-on.

Now start the 4-row pattern:

Rows 1 and 2 (color A): Knit

Row 3 (color B) (RS): *Slip 1 wyib (with yarn in back), k1, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 wyib.

Row 4 (color B) (WS): *Slip 1 wyif (with yarn in front), k1, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 wyif.

Repeat rows 1-4 4 (10, 20) times.

Knit 3 rows in color A and bind off on the next row (WS).

Important note. These flat swatches are a tasty and expeditious way to explore color pairings. If you are swatching for gauge, however, do heed the pattern’s instruction to swatch in the round. Here’s a helpful video from Laura Nelkin on a neat way to swatch in the round.

Behold: the Swatch Jukebox

This is where I’ll post Jane swatches as they come off my needles.

To make it easier to find a combination, the photos are organized in alphabetical order by the name of Color A.

Aubergine

Aubergine and Cameo (swatch on the right):

Aubergine and Citronelle:

Aubergine and Persimmon:

Caladium

Caladium and Peony (swatch on the right):

Cameo

Cameo and Aubergine:

Celeste

Celeste and Vista (swatch on the left):

Citronelle

Citronelle and Aubergine:

Citronelle and Earth:

Citronelle and Pampas (swatch on the right):

Citronelle and Peony:

Citronelle and Persimmon:

Citronelle and Yorkshire:

Clay

Clay and Earth (swatch on the right):

Earth

Earth and Citronelle:

Earth and Clay (swatch on the left):

Earth and Persimmon:

Earth and Yorkshire:

Heather

Heather and Scarlet (swatch on the left):

Juniper

Juniper and Marigold (swatch on the left):

Lilac

Lilac and Shadow (swatch on the right):

Marigold

Marigold and Juniper (swatch on the right):

Pampas

Pampas and Citronelle (swatch on the left):

Pathos (Pothos)

Pathos and Sage (swatch on the right):

Peony

Peony and Citronelle:

Peony and Persimmon:

Peony and Caladium (swatch on the left):

Persimmon

Persimmon and Aubergine:

Persimmon and Citronelle:

Persimmon and Peony:

Persimmon and Shadown (swatch on the right):

Sage

Sage and Pathos/Pothos (swatch on the left)

Scarlet

Scarlet and Heather (swatch on the right):

Shadow

Shadow and Lilac (swatch on the left):

Shadow and Persimmon:

Seeing a combination play out at the scale of a whole sweater gives a different perspective! In this case, Persimmon gets toned down by Shadow, but still peeks through in a warm, joyful way. This sweater is Number 1 in my outfit lineup this winter; I just keep reaching for it.

Vista

Vista and Celeste (swatch on the right):

Yorkshire

(We preface these with the sad fact that we are out of stock on Yorkshire. That said, we’ll have more in a while, but it’ll be many weeks.)

Yorkshire and Bluebell (top sweater):

Yorkshire and Citronelle:

Yorkshire and Earth:

Join the Fun, Get a Sweater

Our Bang Out a Sweater knitalong starts on January 30. That day, we’ll all cast on and start sharing our progress pictures far and wide.

On Instagram, Threads, and wherever else you post, use the hashtag #BangOutaWaffle so that everyone can ooh and aah and cheer each other on.

As always with an MDK knitalong, all yarns are welcome, so get thee to your stash. The Waffle Pullover is knit in a DK-weight yarn, so there are lots of beautiful choices.

Also: We’ve got an optional, totally awesome three-session virtual workshop with legendary teacher Lorilee Beltman. Read all about it here.

MDK Society members: use your membership coupon code to save 10 percent on the workshop and your yarn. And be sure to come hang out in the MDK Society Lounge, where the Bang Out conversation is on!