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Yarns for color knitting

Yarns appropriate for stranded and other colorwork, with large color ranges (say, 20 or more colors). Links take you to the yarn's Ravelry page - from there you can find photos, color cards, and retailers. Thanks to Nanette Blanchard of Knitting in Color for the idea; I've used her original list from September 2008 as a starting point.

Hundreds of artisan hand-dyers produce yarns suitable for colorwork- especially fingering weight. I've included just a few here who offer a wide range of monochrome colors and a consistent, reliable supply.

Fingering weight - 100% wool: Biggan Design First Cross Merino 4 ply (Australian first cross merino-Border Leicester)
Blackberry Ridge 100% Wool Fingering Weight
Brooklyn Tweed Loft (U.S.-grown Targhee/Columbia); Brown Sheep Nature Spun Fingering
Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering (merino hand-dye)
Dale of Norway Baby Ull
Elemental Affects Natural Shetland Fingering
Hand Jive Nature's Palette Fingering (merino)
Harrisville New England Shetland
Isager Highland (Højlandsgarn)
Isager Spinni (Wool 1)
Isager Tvinni (Wool 2)
Jaggerspun Maine Line Wool 2/8
Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift (Shetland); Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight (Shetland)
[see Shetland yarn color correspondences/substitutions]
Knit Picks Palette
Koigu Premium Merino
Louet Gems Fingering (merino)
Madelinetosh Tosh Sock (merino superwash)
Malabrigo Sock (merino)
Miss Babs Yummy Toes (merino hand-dye)
Pagewood Farm Chugiak and Glacier Bay (merino hand-dyes)
Quince and Co. Finch (not on Ravelry yet)
Rauma Finullgarn
Rauma Lamullgarn
Reynolds Wash Day Wool (superwash); Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply (superwash)
Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply
Sandnesgarn Lanett
Sanguine Gryphon Eidos (merino); Sanguine Gryphon Little Traveller (merino superwash)
Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra
Shibui Knits Sock (merino)
St.-Denis Boreale
Vuorelma Satakieli
Wollmeise Merino Superwash
Fingering weight - wool blends: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine (80% cotton/20% merino)
Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine (wool/nylon/alpaca)
Cascade Heritage Solids (wool/nylon)
Crystal Palace Panda Silk (merino/bamboo/silk)
Elann Limited Edition Filati Fine (wool/acrylic/nylon)
Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere (alpaca/merino/cashmere)
Fibre Company Canopy Fingering (alpaca/merino/bamboo)
Hazel Knits Artisan Sock (merino/nylon)
Knit Picks Gloss Sock (merino/silk)
Knit Picks Stroll (merino/nylon)
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solids (wool/nylon)
Mountain Colors Bearfoot (wool/mohair/nylon)
Pagewood Farm St. Elias and Denali (wool/nylon hand-dyes)
Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4-ply (wool/microfiber/cashmere)
Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! (merino/cashmere/nylon hand-dye)
Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin (merino/nylon)
Sport weight - 100% wool: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2-ply more info & color card here
Bartlettyarns Rangeley Sport
Blackberry Ridge Sport Weight
Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Sport
Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport
Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb Single Ply Sports
Cascade 220 Sport
Classic Elite Classic One Fifty
Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Sport Weight (merino hand-dye)
Dale of Norway Falk
Dale of Norway Heilo
Elann Peruvian Highland Sport (currently unavailable)
Hifa 2 Ullgarn
Jaggerspun Maine Line Wool 3/8
Kauni Wool 8/2 Solids
Knit Picks Telemark** discontinued 2011
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Solids
Louet Gems Sport (merino)
Miss Babs Yummy Toes Monochrome Sport (merino)
Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash
Québécoise 2-ply; Quince and Co. Chickadee
Reynolds Whiskey
Sandnesgarn Tove
St.-Denis Nordique
Sunday Knits Eden 3-ply (merino)
Sport weight - wool blends: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light (wool/alpaca)
Classic Elite Fresco (wool/alpaca/angora)
Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (wool/silk) [sport/DK]
Knit Picks Stroll Sport (merino/nylon)
Rowan Felted Tweed (merino/rayon/alpaca) [sport/DK]
Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! (merino/cashmere/nylon)
DK weight - 100% wool: Ashford Tekapo
Berroco Pure Merino DK
Biggan Design First Cross Merino DK (Australian first cross merino-Border Leicester)
Jamieson's Double Knitting (Shetland)
Jamieson & Smith Double Knitting (Shetland)
Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool
Klippan Tuna; Knit Picks Merino Style
Knit Picks Swish DK (merino superwash)
Madelinetosh Tosh DK (merino superwash - light worsted)
Québécoise 3-ply; Rauma 3-ply Strikkegarn
Rauma Istra
Reynolds Soft Sea Wool
Rowan Pure Wool DK (superwash)
Rowan Scottish Tweed DK
Sandnesgarn Peer Gynt
Sanguine Gryphon Traveller (merino superwash)
DK weight - wool blends: Crystal Palace Panda Silk DK (merino/bamboo/silk)
Hazel Knits DK Lively (merino/nylon)
Knit Picks Gloss DK (wool/silk)
Jaggerspun Zephyr 4/8 (wool/silk)
Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK (wool/microfiber/cashmere)
Rowan Wool Cotton (wool/cotton) [sport/DK]
Worsted weight - 100% wool: Alice Starmore Hebridean 3-ply more info & color card here
Bartlettyarns Rangeley 2-ply (aka Rangeley Wool)
Black Water Abbey 2-ply Worsted
Blackberry Ridge Traditional Colors Medium Weight
Brooklyn Tweed Shelter
Briggs & Little Regal (aka Canadian Regal, Ram Wools Selkirk, Cottage Craft 2-ply)
Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash
Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted
Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb Worsted (single)
Cascade 220 and 220 Heathers and 220 Superwash
Elann Peruvian Highland Donegal
Elann Peruvian Highland Wool
Ella Rae Classic
Hifa 3 Ullgarn
Jamieson's Shetland Heather; Knit Picks Swish Worsted (merino superwash)
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted; Louet Gems Worsted (merino)
Madelinetosh Tosh DK (merino superwash - light worsted)
Malabrigo Rios (merino)
Manos del Uruguay Rittenhouse Merino 5-ply
Nashua Handknits Julia
Patons Classic Wool
Philosopher's Wool 2-ply
Plymouth Galway Worsted
Quince and Co. Lark
Reynolds Lite Lopi / Istex Lett-Lopi (single)
Shepherd Classic 100% Wool
Worsted weight - wool blends: Berroco Vintage (acrylic/wool/nylon)
Berroco Ultra Alpaca (wool/alpaca)
Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton/20% merino)
Fibre Company Canopy Worsted (alpaca/merino/bamboo); Knit Picks Andean Silk (alpaca/silk/merino)
Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted (wool/alpaca)
Heavy worsted/Aran weight - 100% wool: Berroco Peruvia
Berroco Pure Merino
Briggs & Little Heritage
Brown Sheep Lanaloft worsted (single)
Classic Elite Renaissance
Harrisville New England Highland
Jamieson's Shetland Heather
Lion Brand Lion Wool Solids
Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica (single)
Mission Falls 1824 Wool (merino superwash)
Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Superwash
Quince and Co. Osprey
Rauma Vamsegarn
Reynolds Candide
Tahki Donegal Tweed
Heavy worsted/Aran weight - wool blends: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (wool/mohair single)
Classic Elite Portland Tweed (wool/rayon/alpaca)
Elann Peruvian Sierra Aran (wool/alpaca)
Cascade Pastaza (llama/wool)
Classic Elite Montera (llama/wool)
Rowan Felted Tweed Aran (merino/rayon/alpaca)

Yarns with long color changes
A simple way to get complex color effects is to use yarns like these that transition through several colors in long stretches, either alone or with a solid color for stranded projects.

Fingering weight: Crystal Palace Mini Mochi; Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn
Knit Picks Chroma Fingering
Noro Kureyon sock
Noro Silk Garden sock; Regia Design Line Hand-dye Effect
Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball
Worsted weight: Knit Picks Chroma Worsted
Noro Kureyon
Noro Silk Garden
Plymouth Boku
Aran weight: Crystal Palace Mochi Plus
Shetland yarn color correspondences/substitutions: Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift -- Starmore Scottish Campion; Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight -- Starmore Scottish Campion; Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift -- Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight (Camilla Valley Farm)
Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift -- Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight (Feral Knitter; PDF)

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