Neon/Fluorescent
We just received 4 new NEON colours in Cascade 220 Superwash Merino and it made me think how lucky we are to have great neon yarns in three thicknesses: Fingering (Cascade Heritage), Worsted (Cascade 220 Superwash Merino), and Super Bulky (Cascade Spuntaneous). All 3 yarns are made from super-soft merino wool, and both Heritage and 220 Superwash Merino are machine washable (Spuntaneous is hand-wash).
Colour Combos
Neon colours aren't really like other colours because they're so BRIGHT. They are great on their own, but they also look wonderful combined with a neutral like light grey, cream, or even a darker colour like a charcoal grey or black, and even navy (for that lite-brite effect). Pictures speak louder and more effectively than words, so I put together a 'look-book' of pattern inspiration (linked above) to give you an idea of what can be done with neons. There are also great colour combinations in the book Neons & Neutrals by Aimee Gille.
You can use a little hit of Neon paired with a field of neutral to set it off and create a dynamic look, like in the Granny Stripe Blanket or this Cumulonimbus Nuvem Wrap by Melidott (pictured above).
You can mellow out a neon and make it a bit more pastel by holding a neon base yarn (Cascade Heritage) with an off-white (or something close) kid-mohair (like Drops Kid-Silk) and marling them. Look for a pattern that combines a Fingering Weight with a Lace Weight yarn. To take it down a few more notches strand it with two strands of kid-mohair or a single strand of brushed alpaca like Drops Brushed Alpaca & Silk. You can see this in projects like Neon Cecil (above) and Stephen West does this frequently to modify the colour.
Yarn Combining:
- Lace weight mohair + fingering = worsted (4.5mm/US7 to 5mm/US8 needles/hook)
- fingering + fingering = worsted (4.5mm/US7 needles/hook)
- Lace weight mohair x 2 + fingering = aran to bulky (5.5mm/US9 to 6.5mm/US10.5 needles/hook)
- Lace weight mohair + worsted = bulky (6mm/US10 to 6.5mm/US10.5 needles/hook)
- fingering + aran brushed alpaca = bulky (6mm/US10 needles/hook)
