One of the current topics on the TalkTemari list was using variegated threads to stitch temari - some love them, others hate them. But - it started a good discussion run and we learned a lot. Janet P. is studying for her color master certification with the EGA and shared much info with us.....

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        I use variegated threads in many of my temari and extensively in my needlepoint and I've learned about using them. First off, the effect varies greatly depending on the color of the variegated thread.  I put them into two classes: Semi-solid (a knitter's term) are variegated threads which are shades of a single
color (webmaster's note - DMC variegateds fall into this category). Some of these have more variation than others, but basically they are all the same type. These are really easy to work with and can basically be used as if they were solids. You should also only use one of these in a ball.  Two of these kind of colors which look different in the skein, almost certainly have overlapping colors which will blend into each other when used.  The result will not look the way you think it will.  I know this from bitter experience in my needlepoint.

    The others (variegates)combine two or more colors in them.  These are probably the ones which attract us most, but they are also harder to use.  This is for a couple of reasons. The first has to do with the process used to create the colors. In order to get the blending between the colors, there will be places (which may be small or large) where the colors overlap.  This creates what I call "uncertain" colors, which are these odd, sort of neutral shades.  As near as I can tell every variegated  thread I've used has these.  It is also true of almost all variegated knitting yarns and is part of the dye process.  When doing almost any other form of needlework, the stitch puts part of the yarn on the "back" of the piece where it won't show.  This is not true of temari since little of the thread is hidden, even when we do stitches.  So these uncertain color get straight runs and can muddy the clearer colors we like. Minimizing this problem happens by careful choice of the variegated thread used and by using simpler patterns.

      The second reason is that picking accent colors for the temari is more difficult with variegated threads than with solid threads.  By picking a variegated thread for a design which has three different threads, you suddenly have five or six colors instead of three, just because of this one thread. And the color choice is more difficult. It can be solved. Either pick accents which are outside the range of colors in the thread (I did a cool four-division wrap using a pastel variegated with a bright blue accent).  Or pick one of the accent colors in the variegated thread and chose a stronger version of that.  The accent color needs to be stronger because if you match (which you do in needlepoint), the accent will get lost against the accent portions of the variegated thread.

        One last note, in other needlearts, ombre is only used for the specific thread called Ombre from Kreinik.  The term used for thread like the pearls from DMC which are shades of one color only is variegated.  The preferred terms for the kind of threads we are discussing which may have shades of more than one color is overdyed (from a process used to get these colors) or, more properly but less popularly, multi-colored. DMC variegateds are variegated threads, in thread terms this means varied shades of a single color.  Ombre is a term used for fabrics which shade from light to dark over the fabric or the garment.  It is generally used as a term by dyers and by garment manufacturers to describe shaded fabric.

        In thread terms, the term for Caron Watercolours is "overdyed."  This refers to the process where portions of the thread are dyed again to create the additional colors. While "overdyed" is not correctly applied to Watercolours, since they don't use that process, it has become, through extensive use, the common term for these kind of threads (not fabrics) for needleworkers.