Top 10 colour combinations for your next colourwork sweater | Melancholia by Zaneteknits

Have you ever seen a gorgeous colourwork sweater you need to make for yourself and want to cast on right away, but when choosing colours, you aren't sure where to start?

Luckily, in the case of the Melancholia sweater, plenty of knitters agreed to test the pattern, and 26 of them made a truly unique version in colours so fascinating and breathtaking I was inspired beyond my wildest dreams. One tester even made two!

This post shares my top 10 tester colour choices for the Melancholia sweater across three main categories.

Category 1 - Following in the footsteps of the original design  

Light background with a darker contrast colour was the most popular choice, and I struggled to pick just 3, so here are my top 4 in this category:

My absolute favourite thus far is the one by alishaledmiston. It uses Spincycle Yarns Trine 11° as the main colour and Spincycle Yarns Dream State Ghost Ranch as the contrast colour. This version is a showstopper! I've got an orchid in bloom in similar colours, and I'm not sure if I love this sweater because of the orchid or the orchid because of this sweater.

I hope you agree that cityraccon has created a marvel, using a wool and cashmere blend in colourway Oatmeal as the primary colour and Olympus Harvest (ハーヴェスト) 5 as a contrast.

Another unforgettable version guaranteed to stir up some emotion is that by MrsMut. Spincycle Yarns Trine 29° as the background works so well with Spincycle Yarns Dream State Stay Out Of The Forest here.

And you can never go wrong with monochrome, as it is beautifully showcased by aidyltink with that version using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in colourway Narwhal as the main colour and The Plucky Knitter Scholar Worsted 2.0 in colourway Jack of All Trades.

There are so many more dark-on-light versions of this sweater. For starters, check out these projects on Ravelry by songstress, Chelseahagg, MariteAda, Secilaltun2, inita1221, suslikusliks and Dundunrada.

Category 2 - Bold and beautiful

Testers also loved the bold look of a bright background with an attention-grabbing, high-contrast pattern colour. This was the next most chosen mix. 

Calliclaire is playing to the gallery with her spectacularly pink take on the sweater. It is a combination of Spincycle Yarns Trine 7° as the main colour and Spincycle Yarns Dream State Rosy Maple as the contrast that does it.

Autumnedengoodman created a sample in a combination chosen by the Spincycle Yarns team. And what an extravagant pairing it is - Spincycle Yarns Trine 7°  to set the background tone again, but this time with Spincycle Yarns Dream State Valley Girl. 

How about a cool lilac? elenavetter shows that at least one fantastic combination exists. The choice of pairing Spincycle Yarns Dream State Melancholia used in the original design, with Malabrigo Yarn Worsted in colourway Orchid is genius. 

For more epic and brave pairings, check out Melancholia projects by pugmutt, Inese1978, IknitCupcakes, A-n-u, yphilco, Evija133, and suslikusliks.

Category 3 - Moody and mind-bending

Last but not least are the options that inverted the original putting dark colours as the main.

An astonishing effect is created in knitchard's version of Melancholia when using Magpie Fibers Nest Worsted in the colourway Twilight Dark with Queen City Yarns.

There's something about the tones chosen by salihabenderli as I couldn't take my eyes off her version for a considerable time. 

She's using Tipo folco old pink contrast colour on a dark blue background. 

If you're looking to add a unique twist to your look, follow the lead of Huapi and choose two eye-catching contrast colours: Cascade Yarns ® Cascade 220® Heathers in colourway 4006 Galaxy as the main colour paired with Cascade Yarns ® Cascade 220® Heathers in 2435 Japanese Maple and 9656 Burnt Sienna.

More of the dark, moody ones to explore are by gesuma05, MindyKannon and pugmutt.

I hope this post has inspired you to find your next striking combination for the Melancholia sweater or any other colourwork project. If you take away anything, remember that when choosing colours, don't be afraid to experiment and go outside your comfort zone - you might be surprised by the results. There is no right or wrong way to do it, have fun with it!