First impressions of the FLEA SWEATER design & pattern|| Midweek Ramble

[@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS]

In today’s episode, I’m sharing my first impressions of the Flea Sweater by Anna and Heidi Pickles. www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flea-sweater---loppisgenser-pickles-pure-wool

[@kathleengarvey4634]

The term " lice" is a direct translation of the Norwegian knitting term for the background flecks of color in traditional sweaters.

[@BeautyNookbyLauren]

Interesting! Does it still refer to little bugs in the Norwegian? Or is it just a coincidence in the translation?

[@soncerrae]

You are mixing what is called "dirty" and "clean" colors. The tobacco, navy, and teal? are in the dirty category (more grey in the color) and the light blue, yellow (and optional red) are leaning "clean". If anything, I think it's the yellow that stands out as wrong, as the photo of the men's pattern shows more of a sunflower, golden yellow (more grey in the tone.)

[@corriemcclain7960]

Yes, I agree, the yellow is the one that stood out to me as the one to go to

[@karenprovost2035]

Same for me, I feel it should be a yellow that leans towards gold instead. Love the rust more than red. I’m assuming you will knit a striped swatch trying out the colors?

[@LisaMattison-i9e]

The yellow needs to be more golden... Love the tobacco color better than the red. The sage green is too dull to me... I think that needs to be a little richer as well. Hope that helps!☺️❤️

[@catzilla773]

I totally agree with you three! The yellow would be much better in a more golden or mustard hue. That combined with the tobacco color & the other choices would be lovely.

[@harbourcolour]

I agree, I love yellow, but with this combo, I would use the gold and the burnt orange instead of the yellow. Nice pattern and colours!

[@nanabella007]

To me, what makes your color combo more “toy shop” as you put it, is actually the yellow. In the picture the yellow looks more muted and reads more towards ocher than the bright yellow you have in your selection so in combination with the red it brings out the primal color scheme. If the yellow should stay I think I would opt for the brown instead of the red. Really awesome project!

[@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS]

I totally see what you mean! I’m going to move the yellow out and see how it looks.

[@janhtay]

I'm so glad you shared this pattern. I much prefer the copper/tobacco/rust.

[@knitfulgrace]

I started two flea sweaters for my brothers in October, it’s wild to me it’s become so popular! Can’t wait to see your sweater!

[@KnittyCat28]

Wow the patience and courage you have is inspiring. The thought of steeking is terrifying to me but seeing you do it has boosted my confidence a little soaybe one day. Finished dress is absolutely stunning and looks great on you ❤

[@MediaPeruanaKnits]

Oooh, socks! I would not wear this as a sweater but as soon as you said "socks" I was on board. You could use leftovers and do this easily. Adding that to my fall plans!

[@LindaBikesKnits]

What a fun sweater to knit up! I think the brown copper looks very nice but when the two colors were placed close to your face, the red compliments your skin tone.. it brightens your face.

[@dinam8934]

Lovin' the "Tabakki" with the rest of them 😉

[@mollymollie6048]

I love this sweater!!! I just got the latest Talbots catalog, and I was flashing back to 1979-1981-ish, and considering we were in the late 70s Disco era with the shirt dresses, and long sleeveless flowy dresses…now I’m seeing plaid schoolgirl skirts, and sweaters like this (which creates happiness for me, cause if we’re sticking with creeping along every few years, we’re gonna be full on preppy 80s…if only I’d kept the clothes from junior high…if I see knickers worn with argyle socks and Bass Weejuns Penny Loafers, I will be transported to 7th grade immediately 🤣) This sweater reminds me of the classic LL Bean navy or maroon stranded ‘lice’ sweater with the lice in offset vertical diagonals in sets of three. I had one of those, loved it…and I’m the same size, height, etc as I was in 7th grade…if only I’d kept all of those clothes!! (All you 7th graders out there, if you’re done growing, store all the clothes away, and in 40 years, you will be the height of fashion in ‘vintage’ 2024 ripping off 1980 🤣)

[@amaris-uhmariss-barela9118]

Honestly I’m OBSESSED w the colors w the red and minus the yellow! I am from Albuquerque New Mexico and it’s totally giving southwest which also matches your area 🖤

[@robinmccamont]

“Earthy” vibe, definitely!

[@diannaewing9659]

As soon as you described the overall “vibe” of the sweater you were looking for, the tobacco color makes sense. Your color choices are going to make a beautiful sweater!

[@StitchdbyAP]

I started this sweater pattern for my husband after scoring a deal on 6 fingering weight yarns during a yarn crawl! The colors (baby pink, rust, maroon, light blue, light green, and teal) all lean more muted and the overall sweater is giving super retro 70s vibes. Can’t wait to see how yours turns out!! 🎉

[@erickrapp]

I love the flea sweater with the tobacco yarn!

[@christineupright9543]

The rustic orange is gorgeous! I think if the yellow was more mustard it would be 🤌🏻

[@michellenokken2597]

My exact thoughts

[@heatherboone3066]

Totally agree!

[@etoylemckee6832]

You are sooo good at finding new and doable knitting adventures . We all love you for that

[@MiMi_bicyclette]

I vote for the “tobacco” color! (Personally love the pop of yellow!) 😊😊

[@donnamccormick6692]

The tobacco color is my favorite combo

[@corriemcclain7960]

If it was me I'd get rid of the yellow and keep the reddish one and the brown one. It looks like a really fun pattern

[@sylviaread8538]

Love the tobacco/earthy vibe!

[@sandramullen7650]

The red definitely. The brown dulls it right out.

[@ashleighnorris]

Agreed!

[@emilycreager2269]

I want to do a temperature blanket next year. This might be a good choice to use up any extra yarn from that!

[@bethtaylor2500]

with the burnt red color. YES, YES, YES

[@jessmakingit]

I really like the pop of bright orange! Great sweater pick

[@lindarobbins6750]

I agree with many others about the yellow being too bright, but I like the brown and red equally. This looks like a fun project!

[@claretrevor8111]

Love the tobacco yarn. Very Southwesty!

[@kimmyk3640]

This is the coolest sweater and I am here for it!!!

[@MariaPomirska-k4i]

I think that the red makes the other colours zing

[@SeeSimone]

Love that!! Red gives crayons, rust gives watercolor palette. Both excellent vibes, but the rust feels more everyday wearable. Either way, have fun!!

[@kathrynsmither3905]

The tobacco color looks very classic! It will be a beautiful sweater!

[@amyrofgnknits]

Love the Rustic Tobacco color !!

[@beaudoin1987]

tobacco!! I love the colors. Have fun.

[@carolinedubose5136]

I love the tobacco color next to the collar!!

[@stitchedscorpio]

I really like the red!! but i agree with the other comments saying the yellow needs to be a bit more mustard/ subdued!

[@maureendesmarais6955]

Thanks again for the sweater review. Added to my queue!

[@janetcannon9842]

Try taking a pic of all of the colors together, then put a black and white filter on it. See which one (red or brown) has the contrast you want.

[@johnnelson9688]

This is exactly what I was going to suggest, it really helps when choosing colours.

[@sheridanbrown656]

Yes! I like the oranger one.

[@PriscillaWhite-Tocker]

Hi Tayler, I definitely think you should choose the tobacco color rather than the bright red (the tobacco also nicely compliments your hair color). I love this pattern and am adding it to my queue. Thank you for sharing!

[@Tish_Ann77]

Go with the tobacco color in the sweater! It's divine!❤

[@Shelbs-Art]

I love the rustic orange option!! It does a good job of toning down the almost primary color palette!😊❤️

[@juliaboles7138]

The Flea Sweater looks lovely. Personally, I like the more muted, rusty red. I am wondering if a slightly more muted, mustardy yellow might work better too. I'm sure that whatever colours you settle on will be wonderful. I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[@FayGavigan-sr5dy]

Both gorgeous but tobacco as it’s such a lovely colour x can’t wait to see your progress x

[@ljtnc6012]

Thanks for sharing this sweater pattern with us. I really want to make one! I'm terrible about picking out that many colors to go together. I wish they would offer kits to choose from. As far as your choices, the best thing to do is swatch to get a real feel. Because of the thick/thin nature of the stripes it's hard to be sure how it will work ip by just holding skeins of yarn next to each other, IMO. Cant wait to see your progress and FO!

[@brendamacdougall3749]

I like the tobacco colour yarn the best. I love how it looks with the your brim colour. personally I think tobacco coloured yarn is more smokey or muted looking with all your other colours. Love the sweater pattern and all your colour choices.

[@dianem7563]

I think the dark clay color blends better then the red and gives me a southwest vibe.

[@Knitwithjessica]

The rust colour is 👌

[@mwolfe7883]

This is a such a neat sweater!

[@SueMurnin]

That’s a lovely sweater it’s a colour pattern I learnt as a child! Also in my family it’s called Pip stitch because it looks like apple pips! Also as someone who knits a lot of Fair Isle please do some it’s very addictive 😂

[@Kaylyn610]

Love love love the tobacco!

[@balkenbrack]

I love it with the tobacco colour.

[@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS]

Thank you! I do as well!

[@nanhendrickson5012]

Hello!! I like the yarn combo with the tobacco color rather than the red. Love the sweater!

[@michellepissk-schupak5440]

Tayler, I think the yellow and the red together is giving it the primary look. If you like to keep the yellow in, I would vote for the tobacco which is more toned down. When you add the red, it looks like primary colors. I can't wait to watch it evolve. Glad you are back! I did miss you but glad you had your summer with your family.

[@niknaiman5359]

Honestly you can't go wrong with either color combo as they would both be gorgeous. My gut first said the red, but as I look more I'm leaning toward the more rusty color.

[@wookori]

I definitely prefer the tobacco color. I feel like it helps to transition and blend the yellow better into the other colors.

[@tjthreegreenbananas155]

Love your color choices. Yes! The red color. I was typing that adding another color in the reddish range feels like it would give a help the other colors stand out. Can you use both the orange and the red and swap out one of the other colors? It's difficult to tell without a swatch, but it will look great whatever you choose. Thanks for sharing this pattern. I've been looking for a pattern to use with those single colors of fingering weight that I have. Super excited to see your progress. Good luck!

[@greenpurl8482]

I've been to the Pickles yarn store in Oslo, Norway. Looks like a candy store - so colorful and bright! They only carry their own yarn. Thanks for introducing me to this pattern - I think this might be my first stripe/colorwork sweater!

[@monahoscheid]

Do whatever colors make you happy. I love the more red yarn. You know what you will wear😅

[@EdnaxScissorhands]

Orange is my preference! :)

[@helenedujardin3539]

That sweater is going to be gorgeous! I love the idea of the tobacco over the red - less Toy Story vibe. I was contemplating knitting the Wool and Pine Sea Glass sweater which has a better size range but now I'm torn ahah! Can't wait to see how your project turns out!

[@tjthreegreenbananas155]

What a great pattern!

[@StitchesandPrayersVlog-cast]

I vote earthy vibe! The Tabasco colored is beautiful

[@morelsonthetrail6920]

Go with the tobacco orange. I’d check and see if you have is a warmer yellow, the current one is bright and has primary color vibes.

[@cjkathe]

The rust for sure. You've probably already decided on it. What a great pattern for leftover sock yarn, but I'd love it in a non-sw merino, too!

[@beanaasz4069]

I would suggest a swatch of each color scheme to see what you like best when it is smaller amounts of color at once.

[@elmolady25]

def partial to the toy-ish vibe with the red, and it looks great with your tone and hair color. I don't get the vibe that you're into trends so much, but the color combo is on-trend right now as people discover and rediscover vintage clown art, and 90s kid-core!

[@charleyyoung4902]

love the flea sweater Taylor and I think its more your vibe then the other colour work one you started. I agree with the Tobacco red instead of the bright red! Will you finish your other sweater or Frog it? 🐸

[@inniacosme2663]

Earthy vibes is the one that looks the best for my taste.

[@phoenixhulsey2868]

I personally like the combination with the red. I think that brightness ties in with the brightness of the teal color, otherwise that one feels out of place when the tobacco color is in. You could also consider a more muted yellow color, but I personally really like it!

[@1wa11ace1]

go with the red/orange. Looks way better!

[@heatherpaul7973]

I love the tobacco look. It grounds it all but still giving that pop of color

[@sues1446]

Also preferring the tobacco version ❤️ With a slightly more muted or warm yellow it would be spot on like the vibe in the picture.

[@yeidyrodriguez6179]

I prefer the tobacco color. I think you should do a lazy swatch, wrap the yarn around a ruler in the order they go in the sweater and look at the side by side. I think that will help you figure out what you like best.

[@katherinecarlisle7935]

I love hearing your colour thoughts. I love both the tobacco and the burnt orange. I think I prefer the burnt orange with your other colours but if you prefer the tobacco, how about a slightly more gold yellow than the one you have chosen? Would that bring things more together? Random thoughts!

[@blindrootinhogs]

This sweater is in my Q ! Stash buster !

[@AnneWiley-vp5rj]

My preference would be tobacco as well. Good luck choosing!

[@deboraharnold8587]

Definitely live the rusty option, and maybe a more mellow yellow.

[@nannevels7534]

I vote tobacco color! :) It has a beautiful rustic fall vibe.

[@bethanyseabolt9387]

You need the red!

[@sato611]

I love your colour choice! I agree that your yellow is a tad brighter than the original, but I love that one :) it acts as a focal point that adds playfulness. If that were my project and I wisheed to retain the yellow, I would consider varying the colour values a little more. For example, the sage green is beautiful, but it doesn't recede as much at that strength? Even values among the contrasting colours could make it feel busier, I guess.

[@ingriddurfee6582]

I like the “orange” better than the rust, but I think it’s because of the yellow as noted in many other comments.

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

Hi Taylor! I think if you were to use the orangey red, you would want to tone down the yellow to mustard. I love both combos!

[@reneehuffman4070]

There is a sock pattern with a very similar vibe!! Sequential Socks by ND Wolfhammer

[@claireeymin8239]

For a basic raglan sweater, the Flax has a great range of sizes for anyone wanting to add their own stripes and fleas.

[@katherinegannett]

Hi Tayler, I suggest you use the burnt orange. It makes a better pop of color than the tobacco brown color.

[@Monty-in-gumboots]

Hi Tayler, maybe you could go with 7 colours instead of 6. Otherwise love your 1st choice for the 6 colours with the 'tobacco' as the brighter red seems a little to stark a contrast overall but maybe added as a 7th colour could work? I love this sweater & started this a year ago. I'm a novice knitter who has only knitted beannies & this is my 1st ever sweater. I went with 7 colours and it looks great. Also did german shortrows to shape the collar. The body came out great but have messed up the 1st sleave and will have to chop it off and re-do from the elbow down. For choosing my colours I went with Elizabeth Zimmerman's advice and printed out the pattern example photo's in B&W to get an idea of colour values.

[@gunvorstorck]

It's an awesome pattern, and it is in my Q now. The reason the little dots are called lice is because it comes from a traditional Norwegian sweater pattern called "lusegense" and "luse" is lice in English.

[@laurarimkis2472]

The more red tone works better for me. It adds a brightness that the other pulls away.

[@jessicatretola4682]

I think the tobacco color looks best with your combination in the flea sweater.

[@kristen8115]

Lice is the term used for that single color stitch. I like your color selections. I would do that brown and the orange and ditch the lite gray

[@dawnsabo5664]

I am loving the rust colored yarn choice. Do you think this pattern is easy for a beginner knitter? I have only knit one raglan style sweater. Happy knitting!

[@cccatyh]

summer lee design co has a sock pattern with the flea stitch! “classic flea stitch socks”

[@jilliankonig2759]

I would choose a deeper yellow like in the photo, and the copper rather than the red to avoid the primary color issue.

[@maribethclark2798]

I vote the tobacco color!

[@RaeAnne127]

Red is my absolute favorite color. Having said that, the tobacco color is the best choice. Enjoy!

[@scarlettohara5039]

I saw you bring that brighter red onto the screen and it literally said out loud 'no, that's it." I would go with the darker red. I like them both but I think the darker red pops

[@user-mp7tu7zf8r]

Burnt orange looks best

[@janetvonholt8775]

I would try taking the too bright yellow out and put in the rust and red. Just a thought.

[@paulhermann8239]

I like the tobacco colorway the best it nice and warm and looks nice with your hair color.💕. Iris