Brown has taken the place black used to have. This autumn it is chocolate, espresso and chestnut that keep coming back, with caramel and camel right beside them.
Many of my patterns are brown, from the darkest chocolate to light caramel. Here are the shades, and how to get the most out of them.
Why brown works in knitwear
Black swallows texture. Half brioche, lace patterns and mock cables almost disappear in a black garment. In brown they stand out, because the colour holds both light and shadow.
Brown is also softer against the skin than black. It works with natural, pink and gold, and looks just as right with jeans as with a long wool coat.
The yarn does the rest. In mohair the fibres lay a light veil over the colour, so brown gets depth. In wool the same brown turns calm and dense.
Dark chocolate
The deepest shade, and the one closest to black. Choose it when you want a garment that carries the rest of the outfit.
- Chocolate – The Sweater: raglan jumper in airy alpaca in warm brown tones, with a lace pattern and puff sleeves.
- Brown Eyes – The Sweater: half brioche that makes the puff sleeves round on their own. Comes in two yarns, Kos for a heavier garment and mohair for a lighter one.
Chestnut
Brown with red in it. Chestnut is warmer than chocolate and looks alive in every kind of light.
- The Chestnut – The Sweater: three colour blocks from hem to shoulders, with Merlot at the top. Hip Wool held double gives a marled surface.
- Everyday Life – The Weekend: a roomy men's jumper in chestnut half brioche with narrow white stripes.
- Anna's Hood Scarf – Chestnut Edition: hat and scarf in one. Chestnut and beige held together give a colour neither has on its own.
Caramel and camel
The light end of brown. Caramel and camel are brown for those who find chocolate too heavy.
- Gingerbread – The Sweater: six shades of brown, from caramel to burnt sugar, in stripes on the body.
- The Beach – The Sweater: brushed alpaca in a single colour between caramel and driftwood, with a lace pattern across the chest and a wide boat neck.
Brown with another colour
Brown is a good partner. It lets another colour take the lead without disappearing itself.
- Vintage Blue – The Sweater: one of my oldest designs, in sky blue and dark brown.
- Anna's Hood Scarf – Earth Edition: from dark brown at the bottom to light natural at the tip, with no visible transition.
- Good Memories – The Sweater: wide stripes in pink and camel, half brioche and a V-neck with an i-cord edge.
How to combine brown
- With natural and off-white: the calmest choice. Brown and natural are both earth colours, so they meet without contrast.
- With pink: in Gingerbread Brown – The Beanie a brown wool strand is held together with a fine mohair in dusty plum pink. The pink does not show as a colour, but as light inside the brown.
- Two browns held together: two strands in different shades give a marled surface that shifts with the light.
- With gold: a gold thread or a gold button lifts the dark brown.
If you want to knit brown stripes from leftovers you have lying around, read Stripes from leftover yarn and try the colours in the stripe planner first.
Start small
If you want to try the colour before you knit a whole jumper, a hat is enough to see whether brown is your colour.
- Gingerbread Brown – The Beanie, with a mock cable and a folded brim
- Anastasias Brown – The Hat, in warm brown tones with a wide turned-up brim
If you switch to a different brown yarn than the one in the pattern, see Swapping yarn in a pattern.
Feel free to share your brown garment with #cosymonday.
Anne-Turid <3