Planned color pooling in crochet is a fascinating phenomenon! Working with variegated yarn has never been so much fun! I love it!
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How to Crochet Planned Color Pooling with Long Color Changing Variegated Yarn
You can obtain wonderful multi-colored designs without having to change colors; it only takes a bit of planning and tension control of your stitches! Be aware! It's addictive! :)
I have seen several tutorials for shorter color changing variegated yarn, some of them worked with the moss stitch, some of them using the single crochet stitch.
You can find a helpful post with links to all the tutorials on the Red Heart Blog.
There are listed also the yarns that can pool; from their long color changing yarns you could chose Red Heart Super Saver Neon Stripes.
For this tutorial, I have used Ice Yarns Gumball.
For the yarns with long color changes, you will need some taller stitches, such as hdc or dc or you can even use groups of stitches, for example the shell stitch, granny stitch, star stitch, etc.
For my tutorial I have experimented with the Half Double Crochet worked in the 3rd loop at the front. This makes a pretty knit like crochet ribbing. See this video by Maggie's Crochet to learn how to crochet this stitch; she calls it the Royal Ridge.
This is how I made:
Planned Color Pooling with Long Color Changing Variegated Yarn using the half double crochet in the 3rd loop at front
1) First of all you need to find a yarn with long color changes that can pool; that means the color sequence repeats consistently.
As I wrote before, I have used “Gumball” from Ice Yarns ( a premium acrylic yarn, yarn weight 3, light).
2) Find out the color sequence of your yarn.
Unwind several meters of yarn, make note of the colors and write the colors down.
My color sequence is: white, turquoise, white, blue, white, purple, white, pink, white, light blue, as seen below.
I have 10 colors in a color sequence, each color measures approx. 225- 235 cm length.
3) Find out how many stitches you get per each color.
I wanted to obtain the same number of stitches for each color, because it would have been much easier to memorise. For this I have loosen some stitches or tightened some others and I got 33 hdc sts for each color using a 4mm crochet hook.
Note: To have clean color changes, at the last hdc worked with the old color, the last yarn over to complete the hdc should be made with new color. Ex: At the last white hdc, you have 3 loops on hook white, yarn over with blue; complete the last white hdc and start the next hdc with blue.
It is very important that you keep the number of stitches/color the same throughout the entire pattern, to have a nice, clear design!
4) To see what color designs you can obtain with the color sequence and the number of the stitches/color, go to plannedcolorpooling.com.
Add the colors you have in a color sequence by clicking on “Add a color” tab and selecting your colors from the color palette; (If in your color sequence you have a color that repeats itself, you can copy and paste the color code in the needed place.)
Insert the number of stitches for each color, in my case 33 in each “Stitches in color ….” tab.
If in the “Stitches in a row” tab, we insert the total number of sts the same as the number of sts/color (in my case 33 sts), we get a perfectly striped pattern, because the colors will stack on each other.
If we remove or add 1 stitch, we get already a pretty argyle pattern.
Play with the numbers of the stitches in a row, until you get the pattern you like.
I really love the argyle designs I could have make with 81 sts, 97 sts, 98 sts and 197 sts total, as seen below.
Stitches in a row = 81 sts
Stitches in a row = 97 sts
Stitches in a row = 197 sts
This would make a beautiful receiving blanket!
For this tutorial I chose the pattern formed by 34 sts in a row, as seen in the chart below.
You will need to turn the chart upside down to follow along with your color changes.
5) After deciding on the design with 34 sts total, I started with a foundation chain of at least 35 chains, somewhere in the middle of the white portion of my yarn until the chain on my hook was a new color - turquoise. (If there are more than 35 chains, the extra unused chains of the foundation chain can be unraveled after.)
Then follow the pattern below.Row 1: working into the back bump behind the chains, 1 hdc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 hdc in each ch across. ( 34 sts total= 33 turquoise sts + 1 white st).
Row 2: ch1 (does not count as a st), turn; working into 3rd loop at front of the hdc sts, 1 hdc in each st across. (34 sts total = 32 white + 2 blue)
Note: At the end of the rows you will insert the hook into both loops of the last stitch to have nice edges.
Row 3: ch1, turn; working into 3rd loop at front of the hdc sts, 1 hdc in each st across. (34 sts total = 31 blue + 3 white)
Continue working rows of hdc in the 3rd loop at front until you reach the desired length, making sure you keep the number of sts/ color constant. Unravell if needed, tighten or loosen your sts to obtain the number of sts/color you started with. Make also sure you are not losing sts at the end of the rows. If needed, use stitch markers. Both sides of the work are pretty.
You can continue adding rows to make a pretty long scarf or you can join the ends to form a round cowl, as the one I made for my little girl (picture and instructions below!).
Ribbed Scarf or Cowl Pattern:
Note: This variegated yarn works beautiful with the planned color pooling technique, but if you are not ready yet to try the planned color pooling, you can use the pattern with a solid color yarn to make a pretty ribbed scarf or cowl.
Gauge: 19 hdc in 3rd loop at front and 16 rows = 10 cm or 4"
Materials used:
- ½ ball of Ice Yarns Gumball (for a cowl). You will need more if you decide to make a long scarf.
- 4 mm crochet hook
- yarn needle to sew in the ends
- scissors
- stitch markers (optional) to help you mark the last st of the row.
Stitches, Terms (US) and Abbreviations used:
ch: chain
hdc: half double crochet
st: stitch
hdc in the 3rd loop at front (worked in rows) See this video tutorial by Maggie's Crochet! See calls it the Royal Ridge.
back bump behind the chains: (See my tutorial here!)
INSTRUCTIONS:
With a 4mm crochet hook chain 35.
Row 1: working into back bump behind the chains, 1 hdc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 hdc in each ch across. ( 34 sts)
Row 2: ch1, turn; working into 3rd loop at front of the hdc sts, 1 hdc in each st across. (34 sts)
Note: At the end of the rows you will insert the hook into both loops of the last stitch to have nice edges.
Repeat row 2 untill desired length.
Cut yarn and fasten off in case you are making a scarf.
If you would like a round cowl, go to the next step below!
Joining the ends together to form a round cowl:
With right sides facing together, fold the small sides (the first and last row) together.
To join them, we will slip stitch them in way that will turn the foundation chain into a ridge the same as the ones made by the hdc in 3rd loop at front! This way there will be no visible seam on the right side!
With the long tail left at the beginning of your project, Chain 1.
Insert the hook from front to back around the post of the first stitch of the side most nearest to you (the same way as if you would crochet a front post single crochet) and through the 3rd loop at front of the first hdc on the other side (see the picture below). Yarn over and draw through all loops on hook.
Work the same along the edges until you reach the end. If you turn your work, you’ll see that the foundation chain row looks like a ridge now.
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