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Writer's pictureGinell Cooper

Color Pooling: Can I pool with this yarn? Here's how to know

Updated: Jul 28, 2023


 

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My journey into color pooling came from a friend who was really interested in it and kept saying we should try it together. Honestly I was hesitant. Color pooling looked complicated. I was wrong. During a craft night with my friend I watched as she tried it and I was surprised how easy and fun it was while also looking incredible impressive. And that started me down a rabbit hole that even now, over a year later, I'm still having fun with.


Can I Color Pool With This Yarn
Can I Color Pool With This Yarn

At first I consulted the internet to find lists of yarns you can pool with. There was one I found that was a little outdated (and now no longer exists), but it got me going in the right direction. I went on a treasure hunt to find some of the yarns on the list so I could give it a try. Every time I managed to find one, I would go to work and see if I could make the magic happen. The first few times I tried, it took a lot of undoing and redoing, but eventually I would get there. After a while, it became sort of second nature.



RHSS in Fall, Zebra and Pink Camo
My first tries were with Red Heart Super Saver

One of the things I love to make when I am trying a new-to-me technique is what I call a "Kitchen Cloth". It's basically just a kitchen towel but I tend to use them for everything... it's also a potholder, a trivet, a cute color accent during the holidays, etc. But in order to do that I needed cotton yarn and none of the poolable yarns on the list were cotton. So I went on a discovery mission of my own to find yarns I thought I might be able to pool with just by looking at them and I learned everything I need to know.



Crafter's Secret in Happy Day, Sugar N Cream in Summer Field, Buttercream and Creamsicle
Going off list and finding poolable cotton yarn in the wild

So now, I am going to not only tell you my secret, I am also going to give you a starting list that I have been compiling, I have literally been collecting picture samples as if they are baseball trading cards, but hopefully when I am done, you won't need this list because you will just be able to know by looking at any variegated yarn you come across out there in the world if it will work.


I suspect this is Sugar N Cream or Peaches N Cream, color unknown
This yarn was gifted to me and had no label. In my video I show how to see if pooling will work

You will notice by looking at the pictures, that some of these samples are done in Single Crochet, some in Moss Stitch and some in Granny Stitch. So far, my videos teach how to pool with Moss Stitch because I think it is the easiest (at least it is for me). The ones done in Granny Stitch are what is used when you are pooling with yarn that has very long color changes. Usually the yarn has the word "Stripes" in it (see list below).



Here is my video in which I explain how to know if a yarn can pool just by looking at it. I also demonstrate pooling with yarn I've never tried before, and show how to quickly make your practice swatches in to useful towels, washcloths, kitchencloths, hot pads and so forth.


THIS IS THE VIDEO THAT TEACHES YOU HOW




WANT MORE?

I get it! I couldn't get enough either.

Here is my original video that teaches how to color pool perfectly the easy way. Click on the picture to get to the video



Once you get the technique down, you might start to wonder, "What can I use these panels to make?" And the answer is anything you can make with a rectangle or square.... which is a lot.



If you can make it with a rectangle, you can use color pooling

Here are two videos where I show what you can make with color pooling panels

Click on the pictures to get to the videos






And now.... The List!

Save this page and check back often, I will continue to collect my color pooling "trading cards" and add them to this list as time goes on. I have broken them down by brand and then the colors are alphabetical within each brand. If there is an asterisk next to the name, there is a sample of it at the bottom of the section. If it is underlined, there is a link to where you can find it online. You can hover over each picture to find the name or click on it to get more info if I have any available.


THE LIST


Bamboo Pop (Cotton and Bamboo) Bouquet*


Bernat Baby Sport (Acrylic)


Bernat Blanket Color Pooling (Polyester) Buffalo Plaid* Cloud Tartan Eggplant Forest Plaid Gray White Highland Green



Bernat Softee Chunky (Acrylic) Denim Kimono Nature's Way Shadow* Stillness Summerset*



Bernat Premium (Acrylic) Bittersweet* Highland Ridge



Bernat Super Value (Acrylic)

Renegade - Camouflage*



Big Twist (Acrylic) Chunky City Pathway


Big Twist (Cotton) Multi Rosy Cheeks*




Caron Jumbo (Acrylic) Country Basket* Foliage*

Gravel* Plum Copper* Rosewood* Seafoam* Seashell*

Shady Lane*

Spicey Ombre*


Caron Simply Soft (Acrylic) Blue Camo Country Blue Ombre Red Camo* Snow Camo Winter Camo Woodland Camo



Caron Simply Soft Paints (Acrylic) Night Camo Sunset

Caron Simply Soft Stripes (Acrylic) Golden Gate Bridge*



Crafters Secret (Cotton) Happy Day * Desert Gold * Pink Camo


Craftsmart Value Multi (Acrylic) Peach Tree*


I Love This Yarn (Acrylic) Iced Sugar Ombre*

Ombre Green Camo*



Impeccable Loops & Threads (Acrylic) Apricot Multi*

Eco Forest* Fresh Lilac* Folklore Luxury Neapolitan Pixie Bloom* Rainbow Bright* Sage Butter Stillness Summerset Tropical Storm


Lion Brand Basic Stitch (Acrylic) Buffalo Hill*



Lion Brand Bundle of Love (Acrylic)



Lion Brand Color Waves (Acrylic and Wool) Playground*

Twilight*

Mainstays (Acrylic) Black Multi* Blue Multi*

Chenille Chunky Teal* Pink Multi Purple Multi



Peaches & Cream (Cotton) Floral Fantasy Tropical Sea Winterberry* Yuletide

Premier Everyday Plaid (Acrylic) Any color... they are all made for pooling


Pullskein (Acrylic) Jungle Fever*

Red Heart Soft (Acrylic)

Bohemian*



Red Heart Super Saver (Acrylic) Americana Antique Bright Mix Cherry Chip Chocolate Chip Country Blue Day Glow Earth & Sky Fall * French Country Gemstone Heartfelt Icelandic* Lotus Marrakesh Mexicana* Mirage* Mistletoe* Neon Stripes* Ocean Pastels Pink Camo * Platoon Plum Pudding Primary Stripes* Sedona Shaded Dusk* Starbright Stars & Stripes Sunrise Sunset Waterlily Wedgewood Wildflower* Woodsy Zebra *


Red Heart Super Saver Pooling (Acrylic) Berry * Carnival Haute Papaya* Party Stillwater*


Red Heart With Love (Acrylic) Autumn Beachy Delightful Echo Fruit Punch Lavender Lavender Ivy Lemon Drop Parade Plum Jam Water Lily

Sugar & Cream (Cotton) Azalea

Christmas

Coral Seas* Creamsicle* Early American Ombre*


Yarn Bee Soft Secret Ombre (Acrylic) Blueberry Hill * Gold Dust Harvest Season Seabreeze Whisper


Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek (Acrylic) Windswept Wishes*



The Unknowns

These were either gifted to me or I found them in my stash and just tried pooling with them but I don't know for sure what they are. Hover over them to see any clues I might have for you and if you know them, please comment the name for me so we can put them where they belong.



I hope you have found this list and the videos above helpful. If you would like to add to the list, comment below. If you would like to show me pictures, come join me on my Facebook Group at Ginell's Quarantine Crochet or check out the rest of my videos on my YouTube Channel.




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2 Comments


Ke1be11
May 20, 2023

Thank you for doing all these patterns, I'm in my first month of color pooling. Your videos and blogs are very helpful. I was wondering if you had tried Grapefizz Red Heart super saver? This one has me stumped!! It's in time out because I can't figure it out!

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Ginell Cooper
Ginell Cooper
May 21, 2023
Replying to

I haven't tried that one yet but I can keep an eye out for it. If I find it, I'll give it a try and show you my results. Does it have a repeating sequence? If you run the strands next to each other, or the color changes in roughly the same intervals? If you send me a picture or video of the strand showing the changes I might be able to help you figure it out. You can share it on my Facebook group at Ginell's Quarantine Crochet.

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