Double Stranding Yarn for Your Next Crochet Project
Do you need to consider double stranding your yarn?
You have a pattern that you are really wanting to start working on. You go to your stash to see what yarns you have to make it. Half an hour later you are still looking. There are lots of great colour yarns in smaller yarn weights that would look fabulous, but nothing in the weight you need!!
Sound familiar?
Don’t worry – You can still shop your stash!
Today I am going to be sharing with you how you can double strand your yarn to ‘make’ the correct yarn weight needed for your project.
During 2022 I am also trying to shop my stash as much as possible. I’m not sure whether I can truly say I have bought less yarn (there have been a few projects where I have had to buy specific yarns). But I have certainly shopped my stash a lot more than previously.
This tip is also a great way to help you use your part skeins and scraps on smaller projects too.
There are a few ‘authorities’ that share how to double strand your yarn as a general rule of thumb. When researching for this article I used the Craft Yarn Council and Ravelry to name 2 of them.
Double Stranding – what does it mean?
It is not as complicated as it may sound. Double stranding simply means that you work with 2 strands (or skeins of yarn) at the same time, treating them as if they were 1 strand (or skein)
Remember: It does also mean that when looking at the yardage the pattern requires you will also have double that because you are working with 2 skeins at the same time. So if a pattern requires 600 yards you will need to have 1200 yards (600 yards x 2)
Lots of fun…
Double stranding your yarn can be lots of fun.
It is also a great way to use your stash and make room for some new yarn goodies, or just clear the older yarn that has sat in your stash for a while waiting to be used.
It is also a great way to play with colour and find colour combinations that you just love!
When I double strand my yarn I usually like to work with 2 shades of the same colour. It gives a more subtle look to your project. But it can be fun to just go wild and randomly select 2 colours.
With the blue shades I am actually working on creating a Samantha’s Hope Beanie for my nephew. Keep reading to get the links to make one of these yourself.
How does it work?
| Your Yarn Weight | X2 | Yarn Weight Achieved |
| Lace | Fingering (1 weight) | |
| Fingering | Sport / DK (2/3 weight) | |
| Sport / DK | Worsted / Aran (4 weight) | |
| Worsted / Aran | Bulky / Chunky (5 weight) | |
| Bulky | Jumbo (7 Weight) |
Free Printable
I have a free A5 printable of this cheat sheet available for you until 24th June. You can find it by clicking the download button below.
Gauge is still important!
This is not an exact science but gives you a good reference point. You will still need to do a gauge swatch and follow the usual process if gauge is important in your pattern. But using double strands gives you extra options to meet gauge.
For example, if your gauge is a little too big when double stranding worsted weight yarn, you can try one strand of worsted and one strand of DK yarn.
Want to try a project using double strands?
In 2019 I designed the Samantha’s Hope Beanie for the Crochet Cancer Challenge. It uses #5 weight yarn. Despite the name it is a unisex beanie … it was made to support bowel cancer and names after Samantha Montgomery (Bewitched fame) who died of the disease.
Why not double strand some of your stash to make your own Samantha’s Hope Beanie using my free pattern on the blog? Click the pic below to go to the blog post.
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