Mixing up Yarns

There are many reasons to combine different yarns in your crochet projects and lots of benefits for doing this. For a start this is a great way to use up yarn scraps! Adding a different yarn adds another texture to your crochet work and gives a completely different look. This makes your work completely exclusive, no one will be able to create the same look even if they are using the same pattern.

How to do it?

Combine a different yarn from your main yarn as a stripe

Put an alternative yarn at the centre of a motif
Use a different yarn from your main yarn for the edging of a crochet blanket or throw
Mix up yarns as part of your whole project by using two yarns together e.g. a plain 4 ply yarn with a silky 4 ply
Use a different yarn to make crochet buttons to decorate your project. This works nicely on children’s clothing, when contrasting buttons looks lovely.
Use a different yarn for surface crochet, silky and tweed on plain looks good
Add your different yarn to a motif. For example if you are using a double knit yarn for your project  twist 2 yarns of 3 or 4 ply together to make alternative rows.

Hints

Use different weights and twist together
Use a tweed yarn with a plain yarn
Use a silky yarn with a plain yarn to turn your project into something really classy

Use other weights together in contrasting colours to your main yarn and you can double up 4ply and combine to a double knit based project. If you do this please be careful to check your tension is OK. Make a test piece to check your tension and to check the yarns look OK together and it’s worth experimenting.

Your alternative yarn doesn’t have to be the same type of yarn as your main yarn. I often combine tweed yarns with plain double knit and this looks really good and it’s surprising how many yarn colours a tweed yarn will complement.

It’s worth bearing in mind that if you use different type of weight yarns but from the same manufacturer you often find the dyes are the same, so colours will blend together well.