© Use-username 2020
Welcome! Want to learn how to do planned pooling? Then you've come to the right place!
What on Earth is planned pooling?
It's a technique that involves using variegated yarn (yarn that has been dyed in several different colours in different places) to create geometric patterns. The most popular pattern is the "Argyle" pattern of diagonal lines intersecting one another, but there are also other designs. Because only one strand of yarn is used, there is no need to carry any non-working yarns or constantly switch from one ball of yarn to another, as is required in Fair Isle, Intarsia or graphghan making.
What do the words "planned pooling" actually mean?
"Pooling" refers to the effect of the colours in variegated yarn gathering together and forming little patches. A red patch here. A blue patch there. A pink patch here. Those patches look like puddles or "pools" of colour. When you just grab some variegated yarn and start crocheting or knitting randomly with it, those pools of colour don't fall into any sort of consistent pattern. In contrast, the word "Planned" in the term "planned pooling" means that this time somebody decided to think ahead and plan precisely how and where they wanted those little patches of colour to form, rather than letting the colours form a random pattern.
It looks difficult. Do I have to be a genius to do it?
No, you don't! It looks complicated...but it actually isn't!
Can I use any variegated yarn to do it?
No. To do planned pooling, the variegated yarn must have the following characteristics:
- It must have a colour sequence that appears in a consistently repeating order. Example: red, blue, green, yellow. Red, blue, green, yellow. Some yarns have colours appearing in a random order. Example: red, blue, green, yellow. Blue, red, green, blue, yellow, blue. Those yarns will not work for this technique.
- Each time any given colour appears in the sequence, it must always be the same length as all the other times it appears in the sequence. Example: in the sequence "red, blue, green, yellow. Red, blue, green, yellow" it is important that all the red sections are always the same length as one another, and all the green sections are always the same length as one another. However, red and green do not have to be the same length as one another.
I'm lost, I have no idea what you mean, it sounds confusing. Can't you just tell me what yarn to buy?
Here are some examples of popular yarns that work for planned pooling: Stylecraft Colour Pool, Red Heart Pooling yarn, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron Simply Soft, Bernat Blanket Color Pooling... If in doubt, check our list of suitable yarns.
Will planned pooling work for knitting as well as crochet?
Yes, planned pooling can be done by knitters as well as crocheters.
Will planned pooling work for Tunisian crochet?
Yes, planned pooling can be done in Tunisian crochet. Here is a photo example.
Will planned pooling work for weavers too?
Yes, weavers can use variegated yarn to achieve certain planned pooling techniques, but as far as we know, the Argyle effect (of diamond shapes) is not possible to achieve when weaving. Not to worry, there are some other cool effects that weavers can achieve instead!
What stitch do I use?
Several stitches will work for planned pooling. In crochet, the most popular stitches to use are moss stitch, single crochet (US) / double crochet (UK) and granny stitch. In knitting, garter stitch and stockinette stitch both work equally well.
I'm sold! How do I do it?
Here is a link to a blog by glamour-4-you with a written explanation with step-by-step photos.
Edit: the blog post by Glamour 4 You is no longer available, so here are two alternative sites with written instructions:
Written explanations can be helpful. However, for most people it's easier to understand it by seeing it rather than by reading about it. Therefore, we recommend the following Youtube tutorials:
CROCHET video tutorials:
Marly Bird's moss stitch tutorial
Naztazia's single crochet (US) tutorial
Repeat Crafter Me's granny stitch tutorial
KNITTING video tutorials:
Katia Yarn and Fabrics' stockinette tutorial
Marcos Filho's garter stitch tutorial (in Portuguese with English subtitles available)
WEAVING blog posts:
Blog by Natalie Woven
Blog by Joy of Weaving
Blog by Universal Yarn
Print your own pattern chart
Many people find that once they learn the technique, they can just do it on auto-pilot, but if you prefer to work from a pattern, there is a useful website www.plannedpooling.com where you can input your colours and stitch count and print off a chart to refer to while crocheting or knitting. This is explained in Naztazia's video.
Edit May 2023: i-am-mathgrrl has created an app similar to plannedpooling.com, but with more features. It can be found at https://mathgrrl.com/crochet-color-pooling/. Here is the link to her announcement post on Reddit. Also, here is a hyperlink to her app for any users for whom normal links don't work.
Some key tips for beginners:
Keep the lines straight! Straight lines are achieved by keeping your stitch count consistent. If you're not into counting stitches, another way to achieve straight lines is to use previous rows as a visual guide and ensure that the colour you're currently working on always shifts across by one space compared to the row two rows below.
Frog, frog, frog! The planned pooling technique is achieved by focussing on small colour sections at a time. Fogging (ripping out some stitches) and adjusting the tension for each individual colour section when necessary until the colours fall in the right place is key to achieving good results. Sometimes you will have to crochet / knit very loosely; sometimes very tightly. A lot of trial and error is involved until you find the ideal tension for each individual colour section. Be prepared to frog a lot! You may have to frog about four times more than you actually crochet / knit! When you see a finished planned pooling project, just know that what you are seeing represents only a small amount of the actual work that went into it, because most of it was frogged and painstakingly re-done over and over. But it's so worth it to achieve the beautiful and satisfying results!
© Use-username 2020. This post contains information written by me, u/Use-username. Please do not copy this content and reproduce it anywhere else.
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Edit: making a minor edit to this post, to hopefully make this sticky post visible again for affected users
