Turn any yarn into a “Chunky” yarn. If you have always wanted to crochet your favorite yarn as an extra thick yarn, then you can do that now with the Single Skein Multi-Strand Crochet method.
Not only can all yarns be at least tripled in thickness with this technique, but you can also easily create your own bulky multicoloured yarns with this technique.
All you need is one or more balls of yarn and a crochet hook that is about twice as big as you would normally use for that particular yarn.
In the following you will find the instructions how to crochet a single skein triple, several skeins of yarn triple and mixed together and how colour change works when crocheting with multi thread yarns.
In this tutorial the “Schachenmayr Catania” was used with a 6.0 mm crochet hook.
Single Skein Multi-Strand Crochet
Needed Techniques
Needed Materials and Tools
To order the materials click on the respective link (affiliate link).
- Colors: rose, blue
- This pattern was crocheted using the “Schachenmayr Catania” yarn (100% Cotton, Meterage: 125 m, Yarn Ball Weight: 50 g, Yarn Weight: Sport – 5ply / Fine (2)) in the following colors:
- Raspberry (Himbeer (256)), Peacock (Pfau (146))
- 6 mm Crochet Hook
Crochet One Skein Triple
With the following method you can crochet one skein with a tripled thread, so you have to use a much bigger crochet hook than usual to be able to hold all 3 threads.
As a rule of thumb, use a crochet hook twice as big as you would otherwise use for this yarn. When you actually start to crochet, you will see whether you can use a smaller crochet hook or need an even bigger crochet hook.
In this example I crocheted with the “Schachenmayr Catania”, for which I normally use a 2.5 mm crochet hook, but for the multi-strand crochet method I use a 6.0 mm crochet hook.
Use the check boxes to mark your finished rounds, rows and steps.
- Step 1: Take your yarn and a larger crochet hook than you would otherwise use for this yarn. Place the yarn in a long “S” shape as shown in the second picture.
- Step 2: Pinch together the end of the thread and the “curve” over it and all parallel threads, so that you end up having a three-threaded strand.
- Step 3: Handle the three-threaded strand as if it is a normal single thread. Pick up the strand and make a normal slip knot on your crochet hook.
- Step 4: Now you can crochet the three-threaded strand as you would a normal thread. Always make sure that you take up all threads of the strand. Now crochet 1 chain stitch.
- Step 5: You will quickly notice that the strand is quite short. To lengthen the three-threaded strand, open the loop that makes up 2 strands of the strand. The thread leading to the skein should lay under the loop.
- Step 6: Pick up the thread going to the skein from the top in the middle of the loop and then pull it away from the crochet hook. The rule of thumb is that the longer you pull the thread, the longer the three-threaded strand will be.
- Step 7: Now you can continue crocheting as usual. Whenever you reach the end of the strand, pull the thread running to the skein through the loop away from the crochet hook until you have reached your desired length and continue crocheting.
Crochet Multiple Skeins Triple
Of course you can also crochet multiple different colored yarns at once. In this example shown with 2 skeins.
The procedure is the same as with 1 skein, but you have to lengthen the three-threaded strand each time for all yarns used.
Since you have 3 more threads in the strand with each additional skein, you may have to adjust your crochet hook size accordingly. In this example we crochet with 2 “Schachenmayr Catania” skein and a 6.0 mm crochet hook.
- Step 1: Take the end of the thread of each skein and form a long “S” shape.
- Step 2: Pinch together the end of the thread and the “curve” over it and all parallel threads. If you use 2 skeins, you end up having a six-threaded strand, each additional skein adds 3 more threads to the strand.
- Step 3: Handle the six-threaded strand as if it is a normal single thread. Pick up the strand and make a normal slip knot on your crochet hook. Now you can crochet the six-threaded strand as usual. Always make sure that you pick up all threads of the strand. Now crochet 1 chain stitch.
- Step 4: To lengthen the six-threaded strand, open the loops that make up 4 threads of the strand. Under each loop should be 1 thread leading to a skein. Theoretically, it does not matter whether the yarn is the same color or not, but a different colored thread and loop will cause a color change in the strand itself.
- Step 5: Pick up both threads going to the skeins from the top in the middle of the loop and then pull them away from the crochet hook. The longer you pull the threads, the longer the six-threaded strand becomes.
- Step 6: Now you can continue crocheting as usual. Whenever you reach the end of the thread, pull the threads that lead to the skein through the loops away from the crochet hook until you have reached the desired length and continue crocheting.
Color Change while Crocheting with Multiple Yarns
A color change works the same when crocheting with several threads as when crocheting with a single thread. You have to prepare the new different colored yarn in the same way as the yarn you are currently using and make it a multi-strand yarn.
The following example is a color change in a row that was crocheted with single crochet stitches, whereby the last single crochet stitch was not completed to do a color change. The next row is then crocheted with the different colored multi-strand yarn.
