10 Secrets to Perfect Planned Pooling Crochet

Are you ready to take your crochet skills to the next level? If you're interested in planning pooling crochet, you're in luck! Marly Bird, a seasoned crocheter and teacher, has shared her secrets to perfect planned pooling with you.

In this tutorial, you'll learn the 10 secrets to achieving flawless results every time you try planned pooling.

What is Planned Pooling Crochet?

Planned pooling crochet is a technique where you control the placement of color pools in your work to create a specific pattern or design.

This technique can be used with variegated yarns to create intricate and eye-catching designs, but it does require a bit of planning and patience.

10 Secrets to Perfect Planned Pooling:

1. Choose the right yarn: Selecting the right yarn for planned pooling is crucial. Look for yarns with a repeating pattern and make sure the color changes are consistent.
2. Know your stitch count: Understanding the stitch count of your pattern is essential for successful planned pooling.
3. Make a gauge swatch: Making a gauge swatch will help you determine the stitch count and ensure that your finished project will have the desired size and shape.
4. Keep track of the color changes: Keeping track of the color changes in your yarn is essential for planned pooling. You can use a stitch marker, a piece of yarn, or even a sticky note to help you keep track of the color changes.
5. Experiment with stitch patterns: Try different stitch patterns to see how they affect the color pooling. Some stitch patterns may work better than others for planned pooling.
6. Pay attention to the direction of the color changes: The direction of the color changes can affect the appearance of your pooling. Make sure to pay attention to this when planning your project.
7. Don't be afraid to rip it out: If you're not happy with the way your planned pooling is turning out, don't be afraid to rip it out and start over. It may take a few tries to get it right, but the end result will be worth it.
8. Plan: Before starting your project, plan out the colors you want to use and the pattern you want to achieve. This will help you achieve the desired results and avoid any frustration.
9. Be patient: Planning pooling can be time-consuming, but it's important to be patient and take your time to get it right.
10. Have fun: Above all, have fun with your planned pooling projects! Remember, it's all about creating something beautiful and unique.

By following these 10 secrets to perfect planned pooling, you'll be well on your way to creating stunning and intricate designs in no time.

With patience, and a bit of planning, you'll soon be a master of planned pooling crochet.

Enjoy The Crochet Video Tutorial

Source: Marly Bird

I did use RHSS in Zebra because it has few colors and I noticed that MANY people start on this yarn. I do work in the black for a few stitches and it can be somewhat difficult to see, but you do have a good grasp of crochet stitches and should find no difficulty understanding what I am doing. At least that is my hope. Honestly, I tried to make this as useful as possible.

To clarify a couple things:
I was so caught up in talking during secret #3 that I forgot to do some chain 1's at the start between the sc; oops. It was purely accidental.

But it does prove that as long as you have the same stitch count in the colors the Argyle will work. Also, skipping the chain 1 here and there is another way to make adjustments necessary to get the correct color in the correct place.

Another thing to make clear, when I got to the end of the row 2 and said my chain two count as my 8th stitch, I'm considering it part of the next stitch on the next row which is the actual 8th stitch. I know that can be confusing and I'm sorry about that. But hopefully you know what I meant 🙂

That last stitch in black (as in the example) has to be the first stitch of the next row in order for the Argyle to work. Goes back to our adding or subtracting a stitch of the color at the end of row 1.

To try and explain that more: if you subtract 1 stitch you are also subtracting one stitch in that color for that row. So your following rows will have 1 less stitch in that color for that one section.

for example:
You are working with a color sequence of-- 2 white, 7 blue, 2 white, 6 pink...for a total of 17 stitches in a full sequence.

Now let's assume you want to double that so you now have 34. Ahhh, but remember you have to subtract one. So now you will only have 33 and the last color you used in the 2nd sequence will have one less color on each row.

In action it looks like this--
work through two color sequences then I would begin so that the first ch 3 tch are white, then get one more white, then 7 blue, then 2 white, then 6 pink, 2 white, 7 blue, 2 white, 6 pink...pull out one pink so you have 5: that should total 33.

See how the last pink now only has 5 stitches in that color on the first row? You begin row 2 with the ch 2 which counts as a pink and is often counted as the first pink of the first set of pinks on the next row (which will have the remainder 5 pink stitches needed to complete the color stitches at the end of the row since it is split apart).

BUT, you could also think of the entire project like a big snake and think of the pink ch 2 as the 6th stitch of the first row and that you just continue counting the colors in the established sequence snaking the count up each row as you do the tch.

Does that make any sense?

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