Planned Pooling Crochet Bag

The crochet world is abuzz with a fun new technique called ‘planned pooling’ which when done correctly creates really striking argyle pattern effects in the finished crochet fabric.

I’ve used a brand new pooling yarn to create a fun and easy crochet bag pattern with cute bamboo handles, and have included lots of tip for getting the best results from your planned pooling projects.

What is Planned Pooling?

The planned pooling effect is created by working variegated yarn with consistent short length colour changes over a set amount of stitches. By carefully planning where each colour stitch will sit in each row, an argyle pattern can be created.

Any yarn that fits the above requirement can be used to create a planned pooling effect but the results aren’t always consistent. Yarn companies have taken note of this recent trend and Red Heart has released a new yarn especially engineered so that color repeats are evenly dyed to make planned pooling almost foolproof.

Now available in Australia from American Yarns, Red Heart Super Saver Pooling is available in 6 colour ways.

About Red Heart Super Saver Pooling Yarn

Super Saver Pooling is a 10ply 100% acrylic yarn especially designed for planned pooling projects. The colours change quite abruptly and each colour length is designed to create 3 stitches in moss stitch with a 5mm crochet hook.

Super Saver Pooling is nice to work with springy and doesn’t feel overly synthetic. It’s dye lotted, so keep that in mind when ordering multiple balls for a bigger project.

In my opinion this yarn not particularly attractive to look at in its ball form as the contrasting short color changes seem quite garish. To be honest, I don’t think this yarn has much shelf appeal, and I’d probably walk right past it in a store if I didn’t know its full potential.

But just like the ugly duckling that turned into a swan, this yarn, if you have the patience to learn the somewhat tricky technique of planned pooling, can create a real showstopper crochet project.

I chose the colour way CARNIVAL for this project.

Planned Pooling

I’m not going to lie, it took me a fair bit of practice to get this technique to work properly. I probably ripped out my sample swatch about 6-8 times before I worked out how to read the pattern in the stitches, and adjust accordingly to get good results.

Initially, I found my failures incredibly and actually put the yarn away for a couple of weeks because I was sick and tired of ripping out and starting over repeatedly.

But because I had this yarn review and a pattern to create, I stuck with it and with a bit of patience I cracked the elusive planned pooling code with fabulous results.

Just like riding a bike, once you work out how to do it, planned pooling is quite simple.

It’s a great feeling to see the argyle pattern successfully develop before your eyes, as if by magic. Once I got the knack, I was hooked!

This technique is not for beginners but if you are a fairly confident crocheter or want to challenge yourself, I’d recommend giving planned pooling a try.

I’ll be sharing some tips and tricks below for a successful planned pooling crochet project.

Planned Pooling in summary – The learning curve can be tricky, but the process is fun with very attractive results.