Texture · Easy
Two strands held together
To crochet with two strands held together, lay two strands of yarn side by side and work with the pair as if it were one yarn. Every loop is then two strands. The pair is thicker than either strand, so it takes a larger hook and gives a thicker, heavier fabric.
How to work it
Make the slip knot with both
Make the slip knot with the two strands together, as if they were one. The loop on the hook is now a pair: two loops, one of each strand.
Yarn over with both strands
For every yarn over, take both strands over the hook and pull both through. Each chain is then two loops lying together, and so is each stitch.
At a glance
- Also called
- double strand crochet, double stranded crochet
- Used for
- a thick fabric from a thinner yarn; mixing two colors in every stitch for a marled fabric; using up part balls of yarn
- In a pattern
- "With 2 strands held together as one", or "worked with two strands held together".
- Hook
- Larger than for one strand of the same yarn.
- Fabric
- Thicker and heavier than one strand gives.
- Two colors
- A marled fabric: both colors show in every stitch.
- Yarn
- About twice the length one strand would use, as an estimate.
How thick the pair comes out depends on the two yarns. Published figures for which weight two strands of a lighter weight stand in for do not agree with one another, so take any such figure as a place to start and go by the swatch.
A thicker yarn and a larger hook make every stitch bigger. A piece worked to the same stitch counts comes out larger, so a pattern written for one strand needs a new swatch, held against the pattern's gauge, before it is worked with two.
Two strands of one color give a plain fabric, only thicker. Two strands of different colors give a marled one, in which the two colors lie side by side in every stitch. Changing one strand at a time, and leaving the other, lets one color pass gradually into the next.
The piece uses both strands at once, so it needs about twice the length of yarn that one strand would. That figure is an estimate. For a large piece, work a swatch with both strands first and reckon the yarn from it.
Tips
- Look at the hook now and then: each loop on it should be a pair. With two strands it is possible to catch one and leave the other behind.
- Keep the two balls apart, each in its own bowl or bag, so that the strands do not wind round each other.
When it goes wrong
- My piece is coming out bigger than the pattern says.
- Two strands make bigger stitches than the pattern's one strand did. Work a swatch with both strands and compare it with the pattern's gauge before going on.
- The two strands keep twisting together.
- Stop and untwist them, then keep the balls apart: one on each side of you, or each in its own bowl or bag.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Questions
- What does "with two strands held together" mean in a crochet pattern?
- Work with two strands of yarn at once, as if they were one. Every yarn over takes both strands, and every loop is a pair.
- Do I need two balls of yarn?
- No. One ball has two ends: the one from the middle and the one from the outside. Work with both ends at once. Two balls are needed only for two different yarns or colors.
- How much yarn does double strand crochet use?
- About twice the length that one strand would use, as an estimate. For a closer figure, work a swatch with both strands and reckon the yarn from that.
- Which yarn weight do two strands make?
- There is no single answer. It depends on the two yarns, and published figures differ. Work a swatch with both strands and the hook you mean to use, and compare it with the gauge you want.