Discover the joy of self striping yarns
Self striping yarn is not just for socks! Many knitters first come across the joys of self striping yarn when they are knitting for their feet, but the benefits of these clever yarns go way beyond that.
Self striping yarn lets you have the look of using lots of different colours of yarn in your project, but without ever having to change the yarn you are using. Instead the colour of the yarn changes along its length as you knit.
The different effects you get depend on the way that the yarn has been dyed. Long colour runs give you longer or wider stripes. Alternatively, some self-striping yarns feature colour changes made up of very short repeats, which can crate rapidly changing colour effects in your project.
We love the versatility of self striping yarns on offer. Mix things up with a luxury DK for a super-soft scarf. Or stick to socks but accept they will be the funkiest footwear in town.
The best self striping yarns to try today
Sirdar Jewelspun Aran yarn
The Sirdar Jewelspun is a beautiful and opulent self-striping yarn in a handy Aran weight.
These hand-spun and hand-dyed yarns all feature a variety of complimentary gem-inspired tones, creating effortless medium-length stripes with smooth blended colour transitions.
It's made from 100% acrylic, but don't let that put you off – it's incredibly soft and lightweight, as well as being machine washable (but if you do like some natural fibres in there, you could always go for the Sirdar Jewelspun Chunky with Wool range)
- Buy Sirdar Jewelspun Aran yarn direct from Sirdar
Opal 4ply yarn
Opal are one of the market leaders when it comes to self-striping sock yarns, and just one look at those fabulous colour combo's is all you need to see why!
They have quite a few different ranges of their colourful sock yarns, with most consisting of a 75% superwash wool/25% nylon blend – although there are some variations that feature virgin wool/polyamide blends.
As these self-striping yarns are specifically designed for socks, you can expect short and sudden colour changes to crisp stripes, as well as sections that feature multiple colours to create a Fair Isle-style effect.
- Buy Opal 4ply yarn from LaughingHens.com
King Cole Riot DK
If you're all about bright colours, then the King Cole Riot DK range is the perfect yarn for you! This fabulous self-striping yarn both looks and feels incredible, with eye-popping bright tones and a super-soft and relaxed roving style twist.
Made up of 70% acrylic and 30% wool, you get long smooth colour transitions that blend seamlessly from one colour to the next. There's a wide range of colour combo's to choose from, including natural and pastel tones, but we're definitely big fans of the super-bright rainbow and carnival shades!
- Buy King Cole Riot DK from KnittingNetwork.co.uk
Wonderful roving
If you'd like to discover more roving-style yarns that can be used for knitting, crochet, felting or spinning, check out our guide to the best roving yarns.
Drops Fabel 4ply self striping yarn
Drops Fabel is a fun and vibrant 4ply sock yarn that is available at a surprisingly affordable price!
It's a blend of 75% Superwash Wool and 25% Polyamide which can be machine washed at 40ºC. There's 55 colour combo's to choose from, comprised of solid uni colour shades, as well as self-striping print and long print shades.
The print range creates a fantastic mix of stripes and multi-coloured print sections, with the long print range giving you long marled stripes – the perfect yarn to mix and match with!
- Buy Drops Fabel 4ply self striping yarn from Wool Warehouse
Scheepjes Our Tribe 4ply yarn
Perhaps you like the idea of a self-striping yarn but are looking for one that is a bit more subtle. The fabulous Our Tribe yarn from Scheepjes is a beautiful premium yarn that shows off it's stunning colours with long gradient blends between different shades.
There's a range of different colour combinations to choose from, including smooth blends of different shades of the same colour to mix-ups of complimentary colours.
These gorgeous colour combo's were initially curated by the Scheepjes Designer Collective (and the yarns are names after the designer that curated them), so whatever your style, there's bound to be a shade to suit everyone!
- Buy Scheepjes Our Tribe 4ply yarn from Wool Warehouse
King Cole Glitz self striping yarn
King Cole Glitz DK is a festive yarn, but we think these festive colours have a place in your self striping yarn box all year round!
Of the 15 shades in the range, the above is the only self striping with a brilliant silver metallic thread running amid green, red and white stripes. It’s a pleasing mix of 97% hardy acrylic and 3% polyester, delivering precise stitch definition and colourful appeal for a budget price.
Glitz DK is an all-round great yarn, ready when you want to knit something fun for Christmas, or perhaps a special project filled with sophistication and sparkle. This versatile, mid-weight DK comes with a varied pattern collection, which is filled with tops, cardi's and more.
- Buy King Cole Glitz yarn from KnittingNetwork.co.uk
Paintbox yarns chunky pots
If you want to go really crazy with colour in a satisfyingly chunky yarn, then look no further than the fabulous Paintbox yarns chunky pots.
These fun 200g yarn cakes are made up of a super-soft and machine washable 100% acrylic yarn, in fact it's exactly the same recipe and weight as their Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky yarn – meaning you can easily mix and match for real colour creativity!
The self-striping is made up of solid blocks of colour, meaning you get sudden changes that create quick stripes or wild mixed-up effects, depending on how you use it.
- Buy Paintbox Yarns Chunky Pots yarn from Lovecrafts
Cascade Heritage Prints self-striping yarn
Can't decide between simple stripes and interesting colour mixtures? Enjoy the best of both worlds with the Cascade Heritage Prints range.
This blend of 75% wool and 25% nylon gives you a strong yet soft yarn that is perfect for socks, but it's the colours that are the real star of the show.
The Heritage Prints range switches between sections of solid shades creating perfect stripes, as well as sections which switch quickly between two colours that produce either marled or solid colour changes.
- Buy Cascade Heritage Prints self-striping yarn from Wool Warehouse
Sugar 'N Cream Ombres self striping yarn from Lily
The Ombres additions to the existing Sugar’n Cream ranges provides a fun option for anyone after a fiesta of colour!
This 100% cotton yarn is an aran-weight that’s easy to work with, is naturally soft and absorbent, and produces a very sturdy fabric that’s perfect for projects that you want to last.
There's a whopping 42 shade combos in a huge range of styles, all with quick colour changes.
- Buy Lily Sugar 'n Cream Ombres from Wool Warehouse
Lion Brand Mandala DK yarn
The Mandala yarn cakes form Lion Brand are another fabulous self-striping yarn for creating bold blocks of solid colour.
There's a fantastic selection of 34 colour combinations available, and this 100% acrylic yarn comes with a generous 540m on each cake, which is plenty for smaller projects such as scarves.
- Buy Lion Brand Mandala DK yarn from LionBrand.com
Mix things up with self striping yarn
Self striping yarns can add a bit of fun and variety into your yarn stash. They're great for adding multiple colours into smaller projects, or even using alongside solid colours to create different effects.
With a bit of planning, you can even control the colour changes and stripes by starting your yarn at different points. Or you can just start stitching with it randomly and embrace the chaos.
Stock up your stash for super-stripes
If you're looking to create larger projects with big sections of stripes, it's often more convenient to have plenty of yarn in solid colours. Check out our list of the best yarn packs and bundles and make sure you always have enough yarn for your projects.
