Of course, there’s no wrong way to use a Caron Cake! But I’ve come up with a few tricks to help ensure that you get the striping effect you’re looking for in your next project.If you haven’t seen them in stores or all the buzz on instagram, Caron Cakes are giant yarn cakes of self striping yarn that everyone seems to be going crazy for. The coolest things about these cakes are their incredible yardage ( 383 yards per ball in the original), easy center pull, and their very chunky and abrupt color changes making for dramatic stripes.
For now, The full range of Caron’s “Cakes” line of yarns are exclusively available at Michaels.
Some of the cakes colorways and lines are available from sites like LoveKnitting.com and Wool Warehouse and, of course, now there are seemingly zillions of iterations of cake style yarns in nearly every brand! This article pertains mainly to the original Caron Cakes but many of the tips still apply to all of the cakes yarns.
The key to selecting the right Caron Cake for your project is understanding how cakes are wound.
Every colorway in the original cakes has 5 different colors in it but each cake is wound at a different point in the color change sequence.
Starting from the very center color, count each color change.
5 color changes
This is the most evenly wound ball you can find. If used on a flat square project, the stripes will be very thick, even, and no color will repeat in the project if you use one cake.
This kind of cake would be great for a color block blanket or scarf
6 color changes (the centermost color and outer color match).
In a flat square project, this kind of cake will result in thin stripes of the center color on either end of the project with chunky stripes of the rest of the colors in the middle.
This type of cake is great for infinity scarves because the beginning and ending colors match and can be seamlessly joined. This cake is also great for projects that start small with a series of increases like triangle shawls or top down hats.
7 or 8 color changes
These cakes have two or more colors that repeat in the ball. In flat, square projects, these balls will result in some thin stripes and some chunky stripes. They would be great in corner to corner blankets or cuff to cuff sweaters. Projects that have increases and decreases would have the most even striping pattern from these cakes. I suggest this kind of ball in my Caron Cake triangle shawl/vest pattern! You can check out that free pattern here.
Any way you slice it (hehe), these cakes are a blast to work with so don’t be afraid to experiment! I’d love to hear about your experiences with these cakes and what projects you’ve tried!