This post will explain how to create a giant yarn throw using the super thick wool yarn that is so popular right now. This is the giant yarn crochet blanket pattern you need! I’ll share the best places to get giant yarn and explain what you need to know to create a gorgeous knitted or crocheted blanket of your own. You can get the pattern for making your own throw too! Read on, Wildflowers!
So if you are reading this, I bet you have seen on Pinterest, somewhere else online, or in person, the super trendy gigantic yarn throws and thought how beautiful they are to then gasp at the price tag. The throws I have seen on Etsy are over $400 and some are sold for even over $1000. Alternatively, you might have seen some far lower quality, probably acrylic, smaller diameter yarn versions that won’t last a season even with occasional use nor cover your toes and tummy at the same time. The photos are very often of in cream or ivory, with yarn that is well over an inch in diameter. They are also the most popularly shown as knitted designs.
I crochet pretty well in that I can make anything that is either a rectangle or a circle (blanket, rug, scarf, hat, etc) but I’m not much for counting, keeping track, or following a pattern. I was asked by more than one friend (who knew my crafty inclination) if I thought I could make one of these giant yarn throws and I knew I could. With a little help from a friend, I made one and I think it turned out beautifully if I say so myself. The following is everything I learned so you can choose your own yarn and make your own.
Ready to grab your free giant yarn crochet blanket pattern?
Yarn choices: When you start looking for the giant yarn you will see there are many, many options to choose from. I had to call on a yarn expert friend to help me choose and I’ll share what she taught me here. Some giant yarn is not actually spun (or twisted) at all, which means the wool fibers are hanging out together, more or less in a row, sticking together but not twisted together. Some giant yarn as a little bit of a twist and some has none. The yarn I chose is slightly felted and that means that the fibers are connected better to one another than if the yarn is not felted. The reason I chose this is that I wanted to limit the future pilling of the yarn. Because the yarn isn’t twisted tightly together, the risk of the fibers coming free from one another is higher, so that concern is great. It would be a shame to spend the money and time and have the yarn have the same fate as a once awesome but now pilled and shabby sweater.
Micron is a term you might read when shopping for giant yarn and I know it threw me off. Microns refers to the softness (versus scratchiness) of the yarn. If you are making anything the skin will be touching, you want soft. Save the scratchy stuff for felted bowls or bags. The scratchiest wool often comes from the tastiest sheep so don’t let a lamb meat producer tell you to knit a bikini from their wool. Save that wool for a felted bowl or bag or other creation.
A LOWER micron number refers to SOFTER wool. Mine was 19 microns and is so cozy soft.
I chose the Etsy seller Knitting Revolution for a few specific reasons. They sell yarn in several giant sizes. The color selection is the best I found in my search. They have brights, pastels, natural shades, and of course the ivory shade that is beautiful, so popular, and totally impractical. The quality of the yarn was lovely, the shipping was pretty darn fast considering it came from Italy and the shipping cost was only 40 bucks for a LOT of wool. The customer service was great too- I emailed a couple of questions and got a response right away. They also sell giant yarn needles and hooks and are located in the Italian Wilderness. No, I didn’t ask if I could come to visit…yet.
The yarn I purchased for my project was the Mono XXL Massive 19-micron yarn. I chose the color “Souris” on the last color choice page, which is a charcoal grey. It says that it results in a stitch that is about 3 inches. I bought 4 skeins. Their chart that tells how much you need says that 3 skeins would make a throw of about 50×50.
I did not buy a crochet hook for this project because years ago when I cut all my dad’s old work jeans into strips and crocheted a rug (it’s cute, but a pain to wash) I had a crochet hook of about an inch and a quarter diameter commissioned…by the high school woodshop students. Don’t laugh; I have had a ton of different wood projects made at my request by handy FFA kids and I’ve never been sorry. That’s why, in my video below, there’s an obvious knot in the wood.
I emailed a couple other giant yarn retailers (after investigating their yarn size, color, softness, and shipping prices, and either they didn’t get back to me or their shipping price was cost prohibitive.
Most of these sites are focused on the knitter. Why crochet isn’t as popular I have no idea. I don’t know how to knit but before you choose one camp or another (put the hooks and needles down, ladies!) realize that knitting and crocheting are doing the SAME THING, in a different way. Look at the little hearts/Vs created in a knit, and look at the top row of your crochet project. You’ll see the same little heart or V shape. See?
Crochet takes MORE YARN, but knitting takes MORE TIME. This is why I ordered 4 skeins and hoped for the best.
Here are my results that you can use to create YOUR OWN giant yarn throw.
4 skeins = a crocheted throw that was 70 inches X 24 inches. My little brother joked that it was coffin-sized and he’s sort of right. It is beautiful on the end of my cousin’s bed (a gift for her wedding), which is what I was going for. It is so totally gorgeous.
It took only a few hours. I am pretty fast and fearless with yarn (even expensive, Italian countryside yarn) and my husband got the package from the post office at noon and I was done by bedtime. It took about an hour per skein, for a total of about 4 hours.
I wrote down exactly what I did and the stitches I used in PLAIN ENGLISH so even if you have never read a crochet pattern before, you can understand it! I’m a seasoned English teacher and I’ve been crocheting without a pattern since I was reading Little House on the Prairie. For real; You can totally make your own! I even made a little graphic to help you out 🙂
Download your FREE Giant Yarn Crochet Blanket PATTERN here!
If you don’t want to make your own just yet, here’s the short version: I single crocheted and skipped stitches (to save yarn and so it wouldn’t be so bulky- as in, stiff and lacking drape) and when I got to the end of my last skein, I couldn’t see any sense in cutting any of the yarn off. Instead, I sort of decreased the height of my stitches by tightening them for 2 or 3 stitches, and then did a slip stitch until I ran out of yarn and wove the tail back into the preceding stitches.
Joining: I don’t know if this is the best method, but it absolutely worked for me. I just layered the end of my yarn on top of the new skein, overlapping by about 18 inches and sort of pinched it together. Because wool fibers are kind of like velcro, they want to stick together, and thus they did. I was extra careful as I worked through that half yard, and it was a bit thicker than the rest of the yarn but it worked well. It is way too bulky to knot, in my opinion.
Because the yarn is SO BIG, it is actually a lot easier to SEE each stitch and SEE where your hook is going. I think that crocheting on big yarn is a lot easier for a newbie. And I love newbies 🙂
I think crocheting was an excellent choice in some ways because it created a rad texture that I haven’t seen pinned a zillion times online which is something I appreciate. The graphite color is much more practical for a home with humans living in it than the uber-popular cream and while I LOVE color, because of the significant investment, I don’t know that I’d commit to a bright just because you will have this thing forever and it would be a shame for scarlet to go ‘out’ before the blanket is ready to give up.
Washing: The Knitting Revolution site says gentle dry clean and I wouldn’t deviate from that. It is really heavy so I wouldn’t even try to wash in the sink…I mean bathtub. It would never get dry. Furthermore, because this yarn is unspun, it may pill excessively, even with very gentle use. This would make a terrible choice for a baby blanket or any item that would be handled often.
Cost: Yeah, it is expensive, BUT, by weight, most of the yarn I looked at is less expensive than buying it in a more standard size. In fact, many sites are selling their giant yarn at a significant discount compared to regularly sized yarn. So, my conclusion is that it might be best to try a smaller project like my end of the bed throw or a cowl (hopefully coming soon!) rather than buying 16 skeins and tackling a huge project.
Love this giant yarn crochet blanket pattern? You will love the 5 Giant Yarn Projects Ebook – a felted basket, a baby blanket, a thick and thin throw blanket, and more. Check it out here!
What do you think, Wildflowers? Will you be trying some extreme knitting or crocheting with giant yarn?
kay jackson says
I signed up but still couldnt download the pattern. Dont know if I did something wrong or not.
Jenny says
Hi Kay, check your email to get the password that will let you access the resources tab at the top of the page. Did you have trouble once you were inside the password protected page? If you’d like I can just email it to you.
Brianne says
Hi, I was wondering if your blanket sheds.
Jenny Gomes says
Hi Brianne, the post explains that yes, roving sheds a ton. It’s best for decor only.
Nancy E Newell says
I’m having a hard time with the chunky yarn twisting..as I am crocheting the remainder of the yarn is twisted so bad it’s like a knot..
Help me please
Jenny Gomes says
I’m not above cutting the yarn to untangle and then rejoining when you’ve untangled it.
Zacc says
How much giant yarn do I need to crochet a king comforter?
Jenny Gomes says
It would depend on the yarn! To be sure, you’d need to calculate it with the yarn supplier.