Home » Gradient yarn cakes: where can I buy them?

Gradient yarn cakes: where can I buy them?

They are a big hit, maybe even considered the next trend in the makers community: gradient yarn cakes with beautiful, subtle color changes. Many brands jumped on the bandwagon and started selling their own unique gradient color combinations.

It has been a big success in Europe for the last few years and finally also American brands started adding gradient yarn cakes to their collection.

Gradient yarn cakes are light weight multicolour yarns and often are between 600m / 656 yds and 1000m / 1094 yds. This means you only need 1 cake to complete a whole project like a shawl.

Katia spring rainbow gradient yarn cake plied

As there are so many different brands and sorts of yarn cakes available, I decided to sum up which types of gradient yarn cakes are available, the different collections brands offer and an indication of the prices.

Note: I do not include Caron Cakes and Bernat Pop as they are not gradient and a total different weight.

1. Gradient plied yarn cakes

Gradient plied yarn cakes use multiple fine strands laying together. Gradients are created by tying strands of different colors together with tiny knots. The knots are invisible in finished objects.

Recently Lionbrand and Red Heart started selling gradient plied yarn cakes. However, the cakes they sell are very small compared to other yarn cakes (only 400/437 yds) so you might want to buy two if you plan on making a shawl.

To give you an idea: my Pom Pom Happiness Shawl used a yarn cake which is 600m / 656 yds, my Ana Lucia Shawl used a cake which is 800m / 874yds and my Bella Vita Shawl used a cake which is 1000m / 1094yds.

Gradient yarn cakes plied - Lionbrand Ombre Life yarn, Lionbrand yarn Wrap Star, Red Heart It's a Wrap Rainbow yarn

Lionbrand Ombre Life Yarn – $5.99

50% cotton / 50% acrylic
3.5 oz. / 437 yds
100 g / 400 m

Lionbrand Wrap Star Yarn – $6.99

30% wool / 70% acrylic
3.5 oz. / 437 yds
100 g / 400 m

Red Heart It’s a Wrap Rainbow – $11.99

45% cotton / 55 % acrylic
5.29 oz. / 437 yds
150 g / 570 m

Custom made yarn cakes by Wolltraum – Starting at $14

Wolltraum is a German brand that has more color options than any other brand. You can even let them make your own color way. Just send a message to MelodyyByWolltraum and let her know which colors you want for your custom order. She is located in the USA which saves you a lot of shipping costs!

Melodyy by Wolltraum Funny 3 and Take on Me

2. Gradient yarn cakes that are not plied

As not everyone likes to work with the plied gradient yarn cakes, I thought it would be useful to show you another option: gradient yarn cakes that are not plied!

Scheepjes Whirls are unique as they’re the only gradient yarn cakes available that are not plied. It’s a Dutch brand that is very popular worldwide. They’re like normal yarn with only one thread.

If you don’t like working with the loose threads of a plied yarn cake, definitely check Scheepjes Whirls out, because it’s a blast to work with this yarn.

gradient yarn cakes - scheepjes whirls yarn from Holland

Scheepjes Whirls – £20.99

60% cotton / 40 % acrylic
225 g / 1000 m
7.94 oz. / 1094 yds

Here you can order Scheepjes Whirls with fast and cheap shipping to the USA/Canada/world wide (free shipping if you order for £25.00 or more).

3. Dyed gradient yarn cakes

Some people dye their own yarn. Last year I found an Austrian seller on Etsy who has a shop with dyed yarn and I AM IN LOVE! She offers such unique color combinations and also has luxurious options with silk (which have a beautiful drape). I have used two of her yarn cakes so far and I can’t wait to use more. Looking at her shop and the beautiful color ways of her yarns makes me happy every time!

Gradient yarn cake - hand dyed Wollelfe yarn from Etsy

My free crochet patterns with gradient yarn cakes

Friends call me ‘cake princess’ as I LOVE to work with gradient yarn cakes. Most of my latest patterns are made with this kind of yarn. In case you need some inspiration, check out what I made with ’em. All patterns are free!

22 Comments

  1. Hello, I know this is way late, but the is a store in Germany that sells the best gradient yarns – Muetzensttasse.de. I wish I lived closer to them.

  2. I live in Toronto and we have many yarn shops here but none of them seem to be carrying the yarns you mentioned – they all seem to be discontinued?

  3. Thank you for such an informative article. I just bought my first 2 cakes of Red Heart It’s a Wrap Rainbow because of the beautiful colors. But they are so thin I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Thanks to you, I have a new project! Thanks again.

  4. I realize that you wrote this post quite some time ago; you may not even be reading the comments anymore , but this is incredibly helpful! I am not brand new to crochet, but I just started being more picky about the yarns I use, and I’ve just recently started using fingering weight and loving it! Thank you so much for this post!

  5. Hi . Wilma. You have a beautiful creative your project crochet shawls. I would like to ask you what color do you use for “ This is Me Shawl” I live in Ga. I would like to purchase one. Please let me know.
    Thanks,
    Ekarat

  6. Hola Wilma…eres muy joven y talentosa…para tejer estos preciosos proyectos… muchísimas gracias por compartirlos con nosotros… eso te hace grande…pero, en valores… donde vivo 9 mese predomina el calor de 30 a 60 grados F de temperatura …por lo cual es muy poco el periodo en que tejo…pero, me fascina hacerlo…cuando nos llega el invierno…por eso siempre busco ese tipo de proyectos…, para mis hijos… nietos… esposo…y mis padres. De nuevo muchísimas gracias.

  7. What an interesting and informative post, Wilma, and a beautiful pattern to boot. Thank you for highlighting your new ‘extended family.’ I am really looking forward to trying a gradient cake…now which one?!? 🙂

  8. Thank you SO much for this easy guide ! I have recently found Hobbii yarn online, a Danish company that seems to make some beautiful looking gradient yarns ! I wonder if you have seen and or tried them too ?? I a a Brit who lives in northern Portugal and trying to find yarn shops is a nightmare and then … they don’t seem to have the yarns I need … or at the price I am prepared to pay ! OK, I am a skinflint/meany ! 😉 I love to crochet and some yarns necessitate that I remortgage the house ! ( I have a serious crafting addiction : crochet AND paper crafting making greeting cards .. )

    1. Hello Susan. I am a Brit-Aussie and I live in Lisbon. I have been using Hobbii yarns a lot since I discovered them. They are fantastic. Great quality and fast delivery. I can recommend Hobbii 100%.

      1. Thank you Christine ! I only just found your message, sorry !!

        I am glad to hear that Hobbii yarns are good. I have used Ice yarn .. but you have to buy a LOT and I don’t often need that quantity for a project !

        Right now .. I have a beautiful ball of Lionbrand Shawl in a Cake, but although it looks fine .. it actually is worsted/aran/N0 4 weight ! I am now trying to find a shawl pattern for it that my young granddaughter will like ! Everything I am finding comes up in the very fine fingering etc !

        Enjoy Lisboa … I am up in Amarante, east of Porto !

        1. Hi Christine and Susan, I’m a portuguese crocheter, I live in Aveiro. This is for Christine: in Lisbon are a shop Artimoda (www.artimoda.com.pt), Rua Jose D’Esaguay, nº 4B, Cellphone 917555031. The owner made the cakes and you can ordered a special mix of colors, as you wish.

  9. Hi Wilma. I am in Canada and have lots of access to Caron cakes gradient yarn. Would theses be suitable for this shawl? Thank you.

  10. Hello, this isn’t really much of a comment for help but more of a yarn suggestion for those who are from the U.S.
    I am not someone who really likes super bright colors so I struggled to chose yarn for this shawl; however, JoAnn’s (michaels doesn’t sell this brand) sells premier yarn and they had recently begun to sell premier DK colors yarn which is multi colored, very beautiful and if I remember correctly, one cake is approximately 400 yards.

  11. Wilma: I am making the Bella Vita shawl and on Row 15 I believe, it says to DC around the chain bow. I’m not sure what that means.

  12. Thank you for such wonderful insights into gradient yarn. I am currently using Bernat Pop to make an afghan. So fun to see how the colors change throughout the process. I would love to use one of the lighter weight yarn cakes you’ve written about. I will have to go on line to find them, I guess. I am in the USA and my local stores don’t carry many varieties. Thank you, also, for the pretty new dress pattern. Maybe I will give this a try.

  13. Hi Wilma,
    I absolutely love your work and I am making the Joyful Josie Shawl with the Lion Brand Ombre life yarn. The finished edge looks really good but I was wondering if I could make a single crochet on the finished garment around the neck area the whole out to the points at the edge to give it a cleaner look? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

  14. i am going to try the shawl Ana Lucia. I will go to Michaels and hopefully be able to find the yarn. I did see cake yarn but not too sure it is has three strands together. can this shawl work with one strand? Would you also recommend making this with a 3 ply or 4 ply yarn. the hook you suggest is a size 4 Is this US 4 1.74 mm (stainless steel hook) or
    a G8 (4.00mm)

    1. Hi Donna, if you’re going to use Lionbrand Ombre Life or Lionbrand Wrap Star yarn (I believe both are sold at Michael’s), make sure to get 2 cakes, because those cakes are only 437 yds each and I used 830 yds! My cake was 4ply but you can also use 3ply 🙂 I used a 4mm hook (Us G/6). If you’re going to use a 3 ply cake, I think crochet hook 3.5mm will be better though!

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