Yarn shops sell in skeins, and so do sales. That is how a lot of us end up with two matching skeins in the stash: bought for a project that never happened, or picked up because two felt safer than one.
Two skeins is a good amount. It is enough for a proper scarf, a hat with a pom pom, a bag or a small baby blanket. Here are ten free patterns that each call for two skeins or two balls of yarn, and each card tells you the yards, the size and the one thing to watch before you start.
How these cards work. Every figure on a card comes from the designer’s own pattern page. Where a designer doesn’t say something, the card says so rather than guessing. We don’t copy designers’ photos, so click through to see each finished piece on the designer’s own page, which is also where the instructions are.
Quick picks: start where you are
- You have never knit before: the scarf for total beginners.
- You want to try knitting in the round: the seed stitch cowl.
- You have an afternoon: the seed stitch infinity scarf, about four and a half hours.
- You have two different colours: the two-colour beanie or the children’s ribbed hat.
- You have two balls of cotton: the market bag.
- You are knitting for a baby: the Point Reyes stroller blanket.
Before you start: two skeins is not a fixed amount
A skein can hold under 50 yards or well over 400. Two skeins of a super bulky yarn might give you about 175 yards; two skeins of a DK cotton, around 275. So read the yardage on your labels, add them up, and compare that number with the yards on the card, not just the skein count. Where a designer only gives skeins, the card says which yarn she used, so you can look up its length.
Scarves and cowls
1. Scarf for Total Beginners
A long, squishy garter stitch scarf: slip the first stitch, knit every row, and stop when it is long enough. The page has two video tutorials that go through it slowly.
| Designer | Davina Choy, Sheep and Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page, with video |
| Skill | Total beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 skeins of TJOCKT Martta the Merino (200 g, 153 yards each) |
| Size | 9.25 inches wide by 65 inches long |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) straight |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
count yards, not skeins. The designer's second sample on the same page took 4 balls of a different super chunky yarn, because those balls are much shorter. Check the yardage on your label against the 306 yards of the original.
2. Seed Stitch Cowl for Beginners
A short, snug tube in seed stitch with no shaping at all, which the designer calls an excellent introduction to knitting in the round. She also shows how to work out the cast-on for other yarn weights.
| Designer | Davina Choy, Sheep and Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page |
| Skill | Beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 balls of Valley Yarns Superwash Super Bulky |
| Size | 22 inches around, 7.5 inches tall |
| Needles | 10 mm 16-inch circular |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
your yarn decides how many balls you need. The designer knit a second cowl from just one ball of Debbie Bliss Super Chunky Merino on 9 mm needles, so if your skeins are long you may have one left over.
3. Seed Stitch Infinity Scarf
A long loop in seed stitch, knit in the round, that wraps twice around the neck. No cables and no shaping, just one two-round repeat.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner / easy |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | About 2 skeins; her sample is Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick |
| Size | 76 inches around, 10 inches deep |
| Needles | 10 mm (US 15) 24-inch circular |
| Time | About 4 hours 30 minutes, per the designer |
the designer says gauge doesn't have to be perfect, but it changes the length and how much yarn you use. Slip the loop over your head while it is still on the needles to check the fit before you cast off.
4. Winter Nights Easy Scarf
A narrow double seed stitch scarf made with self-striping yarn, so the black and white stripes appear without a single colour change. The designer wrote it as a quick gift or charity knit.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional on Etsy) |
| Skill | Easy: cast on, knit, purl and cast off |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Stripes (87 yards each) |
| Size | About 6 inches wide by 70 inches long |
| Needles | US 17 (12 mm) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the designer says it uses nearly all of both skeins. If your second skein is running low, finish a little shorter than 70 inches rather than buying a third.
5. The Cascades Knit Scarf
A super chunky scarf with one braided cable running down a garter stitch background. Big needles make it work up fairly fast, and the designer suggests it to anyone who wants to get better at cables.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional on Etsy) |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer; she says you should be familiar with cables, although this is a simple braid |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 skeins of Cascade Magnum or similar; she says it uses just over one skein, about 160 yards |
| Size | About 6 by 60 inches |
| Needles | US 19 (15 mm), plus a cable needle (optional) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
buy the two skeins even though it only takes one and a bit: you cannot finish on one. The cable crosses 3 stitches over 3, so a cable needle makes it much easier with yarn this thick.
Hats
6. Metsovo Two-Colour Beanie
A slouchy striped hat in two shades, one skein of each, topped with a pom pom. The designer says scrap yarns work, because you don't need full balls for either colour.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy (advanced beginner): knit, purl, k2tog and knitting in the round |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 skeins, one in each colour; she used Yarn Art Alpine Alpaca |
| Size | Fits a head of about 22 to 26 inches; 9 inches long without the pom |
| Needles | 10 mm (US 15) 16-inch circular; 10 mm double-pointed needles or magic loop for the crown |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
choose your pom pom colour before you start. The designer says that colour needs more yarn than the other one.
7. Children's Ribbed Hat
A two-colour ribbed hat with a pom pom, sized for children from 4 to 12. The ribbing gives it plenty of stretch, and the crown is shaped with simple decreases.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy (advanced beginner): knit, purl, k2tog and knitting in the round |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 balls of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (106 yards each); her sample uses Wheat and Spice |
| Size | Ages 4 to 12; 8.5 inches long without the pom |
| Needles | 10 mm (US 15) 16-inch circular, plus 10 mm double-pointed needles for the decreases |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the pom pom is made in the first colour, so keep enough of it back. Have the double-pointed needles ready too: the designer suggests switching to them for the crown decreases.
Bags and a baby blanket
8. Aspen Mountain Knit Bag
A roomy bag in double seed stitch: knit one long rectangle, fold it in half, seam the sides and attach ring handles. The designer says there are no strange needle moves, only knits and purls.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional on Etsy) |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer; knit and purl only, plus seaming |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 2 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick; she says it uses about a skein and a half |
| Size | About 14.5 inches deep |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
you'll also need a pair of ring handles about 25 inches long. The designer says the edges came out bumpy and blocking straightens them, and she suggests a lining if you'll carry anything heavy.
9. Knit Market Bag
A stretchy mesh bag for groceries, the gym or the beach. It is knit flat in an open lace, then joined in the round for the sides and handles, which the designer calls very satisfying when it comes together.
| Designer | Davina Choy, Sheep and Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page, with video; a printable PDF is sold in her shop |
| Skill | Medium; for adventurous beginners who can already knit in the round |
| Yarn weight | DK cotton |
| Yarn | 2 balls of Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK (50 g, 137 yards each) |
| Size | No finished size given: the designer says the lace stretches a lot when the bag is full |
| Needles | 3.5 mm 32-inch circular and 6.5 mm straight needles |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
stay with cotton, linen or hemp. The designer says those fibres are hard-wearing with minimal stretch, so the bag holds its shape under weight. The lace uses yarn overs and knit two together.
10. Point Reyes Blanket, Stroller Size
A reversible knit and purl blanket with a slanted parallelogram texture. The page gives seven sizes, and the smallest, a stroller blanket, takes two skeins.
| Designer | Kristen McDonnell, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is sold for the lapghan size) |
| Skill | Experienced beginner on the card; the notes call it beginner level |
| Yarn weight | Bulky, or worsted held double |
| Yarn | 250 yards for the stroller size: 2 skeins of Cascade 128 |
| Size | 20 by 22 inches (stroller); six bigger sizes up to 4,600 yards |
| Needles | US 10 (6 mm) circular, 36 inches or longer, worked flat |
| Time | Not stated by the designer for the stroller size; she gives about 30 hours for the 36 by 46 inch lapghan |
two 128-yard skeins give you 256 yards against the 250 needed, so there is almost nothing spare. If you knit loosely, check your gauge (12 stitches and 19 rows to 4 inches) before you commit to two.
What you’ll need
Eight of these ten patterns use super bulky yarn, so one weight of yarn and two needle sizes cover most of the list:
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, the yarn behind the infinity scarf, the children’s hat and the Aspen bag
- 10 mm (US 15) 16-inch circular needles for the cowl and both hats
- DK cotton yarn for the market bag
- A large pom pom maker for the two hats
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Where to go next
- Only one skein? Here is what to knit with one skein of yarn.
- Got odds and ends instead of full skeins? Here is what to knit with leftover yarn.
- Most of this list is super bulky. For more, see what to knit with chunky yarn, or what to knit with worsted weight yarn for the next size down.
- Knitting a gift? Try quick knitted gifts you can finish in a weekend.
- Browse every project sorted by how much yarn it takes.
- Crochet as well as knit? Our sister site has a whole shelf of knitting patterns at Daily Crochet.
