DIY Caron Cakes?

Caron yarns had no idea their temporary-anniversary-celebration product was going to be such a hit and people are going crazy over it! We’ve recently heard that they WILL be making it a permanent product and now other companies have jumped on the bandwagon.

I’ve tried my hand at making my own. After all, Caron Cakes are simply self-striping yarn (no gradient color changes) that’s caked on a ball winder. The end. I’ve included the method I used below but I question the whether it’s worth the effort. Here’s my take on the matter and be sure to let me know what YOU think about using your own stash to create a cake!

Of course, you can get this effect with any yarn but if you’re trying to closely recreate this cakey craze, here are some details that can help you in your pursuit!

Weight: Medium Worsted (4)
Contents: 80% Acrylic, 20% Wool
Skein Weight: 7.1 oz./ 200g
Yardage: 383 yd. / 350 m

blueberry-cheesecake-scarfMost of the cakes are equal amounts of color although some are not. Let’s use Blueberry Cheesecake for this example. I snapped a quick pic of this pattern on the label:

  • Based on this pic, the color amounts equal. (That medium blue is tonal.)
  • This Blueberry Cheesecake has 4 colors that repeat twice.
  • The label says there are approximately 383 yards. Soooo….

383 yards ÷ 4 colors =  96 yards of each color

Since you need to have 2 color repeats…

96 yards of each color  ÷ 2 color repeats = 48 yards of each color repeat

(If you prefer other units of measurement, that would be 44 m/.89 oz/25 g)


Now all you need is color inspiration. My favorite place for that is Design Seeds!

Have fun!