Pattern Spotlight: The Metamorphic Cowl & Scarf

If you're looking for a project that turns color into movement and yarn into art, the Metamorphic Cowl and Metamorphic Scarf are the perfect pair to cast on. Both designs were created specifically with assigned pooling yarn in mind — a dyeing technique that transforms the fabric as you work, creating bursts of color and texture.

These two accessories use simple, rhythmic stitches that allow the yarn to do the visual heavy lifting. The result? A lightweight, drapey, beautifully organic piece that looks far more complicated than it actually is.

Whether you prefer a classic infinity cowl or a long, flowing scarf, the Metamorphic patterns are approachable, relaxing, and endlessly fun to customize.

What Is Assigned Pooling Yarn?

And Why It Makes These Patterns Magical

Assigned pooling yarn is a special type of hand-dyed yarn designed with deliberate sections of color. Unlike accidental pooling — where colors may unintentionally stack or stripe — assigned pooling is intentional. Dyers create specific lengths of color so that makers can pair different stitches with different color segments as they appear.

Here’s how it works:

1. The Yarn Has Two (or More) Distinct Color Sections

Generally, you’ll see:

• A main/background color

• And a contrasting “pop” color, dyed in predictable lengths

These pop sections might be short bursts, long stretches, or repeating flashes — depending on the dyer’s style.

2. Your Stitch Choice “Assigns” What Happens When Each Color Appears

As you work, you intentionally switch stitch patterns when the pop color arrives.For example:

• Background color → simple stitches

• Pop color → textured or elongated stitches

This contrast creates organic movement in the fabric and gives the project a painterly, artistic quality.

3. You Create Color-Driven Texture Automatically

The result is a fabric where the yarn dictates the visual rhythm — stripes, splashes, bursts, or soft waves. No charts, no counting color repeats, no complicated techniques. Just trust the yarn and let it surprise you.

Assigned pooling is one of those techniques that blends creativity, intuition, and fiber magic — and the Metamorphic designs highlight it beautifully.

The Metamorphic Cowl

The Metamorphic Cowl is the infinity-style version of the design, perfect for wrapping once or twice depending on your preferred fit. It’s lightweight with incredible drape, making it wearable nearly year-round.

The colorplay in assigned pooling truly shines here — each round shifts, moves, and transforms as the pops of color appear. If you love the look of hand-painted yarns but want a more structured outcome than freestyle pooling, this pattern hits the sweet spot.

Why you’ll love it:

• Uses only one stitch for the background and one for the “pop”

• Perfect for showing off indie-dyed assigned pooling skeins

• Meditative, predictable stitch rhythm

• Gorgeous when worn doubled

• Looks incredible in both bold and subtle colorways

The Metamorphic Scarf

If you prefer something long and drapey, the Metamorphic Scarf has a beautiful vertical flow. The shifting color sections become painterly brushstrokes as the fabric grows, and the overall effect is soft, organic, and deeply satisfying.

Because the stitch pattern stays consistent throughout, this is a project you can take anywhere — stitch nights, road trips, couch sessions, anywhere you want soothing, intuitive crochet.

Why you’ll love it:

• Long, elegant drape

• Beautiful with both high-contrast and low-contrast assigned pooling

• Easy to adjust width or length

• Perfect for single-skein gifts

• The ideal “look what my yarn can do” project

Choosing the Right Yarn

Though the Metamorphic patterns work with any fingering weight yarn, they were designed with assigned pooling yarn in mind. Assigned pooling skeins typically include:

• A consistent background color

• A clearly defined “pop” color section

• Repeating color intervals dyed intentionally for stitch-driven effects

These pops can be short or long, bold or subtle — but what makes them special is that they’re dyed to interact with your stitches on purpose.

Using One vs. Two Assigned Pooling Yarns

One of the most fun parts of the Metamorphic Cowl and Scarf is how versatile they are with color. You can create completely different effects depending on whether you use one assigned pooling yarn or two assigned pooling yarns, or if you pair an assigned pooling skein with a tonal.

Option 1: One Assigned Pooling Yarn + One Tonal (Most Classic Look)

Pairing your assigned pooling skein with a tonal yarn gives you the most controlled, balanced effect. What this combo does:

• The tonal provides a calm, grounding background

• The assigned pooling skein becomes the star

• The “pop” color sections really stand out

• You get predictable bursts of texture and color

This combination is ideal if you want the assigned pooling to shine without competing elements. http://personality.My

Option 2: Two Assigned Pooling Yarns (Bold, Artistic, Highly Dynamic)

Using two assigned pooling yarns creates a much more expressive, painterly fabric. Depending on your skeins, you may see:

• Pops of color landing in different places: forward pass & return pass!

• Organic stripes or soft waves that morph as you work

• A shifting landscape of color rather than one focal point

This option is GREAT if you love more of the assigned pooling color. The fabric becomes incredibly dynamic, and no two scarves or cowls will look the same.And this option is what makes Tunisian crochet assigned pooling makes unique. You can't replicate this look in knit or crochet!

✨ Which should you choose?

• One AP + One Tonal → clean, structured, intentional; pop color stands out clearly

• Two Assigned Pooling Yarns → bold, playful, more movement; painterly & unpredictable

Both look stunning — it just depends on your color personality and the yarn!

My Favorite Dyers for Assigned Pooling Yarn

Assigned pooling has become such a fun space for creativity, and several indie dyers are absolutely shining in this area. If you’ve been wanting to try assigned pooling but aren’t sure where to look, here are some of my favorite dyers whose color sense, consistency, and pop sections play beautifully with the Metamorphic Cowl and Scarf. These are not affliate links, I do not receive any money through these links.

• A Chick that Knitz - US based

• Feisty Fibers - Canada based

Make Your Own

The Metamorphic Cowl and Scarf are joyful explorations of color and texture. Designed specifically for assigned pooling yarn, they let you create fabric that’s organic, expressive, and visually striking — all without complicated instructions or counting.

Whether you’re new to assigned pooling or already obsessed, these patterns offer an inviting, meditative way to let your yarn take the lead.

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If you make one, please tag @violet.loops — I cannot wait to see how your Metamorphic colors transform and flow.