Chaos Crochet: A Free Tool That Picks Your Yarn Colors

Chaos Crochet is a free tool that picks your next yarn color and how many rows it gets. Spin a wheel, shake a shelf, or shake a tote, then crochet whatever it tells you. It’s perfect for a scrappy stripe blanket or a pile of granny squares, and you can use it right here on the blog.

Chaos Crochet, a free crochet tool, with its spin wheel, yarn shelf, and chaos bag tote

I made it for two reasons, and it’s pretty much 50/50. First, we all have stash that needs to get used up. Second, picking colors can be the hardest part of a project. You stare at your yarn, can’t decide, and worry you won’t like how it turns out. Chaos Crochet takes that decision off your plate. No overthinking allowed.

Full disclosure: even I can’t go full chaos. Grabbing eight random yarns from my stash literally hurts my senses. So I pick the five colors I’d actually use together, toss those in the bag, and let Chaos Crochet decide the order and how many rows. You get to decide how chaotic your chaos is.

Chaos Crochet on a phone with a five-color spin wheel

How to Use Chaos Crochet

Step 1: Fill your chaos bag

Start by tossing colors in your chaos bag. Tap a color to add it. You can pull from yarn you already have in your stash, browse the yarn library, or add your own color. You need at least two colors in the bag.

In the yarn library, you can pick a yarn weight and a yarn line, so the colors match the yarn you actually have. Can’t decide even on that? Tap Grab 8 at random.

Fill your chaos bag panel with the yarn library open and a grid of yarn colors to pick from

Everything you pick shows up under In the bag. Tap the little x to take a color back out.

In the bag list showing eight yarn colors, each with an x to take it back out

Step 2: Set your chaos rules

Choose a stripe blanket or granny squares. For stripes, set the fewest and most rows a color can get. For grannies, set how many squares across and tall, and how many rounds go in each square.

Want to keep things from getting too wild? Turn on Never the same color twice in a row.

Set your chaos rules with Stripe blanket picked, fewest and most rows, and Never the same color twice in a row turned on

Step 3: Freestyle or follow a pattern

Go freestyle with any project, or pick one of my patterns under Blankets, Hats and more, or Grannies. When you pick a pattern, it fills in the rules for you, like how many rows each color gets, and tells you when to switch colors.

Freestyle or follow a pattern panel with Freestyle chaos and Briana K blanket patterns to pick from

Step 4: Choose how fate decides

There are three ways to let the yarn decide: spin the wheel, shake the shelf, or shake the tote. They all pick at random, so go with the one you like watching. You can switch any time.

Pick your chaos with Spin selected and a yarn color wheel

Shelf mode with yarn balls lined up on two wooden shelves and a Shake the shelf button

Tote mode with a chaos bag full of yarn and a Shake the tote button

Step 5: Let it pick

Tap the big button. Chaos picks your color and how many rows it gets. If you’re making granny squares, it picks one round at a time.

The Chaos Crochet wheel spinning to pick the next color

Step 6: Crochet it, or pick again

Happy with it? Tap Crochet it. Not feeling it? Tap Nope, pick again and you’ll get a new one. (We won’t tell.)

Chaos Crochet pick card showing Stripe 1, Blossom Heather, 3 rows, with Crochet it and Nope, pick again buttons

Step 7: Tick off each row

Tap Crochet it and it opens crochet mode. Everything you need fits on one screen, and your screen stays awake while you work. Tap each row as you finish it. When you’re ready for a new color, the spin button is right there, so you don’t have to scroll back up.

Crochet mode with the tote, On your hook showing Blossom Heather with Row 1 checked off, and Your chaos so far

Step 8: Watch it grow

Your chaos so far shows every stripe or square as you go, with the newest one on top. It also keeps count of your stripes, rows, and colors used. Need to stop? Tap Done for now, and it saves your spot.

Your chaos so far showing 6 stripes, 17 rows, 4 colors used, and a striped blanket preview

Step 9: Show it off

All your rows done? Tap I finished! Add a photo of your project, take the yarn you used out of your stash, and share your chaos.

Use Chaos Crochet

Okay, your turn. Grab some yarn and let it decide!

It works on your phone, tablet, and computer.

Chaos Crochet pick card on a phone showing Brick, 1 row

Even More Chaos in the App

In the Briana K Stitch app, Chaos Crochet can pull colors straight from your yarn stash. And chaos is better with company:

Twin chaos: Share a code with a friend. You both get the same row counts, each in your own colors.
Find a buddy: Team up with someone from the Community and cheer each other on.