Floss Field.
SearchSaved
All crafts

Changing color · Intermediate

Checkerboard pattern

A crochet checkerboard is squares of two colors set like a chessboard. Every row is worked in both colors, in single crochet (UK double crochet): a square of one, then a square of the other, with the yarn that is not in use carried inside the stitches. After a band of rows as tall as a square, the two colors change places. In the rows on this page a square is 3 stitches wide and 3 rows tall.

How to work it

  1. Plan the squares

    A color chart of a checkerboard, nine stitches wide and six rows tall, each square of the chart one stitch. Rows 1 to 3 are three stitches of the first color, three of the second and three of the first. In rows 4 to 6 the two colors have changed places. The rows are numbered at the end they start from, and an arrow shows row 1 worked from right to left and row 2 from left to right.

    Decide how many stitches wide a square is, and how many squares go across. Each row is a square of the first color, a square of the second, and so on to the end. The chain is the stitches in one square times the number of squares, plus 1.

  2. Change color on the last pull of each square

    Work the last stitch of a square until two loops are left on the hook, then pull the other color through both. The loop on the hook is now the color of the next square.

  3. Carry the other color inside the stitches

    Lay the yarn that is not in use along the top of the row below and work over it, from the first stitch of the row to the last. It is then at hand at every change, and there are no ends inside the piece. At the end of a row, bring it round the edge with you and carry on.

  4. Swap the colors after each band

    The first row of a new band of squares, in single crochet. Below it are the three rows of the band before, in which a square of the first color stands at each side of a square of the second: the lowest of the three is at the bottom edge of the picture. In the new row the colors have changed places: three stitches of the second color over a square of the first, then three of the first over the square of the second. The loop on the hook is the second color again, and the yarn of the first color lies along the row ahead, to be worked over.

    Work as many rows as make the squares as tall as they are wide. Then begin the next row with the other color, so that each new square stands over a square of the opposite color. In the rows on this page the swap comes after every 3 rows.

The stitch pattern, row by row

Multiple
Chain a multiple of 6 plus 4 (16 or more).
Starting chain
The rows here are written for a chain of 22, which is 3 times the multiple of 6, plus 4.
  • The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
  • Row 1 is the right side.
  • Change yarn in the last yarn over of the stitch before the new yarn begins. Lay the other yarn of the row along the top of the row below and work over it, from the first stitch of the row to the last.
  1. Foundation. With A, ch 22.
  2. Row 1 (RS). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 2 chs, [with B, sc in next 3 chs, with A, sc in next 3 chs] 3 times (21 sc).
  3. Row 2. Ch 1, turn; sc in next 3 sts, [with B, sc in next 3 sts, with A, sc in next 3 sts] 3 times (21 sc).
  4. Row 3. Ch 1, turn; sc in next 3 sts, [with B, sc in next 3 sts, with A, sc in next 3 sts] 3 times (21 sc).
  5. Row 4. With B, ch 1, turn; sc in next 3 sts, [with A, sc in next 3 sts, with B, sc in next 3 sts] 3 times (21 sc).
  6. Row 5. Ch 1, turn; sc in next 3 sts, [with A, sc in next 3 sts, with B, sc in next 3 sts] 3 times (21 sc).
  7. Row 6. Ch 1, turn; sc in next 3 sts, [with A, sc in next 3 sts, with B, sc in next 3 sts] 3 times (21 sc).
  8. Row 7. With A, ch 1, turn; sc in next 3 sts, [with B, sc in next 3 sts, with A, sc in next 3 sts] 3 times (21 sc).

Repeat rows 2 to 7 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of two-color checkerboard: 7 rows on the foundation chain, each row numbered at the side it starts from. Each row is drawn in the color of its yarn.

What each symbol meansHow to read a chart

Abbreviations in these rows

ch
chain stitch
sc
single crochet (UK double crochet)
RS
right side
st
stitch

At a glance

Used for
baby blankets and throws in two colors; a board for checkers or chess
Colors
Two, both worked in every row.
A square, in the rows here
3 stitches wide and 3 rows tall.
Color change
On the last pull of the last stitch of each square.
The other yarn
Carried along the row inside the stitches.
A game board
8 squares each way, 64 in all.
Multiple
The chain is a multiple of 6 plus 4 (16 or more).
Row repeat
Rows 2 to 7.
Sides
Looks much the same on both sides.
Edges
The side edges are straight: a row that begins with a chain that does not count begins and ends in a stitch, and that chain is not worked into.

To make the squares larger, give each one more stitches and more rows. The number of rows is whatever makes the square as tall as it is wide in your stitch and yarn, so count on a swatch. Published patterns use squares of 5 stitches and 5 rows in single crochet, and wider squares with fewer rows in taller stitches.

An odd number of squares across, as in the rows here, puts the same color at both side edges. A board for checkers or chess has 8 squares each way, so its chain is the stitches in one square times 8, plus 1, and it has 8 bands of rows.

The carried yarn stays out of sight when the stitches are worked firmly enough to close over it. Lay it flat along the top of the row, neither slack nor pulled tight. It shows most where a dark yarn is carried inside stitches of a light one.

A checkerboard is the plainer relative of gingham. Gingham uses three shades and pairs the middle one with each of the others by turns. With two colors only, worked together in every band, the result is a checkerboard.

When it goes wrong

The carried yarn shows through the lighter squares.
The stitches are too loose to cover it. Work them more tightly, and keep the carried strand lying flat along the top of the row.
My squares are wider than they are tall.
The band has too few rows. Add rows until a square measures the same both ways, and use that number for every band.
The squares do not line up from band to band.
A color change has slipped by a stitch. Count the stitches of each square in the row where the line goes wrong: every square has the same number, and each change is made on the last pull of its last stitch.

Left-handed

The picture of the row shows the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read it as its mirror image.

Questions

How do I crochet a checkerboard pattern?
Work each row in two colors, changing after a fixed number of stitches and carrying the color not in use inside the stitches. After a band of rows as tall as one square, start the rows with the other color.
How many chains do I need?
The stitches in one square, times the number of squares across, plus 1. For the rows on this page that is a multiple of 6 plus 4: 3 stitches a square and an odd number of squares.
How many squares does a crochet checkers board have?
Eight each way, 64 in all, in two colors by turns.
Is a checkerboard the same as gingham?
No. A checkerboard has two colors. Gingham has three shades, with the middle one in every row.

Where to go next

Stitches

Tools

Patterns