Colorwork

How to work it

1. Start from a chart

   

   Most colorwork is worked from a chart: a grid in which each square stands for one stitch, or for one block of stitches, and the color of the square says which yarn to use. The same chart can be worked in several of the ways below.

2. Stripes: one color to a row

   The plainest colorwork changes yarn only at the end of a row or round. Nothing is carried along the row. A yarn that will be wanted again in a row or two can wait at the side edge and be carried up it, which saves ends.

3. Tapestry crochet: the other yarn carried inside the stitches

   Two or more colors are used in one row. The yarn not in use is laid along the top of the row below and the stitches are worked over it, so it stays hidden inside the fabric until it is wanted again. No loose strands are left, and the fabric is tidy on both sides. It is a thick, sturdy fabric, and the carried yarn can show through unless the stitches are kept tight. Single crochet (UK double crochet) is the usual stitch.

4. Stranded crochet: the other yarn left loose on the back

   

   Here too a row uses two or more colors, but the yarn not in use is left hanging behind the work until it is wanted. Each time it is picked up again it leaves a loose strand, called a float, across the wrong side. Keep the floats short by choosing small patterns that repeat along the row: a long float catches on fingers. The wrong side is not meant to be seen, so this way suits pieces that will be lined or that have an inside.

5. Intarsia crochet: a ball of yarn for each patch

   Each patch of color has its own small ball of yarn, and no yarn is carried across the back, so the fabric stays one layer thick. The cost is in the handling: several balls hang from the work at once and have to be kept from tangling, and there are more ends to weave in. Intarsia suits a few large areas of color, such as a picture or a single motif on a plain ground.

6. Mosaic crochet: one color to a row, with stitches worked two rows down

   Each row is a single color, so only one yarn is in hand at a time and no color changes inside a row. The pattern is made by double crochet (UK treble) worked down into stitches two rows below.

7. Corner to corner: a block for each square

   A chart can also be worked in small blocks of stitches, one block for each square, in diagonal rows that start at one corner and end at the opposite one. Each block is one color. It is a common way to work a picture blanket, with the colors wound on bobbins so that they do not tangle.

8. Color added afterward: surface crochet and cross stitch

   A finished piece can have color put on it. Surface crochet draws a line of slip stitches across the fabric: straight, curved or in a circle. Cross stitch is sewn on with a yarn needle, one cross to a square of the fabric, so it can follow a chart for a motif or for lettering. Both are worked after the piece is fastened off.

At a glance

Used for

blankets worked from a chart; hats and cowls with bands of pattern; pillows and bags with a motif or lettering

For stripes

one color to a row; a resting yarn waits at the edge

For a small pattern that repeats along the row

tapestry crochet, or stranded crochet where the back will not show

For a fabric that is tidy on both sides

tapestry crochet

For a picture or a few large patches of color

intarsia crochet, or corner to corner blocks

For one yarn in hand at a time

stripes or mosaic crochet

For color on a finished piece

surface crochet or cross stitch

Loose strands on the wrong side

stranded crochet

Tips

• Wind a small ball or bobbin of each color before you start a piece that uses several at once.

When it goes wrong

The carried yarn shows through my stitches.

Work the stitches more tightly, or go down a hook size, so that they close over the yarn inside them.

My fabric puckers where the colors change.

The carried yarn or the float is pulled too tight. Let it lie straight along the row without drawing it up.

Variations

• Stripes. Rows of one color, and what to do with the resting yarn.
• Tapestry crochet. Working over the carried yarn, and reading a chart.
• Intarsia crochet. A ball for each patch of color.
• Mosaic crochet. One color to a row, with stitches worked into rows below.
• Corner to corner. Blocks worked in diagonal rows.
• Surface crochet. Slip stitches on a finished fabric.
• Cross stitch on crochet. Crosses sewn over the stitches of a finished piece.
• Gingham. Three shades in squares, two to a row.
• Plaid. Stripes crossed by upright lines.