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Changing color · Intermediate

Intarsia crochet

Intarsia crochet makes blocks of color with a separate length of yarn for each block. At the edge of a block the yarn is dropped and left hanging, and the next block is worked from its own yarn. Nothing is carried along the row. On the way back each yarn is waiting where it was left. It is worked from a chart, usually in single crochet (UK double crochet).

How to work it

  1. Count the lengths of yarn

    A color chart nine squares wide and six rows tall: a block of the second color in the middle of a ground of the first. Across the rows that hold the block there are three areas, numbered 1, 2 and 3: the ground at the left, the block, and the ground at the right. Each of the three has a length of yarn of its own.

    Follow a row of the chart across and count each stretch of one color: every stretch needs yarn of its own. One block in the middle of a plain ground takes three lengths: the ground at one side, the block, and the ground at the other side.

  2. Wind the bobbins

    Wind a small ball or bobbin for each stretch before you begin. A large area can be worked straight from a full ball.

  3. Change color at the edge of a block

    The edge of a block of color, in single crochet. The row below has a block of the second color in its middle. In the new row, three stitches of the first color are made and the loop on the hook is the second color: its yarn comes straight up from the block below, where it was left. The yarn of the first color has been dropped. It hangs down from its last stitch and crosses the other yarn on the way.

    Work the last stitch of a block until two loops are left on the hook. Drop that yarn, take up the yarn of the next block and pull it through both loops. As you swap them, cross the two yarns over each other once, so that they are linked and no hole is left between the blocks.

  4. Leave the dropped yarn on the wrong side

    Let the yarn you have dropped hang on the wrong side of the work: behind it on a right side row, in front of it, toward you, on a wrong side row. Do not cut it and do not work over it.

  5. Pick each yarn up on the way back

    Turn at the end of the row and follow the next row of the chart. When you reach a block, its yarn is hanging at the block's near edge, where the row before left it. Take it up there and go on.

  6. Weave in the ends

    Every length of yarn leaves two ends, one where it began and one where it stopped. Weave them in on the wrong side when the piece is finished.

At a glance

Used for
a picture, a letter or one large shape on a plain ground; blankets and garments; graph patterns worked with a small ball for each stretch of color
Yarn
A separate length for each block of color in a row.
Along the row
Nothing is carried and nothing is worked over.
The dropped yarn
Hangs on the wrong side at the edge of its block, still attached, until the next row comes back to it.
Chart
One square, one stitch. Right side rows read from right to left, wrong side rows from left to right.
Fabric
One layer, no thicker than plain crochet, with the picture on both sides.
Ends
Two for every length of yarn.

The difference from tapestry crochet is in what happens to the yarn that is not in use. In tapestry crochet it is carried along the row inside the stitches, so one ball of each color serves the whole row and the fabric is thick. In intarsia it stays behind at the edge of its block, so every block needs yarn of its own and the fabric is as thin as plain crochet.

Choose intarsia for a few large areas of color: a single shape, a big letter, wide blocks. Choose tapestry crochet for small patterns in which two colors change every few stitches all along the row, where a bobbin for each stretch would mean dozens of them.

The picture shows on both sides, and there are no strands across the back.

With several lengths in use the yarns twist round one another each time the work is turned. Stop every row or two and set the bobbins back in order.

The corner to corner graph patterns here are intarsia: each is worked with a small ball for each stretch of color, and its page says how many balls to wind.

When it goes wrong

There is a hole where two colors meet.
The two yarns were not linked. At each change, cross the yarn you are dropping and the yarn you are taking up over each other once before you go on.
My yarns are in a tangle.
Each turn of the work winds them round each other. Untangle them every row or two, and use fewer, larger areas of color for a first piece.
A strand shows across the back.
A yarn was carried from one block to another. In intarsia each stretch of color has yarn of its own: join a new length for the new block instead.

Left-handed

The picture of the color change shows the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read it as its mirror image, and read the chart the other way: right side rows from left to right.

Questions

What is the difference between intarsia and tapestry crochet?
In tapestry crochet the yarn not in use is carried along the row inside the stitches. In intarsia it is dropped at the edge of its block and picked up on the next row, and every block has its own length of yarn.
How many bobbins do I need?
One for each stretch of a single color that a row of the chart crosses. Go through the chart area by area and count them before you begin. A shape of one color on a plain ground needs three: two for the ground and one for the shape.
Is intarsia crochet reversible?
The picture shows on both sides and no strands cross the back. The yarns are dropped and picked up on the wrong side, and the ends are woven in there.
When should I use intarsia?
For a few large areas of color. For small patterns that change color every few stitches, tapestry crochet is less trouble.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides

Patterns