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Changing color · Easy

Tapestry crochet

Tapestry crochet is single crochet (UK double crochet) worked in two or more colors in the same row. The yarn that is not in use is neither cut nor left hanging: it lies along the top of the row below and the stitches are made over it, so that it stays hidden inside them until its color is wanted again. The colors follow a chart, one square for each stitch.

How to work it

  1. Start with both yarns

    Make the foundation chain in the first color. On the first row, lay the second color along the top of the chain and work over it from the first stitch, even where the chart shows one color only. A fabric that has the second yarn inside every stitch comes out even all over.

  2. Work over the carried yarn

    A row is being worked in the first color. The yarn of the second color lies along the top of the row below. The new stitches stand over it, so that it runs inside them, and ahead of the hook it lies on the stitches still to be worked into.

    Hold the yarn that is not in use along the top of the row you are working into. Put the hook into the next stitch and under that strand as well, then finish the stitch as usual. The strand is now inside the stitch.

  3. Change color one stitch early

    A stitch of the first color, one pull short of finished: two loops of the first color are on the hook. The first yarn has been let go and lies along the row ahead. The second yarn comes out from inside the stitches and is laid over the hook next to its head.

    The change is made in the last stitch of the old color. Work that stitch until two loops are left on the hook. Let the old yarn go, lay the new color over the hook and pull it through both loops. The stitch is finished in the old color, and the loop on the hook is the new one.

  4. Swap the two yarns

    The same row after the change. Four stitches are the first color and the next two are the second color, as is the loop on the hook. The first yarn now lies along the top of the row below, and the stitches of the second color stand over it.

    Now the old color is the one that lies along the top of the row. Work the stitches of the new color over it in the same way. At the next change the two swap back.

  5. Follow the chart

    A color chart of five rows of seven squares, each square one stitch, with a diamond in the second color. The rows are numbered from the bottom: 1, 3 and 5 at the right, 2 and 4 at the left. An arrow shows row 1 worked from right to left and row 2 from left to right.

    Each square of the chart is one stitch, in the color of the square. Worked flat, in rows that are turned, row 1 is read from right to left and row 2 from left to right: odd rows from the right, even rows from the left. Worked in the round, every round is read from right to left.

  6. Turn, and keep the strand at the back

    Worked flat, every other row is worked with the wrong side facing you. On a right side row hold the carried yarn a little to the back of the stitches you work into. On a wrong side row hold it a little to the front. Either way it stays on the wrong side of the fabric, and the right side comes out the neater one.

At a glance

Used for
pictures, letters and repeating patterns in two or more colors; bags, baskets and hats; a graph pattern worked in single crochet
Usual stitch
Single crochet. Taller stitches are used as well.
The yarn not in use
Carried along the row inside the stitches: not cut, and not left as loose strands behind the work.
Color change
On the last yarn over of the stitch before the new color.
Chart
One square, one stitch.
Flat
Turned rows: odd rows of the chart read from the right, even rows from the left.
In the round
No turning, the right side always facing: every round of the chart read from the right.
Fabric
Firm and dense, with the pattern on both sides.

In the round there is no turning. The right side faces you all the way, so every color change is made from the same side and every round of the chart runs the same way. That is why bags, baskets and hats are so often made like this. Worked flat, the piece is turned after each row and the chart is read back and forth.

Single crochet stitches do not stand straight over one another: each leans a little to one side. Worked flat, with every row turned, this hardly shows. In the round, where nothing is turned, it builds up round after round, so that an upright line in the chart comes out slanting. Working into the back loop only, or using the waistcoat stitch, keeps the stitches more nearly in line. The back loop leaves a fine ridge across the fabric.

The stitches are worked tightly, so that they close over the carried yarn, and every stitch has a second strand inside it. Both make the fabric firm and dense, which suits a bag or a basket. Because nothing lies across the back, the pattern shows on both sides.

A single crochet is close to square, so a chart drawn on a square grid comes out close to its drawn shape. A taller stitch makes every square of the chart taller, and stretches the picture upward.

Other ways of working color go by other names. In intarsia each area of color has its own length of yarn, and nothing is carried across. In mosaic crochet each row is one color only. The single crochet graph patterns here are tapestry crochet: their unused yarn is carried along the row inside the stitches.

Tips

  • Begin with two colors. Every further color is one more strand to carry and one more ball to keep from twisting.
  • Keep the balls apart, one on each side of you, and stop now and then to untwist the two yarns.

When it goes wrong

The carried color shows through the stitches.
The stitches are too loose to close over it. Work them more tightly. Where a short length of the carried yarn pokes out, pull gently on that yarn to draw it back in.
The fabric puckers along the row.
The carried yarn has been pulled too tight. Keep it just taut enough to lie straight inside the stitches, and no tighter.
My picture leans to one side in the round.
That is the lean of single crochet building up. Working every stitch into the back loop only, or in waistcoat stitch, keeps the picture more upright. Choose before you begin: either one changes the surface of the fabric.
The color changed one stitch late.
The change is made in the stitch before the first square of the new color: the last yarn over of that stitch is done with the new yarn.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image, and read the chart the other way: row 1 from left to right, row 2 from right to left, and every round from left to right.

Variations

  • Back loop only. Each stitch is worked into the back loop alone. The color changes line up better, and a fine ridge runs across the fabric.
  • Waistcoat stitch. The hook goes into the middle of the stitch below instead of under its top loops. The stitches stack one over another and look like knitting.

Questions

Is tapestry crochet worked flat or in the round?
Either. In the round the right side always faces you and every round of the chart is read the same way. Flat, the work is turned after each row, the chart is read back and forth, and the carried yarn is kept to the wrong side.
What is the difference between tapestry crochet and intarsia?
In tapestry crochet the yarn not in use is carried along the row inside the stitches. In intarsia it is dropped where its color ends and picked up on the next row, and each area of color has its own length of yarn.
Is tapestry crochet the same on both sides?
The pattern shows on both sides, because the carried yarn is inside the stitches and no strands cross the back. Worked flat, the side the carried yarn is kept away from is the neater of the two.
Do I carry the second color where the chart does not use it?
Carrying it from the first stitch to the last keeps the fabric the same thickness all over. Some makers pick it up only a few stitches before it is needed, which saves a little yarn and can leave the fabric uneven.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides

Patterns