Unlike in knitting, crochet stitches have a slight diagonal slant, something you might not notice until your come to work a Fair Isle or intarsia design. This means that the effectiveness of your design may vary whether you’re working in rows or rounds and can mean that image-based designs can be a little less crisp than intarsia and Fair Isle designs in knitting.

Well that’s what they say - however, if you get the right design, using the right techniques, you can create something really beautiful. Just check out the designs featured on the next few pages and take heed of this advice from our expert designers for how to get the most from your colourwork in crochet.

Inspiring Crochet Colourwork Ideas

Check out Crochet Now Issue 92 for some brilliant colourwork crochet patterns!

Emma Varnham's Guide to Changing Colour in Crochet

Work the current stitch to the final stage – this works the same for all stitches, simply ensuring you always pause before you make the final, securing yrh and pull through.

Yrh with the new colour. You can add a slipknot onto the end of your hook, or simply pull through the yarn as it stands. It will be secured later by weaving in your ends.

Insert hook into next st.

Work stitch as normal.

Crochet Colourwork Problems Solved with Kat Goldin

As much as I love crochet colourwork, I have always had a few problems with it:

• If the item is worked in the round, the colours are solid, but there is a telltale right bias to the stitches. Despite every effort to straighten this, when I do colourwork, my squares are noticeably trapezoidal.
• If worked in rows, the carried yarn usually shows through the stitches, which creates a slightly muddied effect.
• No matter if you’re working in the round or in rows, anywhere there is just one stitch of a colour on its own it is very untidy.

Now, I have tried lots of techniques to resolve these issues. When working in rounds, I have followed this tutorial of stranding the yarn behind and using tight round joins. In rows, I have tried to keep the yarn to the wrong side as much as possible. Or, I have worked the carried yarn issue into the design to create a woven effect.
The solution is very simple. Working in rounds and in the back loop only,

• Work up to the last stitch of the current colour.
• Insert hook into the next stitch, holding the non-working yarn across the top of the stitches to work around it.
• Yarn over with current colour and pull through.
• Yarn over with new colour and pull through with new colour.

No bias, limited yarn showing through and nice clean lines!

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