CROCHET WITH COLOUR
T
here are many different ways to work
with colour, ranging from simple
stripes to more intricate patterns.
The effects often look amazing, but they’re
actually quite straightforward to create.
Stripes are the easiest way to introduce
different colours to your crochet and they’re
one of the most popular effects. You simply
introduce a new colour at the end of a row,
ready to work the new row with the new
colour. That doesn’t mean stripes are boring
though – you can work your stripes as narrow
or wide as you like, combine stripes of
different widths, and use many different
colours, to create a range of looks you’ll see
on the high street.
You can also achieve amazing effects by
working stripes in the round. Using different
colours in this way will form concentric
patterns and tie-dye effects. Or you can try
changing the stitches you use with rows of
different yarn colours – think wavy stripes, ordense and lacy stripes. Experiment and see
what you can come up with!
The technique used to change row colours
can also be used to change the colour of
individual stitches. With a bit of practice, you
can use these techniques to create more
complex colour effects, often called tapestry
or jacquard crochet, crochet intarsia or Fair
Isle crochet. These can seem quite daunting,
but they just build on the same techniques
you’ll learn in this chapter.
Generally, intarsia refers to blocks of colour
within a background of a different colour
(such as a red heart on the front of a grey
jumper), while Fair Isle, tapestry and jacquard
tend to use two or three colours held at the
front or back of the work and used across
every row to create intricate, geometric
designs. There are various books and
websites dedicated to these techniques once
you’re ready to progress (see page 141 for
more detail on these techniques).IT LOOKS COMPLICATED...
...but it’s not. There are a lot of crochet
techniques that seem impossible at first, but
with a little practice, you’ll find that they’re
much simpler than you thought. This is
definitely true with colourwork. Working
stripes is just as easy as working any large
project that needs more than one ball of yarn,
such as a long scarf. The only difference is the
colour of your yarn!CHOOSING COLOURS
When you’re working with different colours,
it’s important to choose shades that work
well together. The safest bet with colour
choices is to use two shades of the same hue,
such as dark blue and light blue yarns.
For a more interesting effect, try using a
colour wheel. Choose colours that sit
opposite each other, such as red and green,THE RUNDOWN
COLOUR
Using different colours of yarn is part of the fun
of crochet. With many colourwork techniques
on offer, you can experiment with all sorts of
effects. Becky Skuse explains more...ALL ABOUT...
WIDE OR NARROW
Make your stripes as wide as
you want them to be –
experiment by crocheting a
2-row repeat, a 4-row repeat, a
6-row repeat, and so on. You
can also play with combining
different widths of stripes,
mixing a 2-row stripe with a
6-row stripe, and so on. You
don’t have to stick to two
colours either, try using three
or four different colours to see
what effects you can create.
Be inspired by striped effects
you like from the high street.SIMPLE STRIPES
Working rows of different colours
will create simple stripe effects like
this – a classic look that suits many
different projects. In crochet, you
always switch yarn colour at the end
of a row, ready to work the new row
in the new colour. We’ll show you
how overleaf. On a large project, you
can also use the same technique to
join a new ball of the same yarn
colour, when one ball runs out.COLOUR ROWS
Making stripes is easy