Crochet: Crochet with Color (4 page)

Tapestry crochet is used to produce very colorful and bold designs. Many of the designs used in Tapestry crochet have their roots in Native American and South American designs. The use of bright bold colors and intricate designs make Tapestry crochet one of the most fun techniques you can learn.

Unlike Intarsia where you drop and pick up colors as you need them, and Fair Isle in which the colors are stranded on the wrong side of the fabric, color work in Tapestry crochet is achieved by carrying the unused colors inside of the active stitches.

Since you carry the unused colors in the stitches, you would normally not use more than two or three at once to prevent the stitches from becoming bulky and looking bad.

It is normal for the unused color to peek through the active row, this adds to the interest and beauty of the technique. You can find hundreds of free charts for Tapestry color work, as well as written patterns online. Check out Pinterest or Raverly to see how many choices you have and pick a few easy ones to start out with.

In this chapter we’ll learn the basics of Tapestry crochet and practice a few easy charts so you can get this fun and colorful technique down.

Color Changes in Tapestry Crochet

As you work you will carry both strands of yarn across the row. The unused yarn lays on top of the previous row and is encased into the stitches of the active color. When it is time to change colors, work the last stitch of the color until you have two loops on the hook. Pull the new color through those two loops and let the old color rest on top of the stitches of the previous row and encase them in the stitches of the new color. As you need a color you pick it up and pull it through the last two loops of the last stitch and then encase it into the stitches.

At the end of a row capture the unused color under the first chain stitch of the row and then continue to work in the Tapestry technique across the row. Colors are carried up the sides of your work and change as needed.

Close up of the side of the fabric

In this example you can see the yellow yarn is encased in the stitches of the purple yarn, and vice a versa. The fabric produced is a bit thick and dense and is a great choice for purses, bags, home décor items, and blankets.

The following example is crocheted from the chart below the image. You can see how the unused yarn peeks through the rows giving the sample an almost Native American feel to it.

Tapestry charts are read like all other types of charts; odd rows from right to left, and even rows from left to right. If you are working in the round, then you would read each row from right to left since you will not be turning your work.

High contrast color combinations are normally used in Tapestry crochet, but you could use colors closer in shade and tint for a more subdued look. A search online will yield many pretty design charts from very simple to quite complex.

Now that we’ve learned some of the basic color work techniques it is time to move onto color stitch patterns. In this chapter I’ll share with you some of my favorite go-to stitch patterns when working with color. These are stitch patterns you can incorporate into your own creations and patterns. I hope you enjoy learning them.

Foundation Chain Math

When you are working with stitch patterns you will see directions such as chain sets of 4 plus 3. What this means is the chains in the foundation chain need to be divisible by 4; 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and so on. Once you have a number which can be divided by 4 crocheted, add 3 more chain stitches for the complete foundation chain.

This pretty stitch pattern creates blocks of intersecting colors in your project. It is perfect for afghans, dishcloths, hats, bags, and many other projects.

You will need to know how to chain, single crochet, and double crochet.

The pattern is worked in sets of 6 plus 5. For this example I have chained 29 (4 sets of 6 plus 5).

Row 1: With Color A dc into the 4
th
ch from the hook, dc into next ch *ch3, sk next 3 ch sts, dc into each of the next 3 ch sts* rep across row

Row 2: With Color B ch3, sk next 3 dc *3dc into the next ch3 sp, ch 3, sk next 3 dc* rep across ending with ch3, 1sc into top of turning chain

Row 3: With Color C ch3, sk 1
st
st, 1dc into each of the next 2 skipped dc 2 rows below *ch3, sk 3 sts, in the next ch3 sp work 1 dc into each of the skipped dc 2 rows below* rep across

Repeat Rows 2 & 3 alternating colors carrying them up the side of the fabric until you reach the desired length.

Clever Blocks Stitch