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Crochet › Colour and surface

Tapestry crochet

Colour patterns in solid, dense sc: motifs, stripes and pictures in two or more colours, with no floats at the back. The unused colour is laid along the top of the row below and worked over, so it is hidden inside each stitch; to change colour, the last yarn over of the stitch before is done in…

What you work it with

Crochet · Tools: A hook one size smaller than usual for dense stitches; two or more colours of smooth yarn of the same weight.

Symbol chart

One or two repeats of the stitch pattern, in standard crochet symbols.
123456Chain (ch)Single crochet (sc)Read from the bottom: each row starts at its number, with its turning chain.

Steps

  1. Work the first rows in the main colour, laying the second colour along the top and working over it.
  2. Before a colour change, work the last stitch of the old colour up to its last yarn over.
  3. Finish that stitch by pulling the new colour through.
  4. Work the new colour over the old one, which is now carried.
  5. Keep both yarns untangled by turning the work the same way each row, or work in rounds.

The full card

What it looks like
Colour patterns in solid, dense sc: motifs, stripes and pictures in two or more colours, with no floats at the back.
How it behaves
Thick and stiff because the unused colour is carried inside the stitches; good for bags and baskets.
How it works
The unused colour is laid along the top of the row below and worked over, so it is hidden inside each stitch; to change colour, the last yarn over of the stitch before is done in the new colour.
Tools
A hook one size smaller than usual for dense stitches; two or more colours of smooth yarn of the same weight.
Parameters
Usually sc; the chart has one square per stitch. Tight stitches keep the carried yarn from showing through.
Steps
1) Work the first rows in the main colour, laying the second colour along the top and working over it. 2) Before a colour change, work the last stitch of the old colour up to its last yarn over. 3) Finish that stitch by pulling the new colour through. 4) Work the new colour over the old one, which is now carried. 5) Keep both yarns untangled by turning the work the same way each row, or work in rounds.
Charting
This symbol chart shows the stitch (sc throughout); the pattern's colour chart shades the squares of each colour. Read from the right, rows back and forth; in the round, every round from the right.
Limits and common problems
The carried colour peeks through: pull the stitches tighter or use a smaller hook. Worked in rounds, tapestry stitches lean, so a motif slants a little[inference].
Combines with
Single crochet, Invisible decrease in rounds, Crab stitch edge (reverse single crochet)
Pieces and assembly
Bags, baskets, pouches, wall hangings; worked in the round, a bag needs no seams.

Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.

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