How to Alternate Colours in Crochet Without Cutting Your Yarn!

Learn how to alternate colours in crochet without cutting your yarn and avoid the frustration of weaving in countless ends! In this tutorial, Charlotte Lee will take you step-by-step on how to seamlessly switch between colours as you crochet, whether you are working single or double crochet rows. You will also learn how to manage your yarn tension so that your edges stay smooth and even, with no unsightly scrunched-up edges or loops. This technique is perfect for creating clean, polished projects with alternating colours. Find the written step-by-step instructions below the video!

Materials & Tools Shown

More about Charlotte Lee 

alternating crochet colours sample comparison
The sample on the left shows the method from the article, keeping the floats tidy and controlled. On the right, the yarn was simply carried over, creating a long float that’s more noticeable and less polished.
Print

How to Change Colours in Crochet Without Cutting Your Yarn

Materials

Instructions

When Changing Over Two Single Crochet Rows

  • When changing colours over two single crochet rows, the stitches are short enough that you can just grab the last colour you used and start working with it again.
    1-single crochet row colour change
  • Tighten up the new colour of yarn before you begin.
    2-single crochet row colour change
  • Make sure it’s not too tight, as it can pull the side down and cause it not to match the other side, affecting the size and overall appearance of your finished piece.
  • The little bit of yarn that floats along the back of your work is so small that it won’t show and won’t affect the look of your project.
    4-single crochet row colour change

When Changing Over Two Double Crochet Rows

  • When changing colours over two double crochet rows, you can’t just start with the new yarn colour, as it will create a large float.
    1-double crochet row colour change
  • The first step is to hold both the new and old colours but keep them separate.
    2-double crochet row colour change
  • Lay the old colour over the crochet hook.
  • Yarn over with the new colour.
  • Pull through both yarn strands. When starting a new double crochet row, we usually begin with a chain three. In this case, we’ve just completed a chain one.
    5-double crochet row colour change
  • For the second chain, simply lay the old colour over the new colour and make a chain one.
    6-double crochet row colour change
  • For the third chain, repeat what you did for the first chain: lay the new colour over the hook and yarn through both strands.
  • We now have three chain stitches, and the yarn is carried up through the chain.
    8-double crochet row colour change
  • Now, simply crochet along the row and back, following the instructions in your pattern.

Connecting Stitches When Returning to the Colour Change Side

  • When you return to the colour-change side, it's easy to spot where to pick up the final stitch because it is easy to spot both colours.
    1-connect colours crochet
  • Yarn over, pick up both legs of the stitch, yarn over, and then pull the yarn through both loops.
    2-connect colours crochet
  • Ta-da! All done, with the second colour neatly tucked away!

Need More Help?

Do you have questions about how to alternate yarn colours in crochet? If you’re an All-Access School of SweetGeorgia member, join us in our Community Forums! One of the great perks of being an All-Access member is the opportunity to ask Charlotte questions about their articles and courses and connect with fellow members.

Not yet a member of the school? We invite you to come and see what the School is all about! Use the code: EXPLORETHESCHOOL to get a 14-day trial for just $1!

You’re also welcome to join us on the SweetGeorgia Yarns Discord server. Our community has discussion threads on knitting, spinning, weaving, crocheting, dyeing, and much more. Feel free to start a conversation, get inspiration from fellow SweetGeorgia Yarns members and ask any questions you may have. 

Together, we share, learn, and grow as a community. We would be happy to have you join us!

Original publication: November 30th, 2021; Refreshed: February 20th, 2025 

The post How to Alternate Colours in Crochet Without Cutting Your Yarn! appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crocheting Granny Squares for the Jethro Cardigan

Image
Crochet Granny Squares are just so much fun to make! Just… one… more round… one more square… For today’s Taking Back Friday episode, I talk about the crochet granny squares I have been making at every possible moment for this past month. I’ve recently been inspired by the Jethro cardigan design by Tanis Lavallee from Tanis Fiber Arts. The Jethro cardigan combines both knitting and crochet in one project. You start by crocheting a bunch of classic granny squares, and then join them all together. Then, you pick up for knitting the sleeves and trim. It’s a really fun and easy way to play with colour, especially with making your own palettes and colour combinations. Mini-skein sets work perfectly to allow for fun colour play with these granny squares The goal of making these granny squares is to play with colour, but I didn’t want to go and buy 6 to 10 full skeins of DK-weight yarn in order to get enough of each colour. And so, I feel like the answer here is DK-weight mini-skeins . ...
Read more

Joining Crochet Granny Squares – It’s Easier Than I Imagined!

Image
I recently learned how to continuously “join as you go” (JAYG) for crochet granny squares and I LOVE this technique. And so on today’s Taking Back Friday video , I want to share an update on my Jethro Cardigan project and how I joined the granny squares. As I shared in a previous vlog episode , I’ve been making crochet squares out of three different sets of our Superwash DK Party of Five mini-skein sets. I finished making the 36 granny squares needed, which no two are identical. However, after crocheting all of the squares, I was stuck on how to join them together. They simply sat finished in a pile for a couple of weeks. Luckily, Tanis provided resources with her pattern and one of them was for the “Join as You Go” tutorial. It was fantastic. I’m so proud and excited that I’m almost done. I love how it is turning out, and playing with colours has been the most fun part of this project. If you’re interested in making your own Jethro Cardigan, I want to give you some encouragemen...
Read more

Winterful Weave-Along: Weaving WIPs

Image
Part of the fun of any make-along is to connect with fellow makers — to share your progress, ask questions, and be inspired by others’ work. We’ve absolutely loved seeing all of your photos and the journey of all of the weave-along weavers both at our Discord and SOS Forum spaces. SweetGeorgia Team Member, Greta, has now started weaving her second Kaleidoscope Scarf ! Helping to add some additional needed yardage for the border colour with our SweetGeorgia Individual Mini-Skeins (in Bison), Greta is following her own weft order — adding in some yellow picks and writing the order on a sticky note so the pattern can be easily repeated. Greta’s @gretacornejomakes second Kaleidoscope Scarf in-progress There is more weaving project inspiration to be found at our SweetGeorgia Discord space, in the #winterful-weave-along channel. It’s wonderful to follow along as everyone works through the weaving steps together. Also a fabulous opportunity for community learning, as weavers share ...
Read more