Changing colors in Tunisian Crochet is easy! You can do it to horizontally to make stripes, or in the middle of a row - to make a pattern or picture. Basically, there are three places where you can introduce the new color to have a very different effect. Here's how Tunisian Color Changes are done!
Tunisian Color Changes Video Tutorial
Tunisian Color Changes Photo Tutorial
To change color with vertical overlapping, interlocked colors, switch colors when finishing the last stitch of the forward pass, and then use the new color on the return pass. That gives you this look:
To change colors with a more even, straight, clean edge, switch colors when finishing the last stitch of the return pass, and then use the new color for the forward pass. That gives you this look:
To change colors in the middle of a row, as for a graph-ghan or other colorwork, start on the forward pass. Drop the old color and yarn over with the new color, and work as directed. On the return pass, switch back to the first color when the second loop on the hook is the first color. See below:
And that's all there is to Tunisian color changes! There are so many great effects you can get with these. I hope you've enjoyed learning more about this great technique! Let me know if you have any questions, or any other techniques or stitches you'd like to see a tutorial for!
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Maria LaLima says
Thanks! That was really helpful. Now I can make "clean" color changes in my work in Tunisian crochet.
Cheers!
Tamara Kelly says
😀 Thank you Maria! Glad you liked it!
Joanne Milburn says
I’m new to Tunisian crochet, do you cut the yarn for each colour change?
Tamara Kelly says
Not necessarily - it depends on the pattern! If you're coming back to it, you can let it hang and pick it up again for the next row. 🙂
Marrie says
This is wonderfully OUTSTANDING!..i can't believe that some body can make any thing this much clearly!..**Hats Off...**!..i just ♥ed it! ♥♥♥
Tamara Kelly says
Thank you Marrie!
Jessica-Jean says
THANK YOU!! So clearly explained/shown! Now, to tackle intarsia with a hook! 😉
Emma says
Thank you for the wonderfully clear pictures and video! I love doing the Tunisian Stitch, and I have been looking for a way to spice it up. Changing colors should do the trick 🙂
Tamara Kelly says
😀 Glad to help Emma!
Joyce Powers says
Do you have tutorial to crochet Tunisian left handed including changing colors? Thanks
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Joyce! I'm afraid I don't have any left handed tutorials, but here's a link to one on youtube: http://youtu.be/pxM2RIJ6zSU
Joyce says
Thanks so much for info!
Tamara Kelly says
🙂 You're welcome!
Tina First says
How do you prevent the curl when doing a graphghan? I tried Tunisian seed stitch, but still got the curl. Also, my right side end of row seems to be looser ... is there a trick to keeping it tight and even with the rest of the blanket? Thanks for your help!
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Tina! For the edge it's really a matter of consciously keeping it tight - I wish I had a better suggestion! You can find some curl prevention tips here: http://kimguzman.com/blog/tunisian-crochet-stop-the-curling/ 🙂
Ashton Collins says
I'm having a tension problem. When I am switching colors frequently on a graph pattern, I find that that area gradually narrows, no matter how hard I try to keep the stitches loose. I'm not losing any stitches (decreasing). I've managed to make the effect less pronounced, but it's still getting narrow at points. Any tips on how to prevent this problem?
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Ashton!
The first thing is to relax your shoulders and arms and neck - frequently! Using a pillow under each elbow to support your arms while you crochet can help with this too.
Since it's Tunisian, I also wonder if they loops are tightening up when they move from the solid hook to the flexible tube portion? If so, keeping them on the solid hook longer might help.
Since there are color changes, are you using bobbins that hang off the back? That might be pulling those stitches tighter as well - removing the weight by using smaller bobbins or laying the piece on a table as you work may help.
Lastly, worst case scenario, you can work the too tight section with a bigger hook than the ends!
I hope something here works for you! ♥
Christine says
How do you carry stitches under the work for when you want to change colors more frequently? Or do you just need to do a bobbin for each column of color? I've done intarsia with traditional crochet, and you can carry the yarn a few stitches to avoid using many different bobbins. But I'm new to tunisian and I don't know how to do it here.
Thanks!
Tamara Kelly says
Because Tunisian is already a thicker fabric, I think bobbins would be the best option for this technique.
Vivienne says
How do i more colour changes in the row? I’ve got a pattern where i need to do 5 red, 2 black, 5 red, 11 black, 5 red, 2 black, 5 red. I can’t figure it out…
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Vivienne! In that case you'll probably want to make some bobbins! https://www.mooglyblog.com/butterfly-yarn-bobbins/
You switch the colors according to the pattern directions, and then let each un-used color hang out in place until you come pick it up again on the next pass.
So in your example, you would need 7 bobbins - each section gets it own bit of yarn.