A Tapestry Crochet How-to Tutorial

Have you ever heard of tapestry crochet and wondered what the heck that could be? Well I’m here to help you out! Tapestry crochet is a way to use multiple colors in the same piece of crochet work. It looks like a pretty advanced technique but it is very similar to typical crochet. And it is a great way to start adding some variety and intricacy to your crochet projects! Featured below is The Poltergeist Pillow, which is a design that utilizes this essential crochet technique!

While the technique is not that different from a standard single crochet, you will need to pay close attention to detail as it is imperative that you keep even tension and you count the correct number of stitches between the color changes. Some tapestry patterns use just a couple of different colors while others use many different colors!

Tapestry crochet projects are typically used for things like blankets, wall hangings and pillows. They allow a design to take shape across a piece of crochet work. Tapestry crochet worked in this manner is worked back and forth in rows. Tapestry work can also be used in amigurumi to make colorful and intricate looking creatures. Tapestry crochet worked in this manner is worked in the round.

What’s a tapestry crochet chart?

For this tutorial, I’ll be focusing on tapestry crochet that is worked in rows. Tapestry instructions typically come in two forms – written instructions that include some notification about color work changes as well as charts that give a visual representation of the design being created in the work and the number of stitches that is required for each color of the project The chart is worked from the bottom right corner back and forth up to the top left corner.

I find that following along on a chart is easier for me than reading through all of the text and color changes. I like to highlight the stitches as I complete them in the row, to keep track of my spot on the chart. You’ll need to be sure to pay close attention to counting the stitches for each color, so your design turns out correctly. You might find that written or chart is easier for you, or maybe it will be a combination of both!

What did you say about tension?

When working tapestry crochet, you want to mindful of your tension. There are different methods for crocheting over the yarn, carrying the yarn or creating bobbins (we’ll get into these next!), but regardless you need to have a nice, even tension. If your tension is too tight, you’ll find it hard to place your stitches and your work may be very “cinched” at the end. If your tension is too loose, you’ll be able to easily see the color alternates through the stitches and it may make it difficult to picture the intended end design.

Here are my tips for tension:

• When working the initial starting chain, keep tension loose. The chains set the stage for the entire work and if these are too tight, you’ll find the bottom of your project might be a bit narrower than the rest of your project. Think nice and loose and easy when making your chains!
• When working along the rows and especially when carrying the colors along (if you choose to do so), make sure you have a little bit of slack in the yarn you carry along. You want even stitches and taut – but not tense – carried yarn. If you find that your stitches are becoming very tight and hard to get the next row into, I’d recommend pulling the last row out and trying again with more slack. This does take practice…so don’t give up! Once you have the feel of what works for you, it is much easier to do tapestry crochet.

So…how do I change colors?

So…changing colors! The whole point of tapestry crochet.

I have a few points to make here, so stick with me.

To change colors in your work, you need to bring your colors along with you as you work across the row. There are a few different ways to do this, and you can decide what works best for you! Here are some of the options to bring your yarn along the work:

• Carry the yarn and crochet over it.
  • This method entails carrying the yarn color that is NOT being worked along the row and placing your crochet stitches over it so that it is ready for the next color change.
  • This works well when there are only a couple of colors and frequent color changes. As you are switching back and forth frequently, it is nice to have the color right there and ready to go.
  • This is the method to use if you don’t want your colored yarn to show on the backside of your work. So, for a blanket or something where the backside will show, you’d want to carry the yarn and crochet over it so as not to see it all along the back.
  • You’ll need to have decent tension when crocheting over the yarn, so the alternate color doesn’t show through the frontside.
• Carry the yarn and don’t crochet over it.
  • This is the method I’ll show in the video below. You can see the backside of my checkered squares has yarn running across it. With this method, you use the color needed for the stitches needed and then “drop” it. When you need that color again, pick it back up to use further down the row.
  • This works well for multiple colors, as you can pick and choose which color you need for the stitches without having to crochet over all of them.
  • You have to be careful not to pull the carried yarn too tightly when picking it back up or it will cinch the final design.
• Create bobbins.
  • Create what?! Bobbins! These are small bits of yarn that can be used at different points throughout the row so you don’t have to carry colors along for too far. You can use the bobbins to pick up the color you need at the exact spot it is needed in the row.
  • This works well when there are large swaths of space that don’t need a color. For example, in the Poltergeist Pillow, the body of the ghost is all white. Using bobbins for the colored yarn on either side of the ghost makes it so that you don’t have to carry both colors across the body of the ghost as you work those stitches.

One more point on color changes – you may find that the way you work your stitches leads to a “cleaner” color change or a more noticeable one. The video below shows how I prefer to make my color changes, but here are the steps written out.

Color A is the color being worked (orange) and Color B is the one being switched to (green).

That’s it for the step-by-step! Here is a video putting all of the steps together. There is no audio, just a quick visual. I hope this brief tutorial is helpful in understanding the basics of tapestry crochet. If you have questions or need a more in-depth tutorial, feel free to reach out! And if you want to test out your tapestry crochet skills, check out the Poltergeist Pillow on Etsy or Ravelry!

As always, thanks for stopping by and supporting my designs!