changing colors in crochet

With all the joyous activity that surrounds Christmas, I have not blogged as often.  I am currently designing a nativity wall hanging which will be ready next year as there is not way it will be finished this year yet.

I am using a striped pattern for baby Jesus and I realize that a tuturial on different methods of changing colors might be helpful.  Here is a picture of the baby Jesus.

 

As the picture shows, every other row on the body is a different color.  I will show the way to change colors in the round without cutting the thread and adding knots to the work.

Using the last stitch of the row, in this case a slip stitch, pull the new color up from behind the work to make the first loop of the new row.

 

Pull the loop through and start the next round using your new color.  (In this case you go from gold to white)

 

 

This can be done also if you are working on an item that is worked in rows.  In this case, at the end of the row, make a ch of 1, 2, 3 or 4 if the next row is sc, hdc, dc or tr.  Drop the old color.  (I usually pull up a large loop so that it won't unravel as I work on the next row.) 



Insert you hook in the next row's color loop, turning work to work across the row in a new color.  Again, when done with that color, add a chain stitch long enough to get past the next row and switch to the new color.

 

Here is another switch, using the next color.



 

To break off the color, the best way I have found to hide the ends and not have a lot of knots is to lay the broken off color along the top of the row and crochet around it as you work the next row.  This way you don't have loose ends at the end of your piece that has to be woven in.

 

 

I love color work.  It helps to bring out the design of a piece and just add that something extra.  Learning some of these little tricks has made the process so much easier. 

 

I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Season.  Do you know of any other other nifty tricks for working with color on crochet?