How to Change Colors in Crochet

Stripes, color blocks and two-tone coasters all rely on one small technique: switching to a new yarn at the right moment. The same move lets you join a new ball when the old one runs out, so it’s worth learning early.

The golden rule: change on the last yarn over

Change color during the final step of the stitch before the new color starts. Every basic stitch ends with a yarn over pulled through the loops on your hook, and that last loop becomes the top of the next stitch. If you make that final yarn over with the new color, the next stitch is entirely the new color.

Changing color at the end of a row

This is the method for stripes worked in rows.

1. Work the last stitch of the row with the old color (color A), but stop before its final yarn over. In single crochet you will have 2 loops on the hook; in half double crochet, 3 loops; in double crochet, 2 loops.
2. Drop color A. Pick up color B, leaving a tail of about 6 in (15 cm), and use it for the final yarn over, pulling it through all the loops on the hook.
3. Make the turning chain with color B, turn, and work the next row in color B.
4. If you won’t use color A again soon, cut it, leaving a 6 in (15 cm) tail.

Changing color in joined rounds

In rounds that end with a slip stitch, change color on the join:

1. Work the last stitch of the round with the old color.
2. Insert your hook into the first stitch of the round. Yarn over with the new color and pull it through the stitch and the loop on your hook.
3. Work the next round with the new color.

If you have already fastened off the old color, you can start the new one with a slip knot on your hook instead: insert the hook into any stitch, yarn over and pull through both the stitch and the slip knot.

Carrying yarn up the side for stripes

For stripes that are only one or two rows tall, there’s no need to cut the yarn each time. Leave the unused color attached and let it wait at the edge. When you need it again, pick it up for the color change and lay it loosely up the side of the work.

Keep carried strands relaxed — pulling them tight makes the edge pucker. If a strand has to travel further than two rows, wrap the working yarn around it once at the edge every two rows, so there are no long loops to snag.

Joining a new ball in the middle of a project

When a ball runs out, use exactly the same move: work the stitch until its final yarn over, then finish it with the new ball, leaving tails from both. In a single-color project the join is invisible. If you can, make the change close to the edge of a row, where the tails are easiest to hide.

Hiding the tails

Weave the tails in when the project is finished — see how to fasten off and weave in ends — or crochet over them as you go: lay both tails along the top of the next stitches and work the next 8 to 10 stitches around them. Always hide a tail in stitches of its own color.

Practice

The striped mug cozy uses two-row stripes, so you can practice changing color and carrying yarn up the side on a project that takes a single evening.

Free patternSimple Striped Mug CozyEasy1.5 hours