Colour Crochet Unlocked

Introduction 6
Getting started 8
Getting the basics right 10
Reading a crochet chart 14
Abbreviations 17
Handling multiple yarn strands 18
How to change colour 20
Working with colour 21
Colour theory 22
Stitches in colour 32
Colour changes 94
Mosaic crochet 96
Tapestry crochet 104
Fair Isle crochet 108
Intarsia crochet 112
Smart Charting 114

Projects
Bobble hat 120
Buchanan table runner 124
Moseying on down scarf 128
Tweedy shopper 132
Forth Bridge blanket 136
Hera blanket 140
Trinity baskets 144
Zahra hat 148
Zahra mittens 152
Intarsia love pillow 156
Chart paper 160

About Jane Howorth

Jane Howorth has been designing in knit and crochet since 2012 and her designs are extensively published in the UK and US. Her work has appeared in many magazines including Interweave Knitting, Knit.Wear, Inside Crochet, Crochet Now, etc.  In particular, her ideas have been enthusiastically commissioned by Interweave Crochet magazine, and she has one or two designs featured in almost every issue since 2017. Jane’s latest designs are for Knitpicks’ new venture, WeCrochet, and a new ezine from Interweave; The Crochetist. She focuses on creating garments and accessories with a strong sense of style and a contemporary feel, and has around 90 third-party published designs, which can be seen on Ravelry. With a background as a Senior Lecturer in a university business school, she understands how to convey knowledge and understanding clearly. Jane also holds City and Guilds advanced certificates in Fashion Design. She uses this knowledge in her design work and in writing technical articles for a number of magazines, including Pompom and Interweave’s Knit.Wear magazine. She has taught numerous knit and crochet classes at local yarn shops.

@alessandrapoggiagliolmi

Being a designer myself, I'm aware to have a tendency to use mostly bright colours and preferably not more than 3 at a time (obviously there are exceptions to this rule of mine!). Anyway, I found this book interesting as it's a good source to look at when in doubt or when you are attempting colourwork the first time! You can find 40 stitch patterns to practice with colours so you can get a quick visual result to verify your choice of hues, tints, tones or shades ! A full chapter is dedicated to colourwork techniques and you are guided to crochet lovely swatches with the help of charts, step-by-step photos and patterns.

There is a clever section about charting for crochet and smart charting. At the end of the book, you find a selection of 10 patterns to try: the project I prefer is the Forth Bridge Blanket, maybe because I live in Edinburgh. The only flaw, if I may call it this way, it's the absence of a reference about fluorescent/neon colours, which are often used by younger (not only!) designers/crocheters.

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@craftycruella

I took my time to read through this book properly, because this isnt your average crochet pattern book, this is the ultimate how-to book for crocheting with colour. The book is split into sections that are so informative even as an advanced crocheter or designer, youll pick up new tips and tricks. The first is: etting Started - Here youll find the usual information about yarn, equipment, stitches and abbreviations, along with how to handle the yarn, change colour & my favourite part of this section, colour theory. The book covers colour theory with great depth, explanation the colour wheel, how to use it and explaining the different colour schemes. Stitch Patterns - There are 40 beautifully unique stitch patterns included in this book, many that I havent come across before. Each one includes a photo, written instructions and a chart. Colour Changes - Here youll learn how to crochet different colour techniques like Mosaic (in two ways) Tapestry, Fair Isle & Intarsia. The Projects - This section has 10 gorgeous crochet patterns, that use the techniques that youve just learnt.

I found this book to be beautifully laid out with easy to understand instructions. Its perfect for someone simply wanting some unique colour work patterns, or maybe for someone who would like to understand colour work a little better & even for established designers wanting to improve their skills in colour work (even if you think you know it all, I bet you find some fab tips). I personally love designing & using colour work in crochet, this book will now be my go-to guide, I know itll take my designs to the next level.

Left-handed people arent forgotten in this book, if a technique or pattern is different for lefties, then the instructions are included.

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Customer Review

This book is fabulous. If you are a beginner to charts it talks you through it, including how to read stitch charts as well as colour charts. It explains about when to carry yarn, when to cut, and when to use bobbins. It gives in depth explanations of how to create colour schemes. It contains a wealth of patterns and explanation on how to increase these to scale as required.

The authors are big on helping you develop your skills to be able to create your own designs and building the skills you need for this. There are also a number of lovely projects to get you started. I would recommend this book to any crocheter, and as an advanced crocheter myself I have still found plenty of great content that has challenged me and inspired me further. As long as you know the foundations of basic stitches you will learn plenty from this book. Top marks!