So we're all starting to work up our cowls in the current Cowl-o-Rama (and there's still plenty of time to join us!). Some of us are working up Etched Ice cowls, one participant has already completed a La Coeur Cowl (it really is a quick crochet), and a few participants are working on a few different three-color tunisian crochet cowl designs of mine. Since this is a form of colorwork I really enjoy, I thought I'd provide here a form of the visual tutorial I wrote for ILikeCrochet.com to coincide with their publishing the Mixed Bag Cowl design last year.
Working with color in design, or art, or when crafting is universally appealing –
just look at the explosion of long color run yarns like Noro. This is an area where a multi-disciplinary approach really comes in handy: my painting
experience has taught me colors come alive and reveal
personality only in context with other colors. As on the painting canvas, so
too in creating crochet fabric - there is something infinitely satisfying
about watching colors take form and reveal themselves in context in a crochet
project.
While there are several ways to inject color when
crocheting, one of the easiest ways is to work with multiple colors
at once. In tunisian crochet (and the same technique can be applied when
crocheting with a traditional short hook), the principle behind using three
different yarns at once is quite simple: work an entire row in yarn A, switch
to yarn B at the end of the row without fastening off the first color, work the
next row in yarn B through the end, attach yarn C without fastening off yarn B
and work the next row in yarn C. At the end of each subsequent row, drop the
yarn you’re currently using and pick up the next yarn that’s waiting. You’ll carry the yarns neatly up each side of
the work without fastening off, so there’s no pesky yarn tails to weave into
your newly created colorful crochet fabric. Additionally, working with three yarn colors at once is a great way
to use up stash in intriguing and fresh ways. Don’t be afraid to try different
color combinations or, even, of using different yarn weights in the same
project.
A note: this tutorial assumes the crocheter has knowledge of tunisian crochet utilizing one color. The tutorial picks up at the backward pass of the initial row in tunisian crochet:
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1. Work the backward pass of the pattern’s
designated
row in yarn A until there are two loops remaining
on the hook.
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2. Drop yarn A without fastening off and attach
yarn B by making a loop over the hook with it
and complete the row.
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3. Work the forward pass of the next row with yarn
B
through completion of the last stitch.
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4. Drop yarn B without fastening off and attach
yarn C
by looping it over the hook and work the backward pass
until there are
two loops remaining on the hook.
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5. At this point you will have three different
yarns live
in the back of your work – the one you’re currently
using and one at
each end of the work.
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6. From this point on, you’ll change yarns at the
end
of any pass by dropping the yarn you’re using and
picking up the yarn
that’s waiting. It’s that simple.
While not a requirement, when changing yarns at
either end of a row I like to ensure that the new
working yarn is beneath
the yarn being dropped.
In this way, the dropped yarn gets carried up the
side of the work in a neat manner.
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7. Here is how the back of the fabric looks.
Notice how the yarn is neatly carried up along
each side of the fabric. Since this cowl will be
seamed prior to the addition of edgings
worked in the round, these
sides will
become hidden from view.
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I hope this gives you inspiration to stash dive and make a cowl with three colors - of course, right along with us in the Cowl-o-Rama!
