Technique · Surface and colourwork
Tapestry Crochet
Colourwork made by carrying unused yarns inside the stitches and switching colour stitch by stitch, producing a dense woven-looking fabric.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Category
- Techniques
- Common fibres
- Mercerized Cotton, Cotton, T-shirt Yarn
Definition
Tapestry crochet works single crochet over the strands of the colours not in use, so patterns can change on any stitch while the fabric stays double-thick and firm.
Overview
Because the carried yarns are enclosed, the fabric becomes stiff and hard-wearing — one reason the technique appears in traditional carrying bags in several parts of the world, including the mochila bags associated with the Wayuu people of Colombia and Venezuela.
Designs are charted like cross-stitch. Working in the round keeps the right side always facing, which is why bags and baskets are the most common projects.
Characteristics
- Unused colours carried inside the stitches
- Very dense, hard-wearing, structural fabric
- Pixel-style charted motifs
Typical uses
- Bags and baskets
- Structured pouches
- Rugs and mats
- Colour-blocked homeware
Questions
Why does my tapestry crochet lean?
Working single crochet in continuous rounds causes a slight diagonal bias. Working in joined rounds, or in the back loop only, reduces it.
Related entries
Follow the thread
In the atelier
Pieces that use this
More in Surface and colourwork