Our Favorite Crochet and Knit Color Techniques
There are so many different aspects of crochet and knitting to love. The feeling of the fiber. The relaxing nature of stitching. Learning new things. But of all of the things that people love, color is the one that’s cited most often. The pure joy of choosing your colors and mixing them together in a new creation just can’t be overstated. Perhaps that’s why designers and artists over the years have come up with so many different crochet and knit color techniques. Some people like all of them but most of us have a few favorites. We thought we’d share some of our favorites here on the Marly Bird Team.
Be sure to let us know what your favorite crochet and knit color techniques are, too, by posting in the Marly’s Minions Facebook Group or tagging @themarlybird on Instagram. And learn as much as you can about your options when you sign up for Camp Colorwork classes!
Robyn’s Favorite Crochet Color Techniques
If you have already joined Camp Colorwork then you know that Robyn gets really excited about colorful crochet. She teaches so many different options in that online course, and she gets excited about all of them. You’ll hear her say in class: “Just have some fun. Color is fun! It is bright, vibrant, and wonderful!”
In addition to being a great crochet teacher, Robyn always likes learning new things in crochet. So, it’s no surprise that she says, My favorite colorwork technique is always the next oddball one that I learn. I love anything unusual, and once you see it, you say OH! that’s so fun and not hard.” But here are some more specific favorites:
Interlaced Crochet
Robyn says, “When I have lots of mini balls left, I go to Interlaced Crochet. This technique has many different names, but that’s what I call it most often. It is a simple way of threading your foundation chain through the previous row and then crocheting into it. So, it interlaces the foundation chain in the work you have done. It looks complicated, but once you see it, you realize that it’s so easy. It’s a great way to play with color, especially working with lots of different colors that you have in small amounts.
Tunisian Mosaic Crochet
When Robyn picked Interlaced Crochet as her favorite, she added, “Granted, I can say the same things about mosaic crochet too! The magic that happens when it forms is incredible. It’s so much fun.” Robyn loves all crochet, but she’s particularly skilled at Tunisian crochet. So, she especially loves Tunisian Mosaic crochet. She notes that it sounds really hard, but as soon as you learn a few tricks (which she teaches you in Camp Colorwork), you find that it’s not that hard at all. And it’s so beautiful.
Meg’s Favorite Knit Color Techniques
Social media support team member Meg doesn’t think of herself as someone who does a lot of colorwork. But after thinking about it, she realized she has a favorite: Knit Fair Isle. She had been working for a site doing a cowl of the month project. To be able to write about the cowls, she knit a bunch of them, and she came to really like working with crochet and knit color techniques specifically Knit Fair Isle.
Meg says, “Doing that project helped me improve at English style knitting since I grew up knitting continental style. It was fun to use both hands and work with color. It is almost like ‘color by numbers’ because you’re following a picture. In Camp Colorwork, you’ll learn many ways to use the same grid chart with different crochet and knitting techniques to play with color creatively!”
Kathryn’s Favorite Crochet Color Techniques
Blogging team member Kathryn learned to knit in BiCrafty Bootcamp, but she still loves crochet first and foremost. She really loves the healing aspects of crochet, so she likes meditative, repetitive projects – large granny squares and big blankets made in ribbed half double crochet. She loves color, but she likes to let the yarn do the work. So she’s in love with variegated yarns, self-striping yarns, and other color-rich yarns.
She also really likes using double-stranded crochet to create new effects with color. In other words, she’ll work a very simple stitch pattern holding together two different yarn colors. She might combine a variegated yarn with a solid or even with another variegated. It’s fun to see how the colors meld and pop over the course of this kind of project. And it’s an easy way for even a beginner crocheter to play with color.
Cryssi’s Favorite Knit Color Technique
Team member Cryssi says, “Honestly…I really like stranded knitting because I love how I don’t have to weave in so many ends! 
I know that’s really unromantic but it’s true – the fact that I can switch colors multiple times and carry along others and not have to cut my yarn each time is a dream for me.” And we know she’s not the only one who feels this way. Many crocheters and knitters love color but don’t want to weave in tons of ends, so they prefer techniques like stranded knitting that reduce that problem. And that’s totally okay!
Marly Bird’s Favorite Crochet and Knit Color Techniques
Over in Camp Colorwork, Robyn shares all of the crochet techniques, and Marly shares all the stuff for knitters. But we’re all BiCrafty around here and love celebrating color in every stitch. So, what are Marly’s favorite crochet and knit color techniques?
Like Cryssi, Marly really loves two-handed stranded knitting. If you went by the total number of knit colorwork projects she’s ever completed, stranded knitting might come up number one. However, even though it might sound slightly cliche, Marly has no favorite. She loves ALLLLL the colorwork. Marly immediately thinks of planned pooling, entrelac, and mosaic as a few options. She says, “I love anything where I can combine colors to get a unique-looking fabric. THAT IS MY JAM!”
And really, that’s why Camp Colorwork came about. Robyn and Marly especially just love all that there is to know about different color techniques and wanted to share them all with everyone so that you can love them, too.
SO, TELL US YOUR FAVORITES!!!! And if you haven’t checked out Camp Colorwork yet, be sure you do!
