2-Color Heart Tutorial
The basic front-and-back sc works well with 2 or more colors. This method gives better definition than regular sc in rows or in rounds. Here is the same heart pattern worked in 3 different sc methods:
Here is the heart in the front-and-back sc:
Front of work
Back of work
Here is the same pattern in normal sc rows:
Front of work
Back of work
Finally, here is the pattern worked in sc rounds:
Front of work
Back of work
The heart worked in the front-and-back method has the least distortion. With more complex patterns, the difference is even more pronounced. Working in one direction with rounds involves drawing back the new color at the start of each round, which adds unwanted bulk to the work.
How to work in 2 colors:
Change colors by drawing the new color through the last loop of the stitch before.
Crochet over the color you are not working with. When starting a color that has been crocheted over, give the yarn a gentle tug to draw up any slack before working with the color. If you have pulled too tightly and the last stitch worked is now too tight, stretch the stitches that were crocheted over to restore the correct tension. Then take a tapestry needle and pull up the last stitch worked or simply pull up on the stitch. You may want to leave that last stitch worked very loose and then draw the yarn through until the stitch looks right.
Keep all yarn to the wrong side of the work.
If the 2nd color is in the middle of the work, pick it up when needed and do not carry it across the row. If the center of the work tends to bulge because the yarn is doubled, pull up the first loop of all sc’s to the sides (front and back sc’s) to the height of the first loop in the center stitches.
If the 2nd color is all through the work, you must carry it across the row.
Work from the graph like you would a filet crochet graph. When working on the RS, read the graph in the same direction you work (i.e. Right-handers read right to left and left-handers read left to right). When working on the WS, read the graph in the opposite direction. This is not important if the design is symmetrical.
As you change colors, the 2 colors may twist together. Untwist them as necessary.
Sample-2 hearts
Heart pattern 1-Use the graph above. Your results should look like the first set of photos.
Materials-Caron Simply Soft, 1 skein each in Soft Blue and Red, size H crochet hook.
With blue, ch 22.
Row 1-Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, ch 1, turn. 21 sc
Row 2-Bsc in each st across, ch 1,turn.
Row 3-Sc in first 9 sts, draw up a lp in next st. With red, go through 2 lps on hook to complete 10th sc, draw up a lp in next st, with blue go through 2 lps on hook to complete 11th sc, sc in each st across, ch 1, turn.
Row 4-Bsc in next 8 sts, draw up a lp in next st from back to front. Pull up red and go through 2 lps on hook to complete st, bsc in next 2 sts, working over the blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue as before. Drop red and complete the last 9 sts with bsc in blue. Ch 1, turn.
Row 5-Sc in next 7 sts, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 4 sts, working over the blue yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, Drop red and sc in last 8 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 6-Bsc in next 6 sts, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 6 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and bsc in last 7 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 7-Sc in next 5 sts. Sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 8 sts, working over blue yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and sc in last 6 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 8-Bsc in next 4 sts, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 10 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and bsc in last 5 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 9-Sc in next 3 sts, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 12 sts, working over blue yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and sc in last 4 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 10-Bsc in next 2 sts, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 14 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and bsc in last 3 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 11-Sc in next 2 sts, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 14 sts, working over blue yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and sc in last 3 sts, ch 1, turn.
Rows 12-14-Repeat rows 10, 11, and 10.
Row 15-Sc in next 3 sts, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 5 sts, working over blue yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 5 sts, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. Drop red and sc in last 4 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 16-Bsc in next 4 sts, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 3 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 2 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 3 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue. End off red and bsc in last 5 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 17-Sc in each st across, ch 1, turn.
Row 18-Bsc in each st across, ch 1, turn.
Row 19-Sc in each st across, end off.
Heart Pattern 2-Use Graph Above
Front of work
Back of Work
Adding a border changes the way the project is worked. Now the red is carried almost all the way across the row.
Materials-Caron Simply Soft, 1 skein each in Soft Blue and Red, size H crochet hook.
With blue, ch 26.
Row 1-Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, ch 1, turn. 25 sc
Row 2-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue, join red to work with 2nd lp of bsc. Bsc in next 22 sts working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 3-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 20 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 4-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 20 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 5-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 9 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** repeat between ** ** once, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 6-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 8 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** bsc in next 2 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 7-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 7 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** sc in next 4 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 8-Bsc in 1st st with 1st l in blue and 2nd lp in red, **bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 6 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** bsc in next 6 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 9-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 5 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** sc in next 8 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 10-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 4 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** bsc in next 10 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 11-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 3 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** sc in next 12 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 12-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 2 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** bsc in next 14 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 13-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, **sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 2 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red,** sc in next 14 sts, working over blue yarn, repeat between ** ** once, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Rows 14-16- Repeat rows 12, 13, and 12.
Row 17-Sc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, sc in next 3 sts, working over red yarn, [sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next 5 sts, working over blue yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue]2x, sc in next 3 sts, working over red yarn, sc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, sc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, sc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 18-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, bsc in next 4 sts, working over red yarn, **bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 3 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue,** bsc in next 2 sts, working over red yarn, repeat between ** ** once, bsc in next 4 sts, working over red yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, drop red, bsc in last st, ch 1, turn.
Row 19-21-Repeat rows 3, 4, and 3.
Row 22-Bsc in 1st st with 1st lp in blue and 2nd lp in red, bsc in next 22 sts, working over blue yarn, bsc in next st with 1st lp in red and 2nd lp in blue, end off red, bsc in last st, ch 1 turn.
Row 23-Sc in each st across, end off.
Weave in all ends.