How To Change Color In Fair Isle Crochet

Learn how to change colors in Fair Isle crochet with this step-by-step tutorial. We’ll look at what Fair Isle crochet is and how it differs from other colorwork techniques, including intarsia and tapestry crochet. You’ll also learn how to change colors neatly while working Fair Isle crochet, along with simple tips for keeping your yarn organized and preventing your colors from getting tangled as you work. See a left hand version of the tutorial at the bottom of the page.

Video Tutorial

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Next Tutorial

Once you’ve learned the basics of changing colors for Fair Isle crochet, the next tutorial will show you how to make a clean color change when crocheting in the round. This technique helps create a smoother, more professional-looking join and is especially useful for hats, baskets and other projects worked continuously in the round. Click here to be taken to it.

Left Hand Video Tutorial

15 Comments

  • Kara Son
    September 28, 2015 at 7:25 pm Reply

    Thanks for all your great patterns and information! I’m really excited about fair isle crochet. I do have a general question about fair isle I thought I’d see if you could help me with. You mentioned somewhere that any stitch chart can be crocheted in the fair isle style. I’ve tried this out twice but my diagonal lines aren’t matching up. When looking at the hat as it’s being worked (upside down, right to left) the right diagonals are perfect but the left diagonals are spacey and look more slanted. Any ideas? Thanks!

    • Deja Jetmir
      September 29, 2015 at 6:29 am Reply

      That’s the only problem with fair isle crochet. The slants don’t work on the left side. Because the “Vs” are vertical instead of sideways like knit (where they meet up) it creates the little space on the one side. The best way to mask it is to make the diagonal thicker. (couple of stitches wide)

  • Laura
    November 12, 2014 at 1:58 pm Reply

    Thanks for the great tutorial. I tried doing this technique on a pair of fingerless mittens (the pattern used your technique and even linked up to this video) and they turned out looking so cute, but there wasn’t enough stretch in them to be able to pull them on over a hand, as the fair isle portion was in the bottom wrist portion. Even doing the fair isle loosely, it wasn’t stretch enough. Any looser and you’d have big hanging loops that would get caught by fingers when putting on. In the end, I just cross stitched the motif onto the mittens afterward.

    Any suggestions or is it just a given that Fair Isle work isn’t going to be very stretchy…In your example hats, which are adorable and I’d love to make, are they very stretchy?

    • Deja Jetmir
      November 12, 2014 at 3:10 pm Reply

      Hi there, normally the fair isle is quite stretchy. The problem could be a small hook for the size yarn, or the yarn doesn’t have much stretch (like linen or cotton, it doesn’t have much give when worked up). What weight yarn and hook was recommended?

      • Laura
        November 12, 2014 at 3:17 pm

        It’s just a basic worsted weight acrylic yarn with a size G hook. I think I might have figured it out. I’m actually watching your Intarsia tutorial #1 where you explain that Fair Isle should only have max 2 colors in a row. The pattern that I was working off had 4 colors. The motif is a fox with brown, black and white and then the main color. Not sure how they were able to make it work, but I sure couldn’t. I think Intarsia is probably the answer. The mitten is worked in the round, so I’m just now trying to learn how to end the motif with the yarn on the left side, work around with the main color, and then pick it up contrasting yarns on the right side of the motif on the next row…I’m hoping that’s in one of your tutorials:)

      • Deja Jetmir
        November 12, 2014 at 3:31 pm

        Ahh, yes, four colors might do that, that’s alot of strands in the round. I think it could definitely work for intarsia. I have a video request about intarsia in the round in the queue right now, so there will be a video for it shortly. 🙂

  • MaggieMayCrochet
    January 29, 2014 at 11:31 am Reply

    Thank you so much for your tutorials! I’ve been wanting to try Fair Isle Crochet ever since I came across your patterns, but was a little intimidated about learning. It looks so complex, but you have simplified the techniques in such a way that I can’t wait to start my first project!!

  • ashley
    September 18, 2013 at 5:41 pm Reply

    Very informative video! I’ve been looking all over for something just like this and finally found something useful! Thank you so much!

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