Crochet guide

How to change colors in crochet: rows, rounds and ends

Updated October 5, 2026 by Khokhar Sab

To change colors in crochet, work the last stitch in the old color until two loops are left on the hook. Drop the old yarn, yarn over with the new color and pull it through both loops. The next stitch starts in the new color. Leave a tail of about 6 inches on each yarn and weave the tails in on the wrong side.

How to change colors in crochet: the basic method

Every method below uses the same move. Sarah Maker describes it for single, half double, double and treble crochet:

1. Work the last stitch in the old color until two loops are left on the hook.
2. Drop the old color. Leave a tail of about 6 inches.
3. Lay the new color over the hook, also with a tail, and pull it through both loops.
4. Carry on with the new color.

Sigoni Macaroni points out that the stitch where you switch keeps the old color. The new color shows from the first full stitch you make with it.

Treasurie calls tying the two yarns together in a big knot a no-no and shows tidier joins instead.

Changing color at the end of a row

This is the change for stripes. Sarah Maker and ChristaCoDesign both work it the same way:

1. Crochet to the last stitch of the row.
2. Stop before the final yarn over, with two loops on the hook.
3. Finish the stitch with the new color.
4. Chain your turning chain in the new color, turn and work the next row.

ChristaCoDesign notes that end stitches tend to be loose. A gentle tug on the old color tightens that last stitch. The turning chains guide lists how many chains each stitch needs.

Changing color in the middle of a row

The move is the same: finish the stitch before the color change with the new yarn. What changes is what you do with the old yarn, since you will often need it again later in the row.

• Cut it if you won't use that color again soon.
• Carry it along the top of the row and crochet over it, so it hides inside the new stitches. Once Upon a Cheerio warns that a dark strand can show through light stitches.
• Drop it and leave it hanging on the wrong side, then pick it up again on the way back.

When carrying a strand, Dummies suggests catching it every other stitch or every stitch, so no long loops hang loose. Keep it flat against the fabric without pulling so tight that the fabric puckers.

Changing color in rounds

For joined rounds, Sarah Maker gives this method. Work the last stitch of the round in the old color. Then insert the hook into the first stitch and pull the new color through both the stitch and the loop on the hook. That makes the joining slip stitch and the color change in one motion.

In spiral rounds there is no join. You change color on the last stitch of the round, with two loops on the hook, the same as in rows.

Avoiding the jog

Crochet 365 Knit Too explains that stitches shift with each round, so a color change leaves a visible step, the jog. Crochet 365 Knit Too and Sarah Maker give the same fix:

1. Change to the new color on the last stitch of the round.
2. Work the first stitch of the new round as a slip stitch, not a single crochet.
3. Continue around in single crochet.

The slip stitch is shorter, so the color step blends in. Crochet 365 Knit Too suggests it for amigurumi, hats and mittens. The guide to crocheting in the round covers the increases.

For granny squares, Sarah Maker and Treasurie both fasten off the old color and join the new one with a slip stitch in a corner space.

Carrying yarn up the side or cutting it

For stripes, you can leave the old color attached at the edge and pick it up again when its stripe comes round. Sarah Maker suggests this for 2-row stripes, to cut down on ends.

There is one firm limit. Dummies says carrying up the side "works only when you're crocheting stripes in even numbers of rows." After an odd number of rows, the waiting yarn sits at the wrong edge. We Are Knitters hides the carried strand between the turning chain and the first stitch of the new row.

Cut the yarn in these cases.

• a stripe has an odd number of rows,
• a color won't return for a long while, or
• the project has more colors than you can keep untangled at one edge.

How many ends a project leaves

Every cut color leaves two tails, one where it starts and one where it stops. The site's own planners show how fast that adds up.

A temperature blanket with one row a day in the temperature blanket planner has 365 rows for 2027 and 10 colors. The color can change on any row after the first, so it has up to 364 changes. Each stripe is one row, which is odd, so carrying up the side won't work. Cut every time, it leaves up to 730 ends.

The squares version includes 10 filler squares that complete the last row of 15. The stripe row shows where carrying pays off: two colors, carried the whole way, leave only 4 ends.

Granny squares add up faster, because each round color is fastened off. Here are the squares the granny square calculator fits into a throw and a queen with 5 inch squares:

That count leaves out the joining yarn. The guide to joining granny squares shows a way to join whole rows with fewer ends.

Tails use yarn too. At Sarah Maker's 6 inches, the 730 tails of a row-a-day blanket take about 122 yards. At Treasurie's 10 inches, they take about 203 yards, about one 200 yard skein. The planner's 15% buffer helps cover it.

Tapestry and intarsia crochet

Both put pictures or patterns into the fabric, with many color changes in each row.

• Tapestry crochet carries the unused color along the row and buries it inside the stitches. LoveCrafts calls it a good start to colorwork, since you usually switch between just two colors.
• Intarsia uses a separate ball or bobbin for each block of color and carries nothing across the back. LoveCrafts says this suits large blocks of color.

Color changes in C2C

Corner to corner graphs change color inside rows too, often with a small ball of yarn for each patch of color. The C2C guide shows where in the tile to make the change and when to carry yarn.

Weaving in the ends

1. Leave tails long enough to thread. Sarah Maker suggests about 6 inches, and Treasurie about 10. The longer tail is easier to weave but uses more yarn.
2. Give each tail a gentle tug first, to tighten the stitches at the color change.
3. Thread a tapestry needle and weave the tail through stitches of the same color on the wrong side.
4. Trim what is left.

You can also crochet over the tails as you work the next row, as Sigoni Macaroni and ChristaCoDesign show. The temperature blanket guide cites two makers who weave in ends as they go.

Common questions

Do you have to cut the yarn when you change colors?

No. You can carry it up the side for even-row stripes, or along the row for tapestry crochet. Cut it when the stripe has an odd number of rows or the color won't return soon.

Which loop do you change color on?

The last pull-through of the stitch before the new color. With two loops left on the hook, finish with the new yarn.

Can you join a new skein of the same color the same way?

Yes, the basic method works. Treasurie also shows the magic knot and the Russian join, which splices the yarns over 2 to 3 inches and leaves no tails.

Sources and further reading

Sarah Maker's How to Change Colors in Crochet (Rows and Rounds) covers rows, rounds, granny squares and amigurumi. Treasurie's 5 easy methods adds the magic knot and the Russian join. Dummies explains the even-row rule in How to Carry Yarn in Crochet. Crochet 365 Knit Too shows the jogless join. LoveCrafts compares tapestry and intarsia in its tapestry crochet how-to. Sigoni Macaroni, ChristaCoDesign, Once Upon a Cheerio and We Are Knitters also publish color change tutorials.

Video tutorial

"Correct Way to Change Yarn Color in Crochet: Beginner Course: Lesson #7" by Crochet Guru, on YouTube. The video loads only when you press play.