:: Cutting the yarn or carrying it? ::

About this technique

One of the most common questions when we work with multiple colours is: should I cut the yarn or carry it? In this tutorial I’ll show you the pros and cons of each method, so you can decide what’s best for your project (and your patience 😅).

Whether you’re making stripes, small details, or complex colourwork, choosing the right way to manage your yarn will help keep your crochet neat and comfortable to work with.

If you are not going to use the old colour again, you can cut it and secure it by making a double knot with the beginning of the thread of the new colour.

But if you will use it again you have three options:

Option 1 – Cut and secure it

Exactly as we did before, every time we change colour.

Option 2 – Carry the thread behind the stitches

This option is good for when we have to change colour again after a couple of stitches or rounds. What we are going to do is leave the thread of the old colour loose behind, and we will incorporate it back into our work when necessary. Be careful when you incorporate it again that it is neither too loose nor too tight so it doesn’t bend the fabric.

Option 3 – Carry the thread inside your work

In this option, instead of leaving the thread loose, what we are going to do is grab the thread with each stitch so that we can carry it until we need it again. This option, like option 1, is ideal for when each colour change is more than two or three stitches. But keep in mind that this option is going to make the fabric more bulky and thicker.

For this reason, most of the time I prefer to take the time to cut and knot, because to be honest, I can’t make the thread of the other colour stay completely hidden inside my fabric. But that’s just what happens to me… hopefully not to you, since this option is much faster than the first one. 💚