Two-colour crochet pattern ideas
Do you ever fancy a nice relaxing crochet project but want to introduce some extra aesthetic interest and keep yourself engaged?
Using two colours of yarn is a really simple way to achieve this. The most basic crochet stitches can come alive simply by introducing a second colour.
In this guide, I want to share some of the different ways you can creatively (and easily) use two colours in your crochet projects to create a finished object that looks much more complex than it actually is.
I’ve included both general ideas and colour combining concepts as well as plenty of pattern suggestions to give you lots of ideas, inspiration and somewhere to start.
How to use two colours in crochet projects
Now, let’s start with the caveat that you can make any pattern with two colours of yarn. But in this overview, I’m talking about those which have been designed with that specifically in mind or work especially well with the combination of two colours.
The first approach that comes to mind with two colours is stripes, which is a huge category in itself. Stripes can be wide and colour blocked, thick or thin, symmetrical or graded… plus you can have stripes on the diagonal or as chevrons or waves.
Next comes checks… which could be squares or rectangles and the same or different sizes. They can be grid based or off-set and tesselating. The humble granny square can be a fabulous way to begin here.
With crochet, you can also use overlapping or interlocking stitches, such as spike stitches, post stitches or long stitches, as well as fans, shells, waves, chevrons or zig zags to create interesting patterns. Not to mention spots or polka dots (hello bobbles!)
Another great way to get an additional effect using just two yarns is to make one of them variegated. I like to use quite strongly contrasting yarns with this type of approach to really see the colour changes in the variegated yarn pop. This guide to crocheting with variegated yarn may also help you if that’s a rabbit hole you fancy disappearing down!
If you wanted to think about it a different way, you could use two colours of yarn held double to create a lovely marled effect.
I haven’t even mentioned Tapestry or Mosaic crochet yes, even though they are also great options. I decided not to cover those here because I see them as more complex colourwork techniques and the whole idea of this round-up is keeping things simple and colour led.
There really are infinite possibilities in mixing two colours, but my job is to help you narrow it down for you… so here are some patterns that use two colours in ways that I think work really nicely
Two-colour striped crochet patterns
Pair it Up Hat and Mittens (free pattern)
I love playing with different stripe widths and creating a striped gradient as I do in this pattern. It’s similar to what I do in the Cross Fade blanket (pictured above) but on a micro scale in fingering weight yarn.
The Flump Bolster Cushion (free pattern)
This one goes for a diagonal stripe pattern using a corner to corner technique. It’s a super fun pattern that can easily be adjusted to make a blanket or scarf.
Keep it Simple sweater (free pattern)
This is easy sweater pattern uses mostly one colour, but adds a regular narrow stripe of contrast colour which is what makes the whole design interesting (think classic Breton top).
The Studio Stripe Scarf Pattern uses a similar idea but with added texture.
The Be Bold Sweater (free pattern)
This one uses the same stitches throughout, changing colour for simple, wide stripes in two shades of pink (or red and pink if you prefer that distinction). I wanted to include this design to show that you don’t always need strongly contrasting colours and working tonally can be super effective.
Colour-blocked crochet patterns
The Clarity Sweater (free pattern)
Colour blocking is such a simple and effective way to use colour (and also great for stash busting!). This simple boxy sweater uses it to zone out the sleeves and neckline from the main body and create a striking effect.
Two-colour overlapping crochet stitch patterns
The Scandi Stashbuster Hat (free pattern)
Moss stitch is so simple and enjoyable, work the gently overlapping stitches always brings me calm. So I had to include some ideas with it.
And before you shout about it, I know, I know… the sample pictured below uses three colours not two, BUT, it shows how moss stitch looks amazing in two colours as stripes, as well as in blocks. So simple but so effective.
The Chevron and on scarves also use moss stitch, this time with chevrons which work great in two colours.
The sample shown below also mixes a solid colour block section / wide stripe with a variegated yarn. And yes – that black yarn has the variegated pink pits dyed into it – so cool! It shows how you can combine many of these colour combination styles together.
The Houndstooth hat (free pattern with full video tutorial)
The houndstooth stitch pattern alternates different height stitches together to create this timeless interlocking pattern and texture. It’s one of my absolute favourites for two-colour patterns. Such a simple stitch combination that has a world of possibility and never dates.
The hat pattern is worked bottom-up with subtle decreases that are harder to see than in the moss stitch hat.
If you want something in the dogtooth / houndstooth stitch pattern without the shaping, see also the fringed houndstooth scarf and houndstooth infinity scarf.
Crochet patterns with dots and dashes in two colours
Granny Weave Blanket (free pattern)
My take on the granny square meets basketweave stitch uses different stitches for each colour. One set uses post stitches which overlap the contrasting rounds, made in single crochet, which allows you create a kind of dot dash pattern.
I find it a very pleasing and somewhat mesmerising centre-out crochet blanket.
Festoon Shawl
The Festoon shawl also uses different stitches for different colours. This time it’s a very fine row of slip stitches and bobbles amidst a block of contrasting colour so the bobbles really pop.
Those fun simple clusters create an almost spotty effect, designed to mimic a string of festoon lights in the night sky here.
On and it’s not your eyes, the light colour yarn has hand dyed speckles which create the pink, green and blue, almost iridescent, flecks of colour.
Checked crochet patterns
As I write this I am working on a new crochet pattern that uses checks. It’s somewhere between chequer board, gingham and almost plaid. Keep your eyes peeled for an update here.
The simplest way to create checks is by combining squares either using a join as you go method or sewing / joining them once you’ve made them all. Any type of centre-out square, such as the granny square or something like the little love square would work for this.
Or, as in the pattern below, you can use a classic mitred square.
Mitred Minis (free crochet pattern and joining tutorial)
Although I have used multiple colours in all three samples of this pattern, it is just screaming out for a monochrome checked version… I need more crochet time!
Tapestry or intarsia crochet can also be used to great effect to make a chequer pattern, but as I’ve mentioned, that starts to get into colourwork territory so I’ve left that to one side.
Crochet patterns that mix variegated and solid yarns
I’ve already included a couple example of these, but I love the approach so much that I wanted to include some additional examples of where I’ve mixed variegated yarns with solids.
Mighty Mitts fingerless gloves (free pattern)
This one creates a block of colour with the variegated, short colour change yarn (I love the way it pools in this stitch). It then adds the cuffs in a solid yarn to create a strong edge. The solid yarn picks out one of the colours in the variegated to make sure they flow together well.
Using a contrast edging / trim / hem etc is a super simple yet effective way to add colour. The It’s just not cricket sweater does this in such a small way but it makes the entire design make sense!
Light Waves Vest
The lightwave vest incorporates blocks of colour, waves and lace stitches, mixing a semi-solid blue yarn with a rainbow dusted variegated yarn, with graduated stripes added in to boot… I basically threw everything two colours have to offer at this one and I love it!
If you like this one, but prefer broader swathes of colour, the Mellow Waves Shrug, which uses the same stitch pattern in a summer cardi, is a colour block version with less strongly variegated and less contrasting yarn colours.
Crochet patterns with different colour yarns held together
The last category I’m sharing is where you hold your different colours together, working with two strands of yarn at once.
The Fluff it Sweater Pattern
I made several versions of the fluff it sweater, using two strands of lace weight yarn held together in two of them. In the tank top version (pictured below), I used two different shades of pink laceweight mohair silk blend yarn held double.
Below I’ve shared an image of the two colours of pink I used which were pretty similar but still visibly different when side by side.
Overall, the lighter pink kind of ‘took the edge off’ the brighter pink, making something a little softer. Because of the similarity of the two pinks, you can’t really see the colour difference once the sweater is worked up. It’s almost like mixing paint colours to create a single shade.
I LOVED the result and decided to add a contrast trim in a third very pale pink to keep the two colour look.
I wanted to include this example to show that using two colours can really be very subtle indeed and doesn’t always have to be about high contrast.
Smell The Roses Poncho (free pattern)
In this crochet poncho / wrap pattern, I not only held two different colours together but also two different fibres. This created a different kind of marled look.
For some of the pattern I also worked using just a single colour to really mix things up. It was quite an experimental design but I love how it turned out. You can read more about what inspired this on the pattern page.
I always get nice comments when I wear this poncho (it’s so great for layering in seasonal changes). In fact just last month I was at a vintage fair wearing it and one of the stall holders said it reminded her of roses… I could have given her a big hug right there for that comment!
And there we have it with my guide to crochet patterns, stitches and techniques that are suited to two colours. I hope you’ve found this whistle stop tour useful.
There are so many ways that you can use colour as the main feature of a design and it’s so fun to play with different approaches. If you want something that’s easy to make, then using colour is a great way of adding interest.
If you want more ideas, here are some more paterns which would lend themselves really well to just two colours.
Until next time
Happy Hooking
Dx
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