Sometimes I like to add small embellishments to my designs…like brightly colored flowers!! I think they add a touch of whimsy to my creations. And the pop of color makes me happy!
I use a few different methods for creating flowers – some of them are made all in one piece (like for Poppy the Sweet Piggy and Haley the Horse) in rows, but most of them are made in 2 different colors in joined rounds (the flowers for Meadow the Sweet Fawn, my Little Bunnies Easter Basket, and Lola and Lance the Little Bunnies).
Some of my fans have asked about the best way to change colors for these types of projects. There are a few different ways to do this. You can join your new color in your last stitch of the round, or you can join a new color after fastening off your old color. I prefer to use the second method.
I made a few sample flowers using a heavier worsted weight yarn from my stash and a larger hook than I would normally use (as you know, the majority of my patterns call for a G – 4mm – hook, for these samples I’m using an I – 5.5mm – hook).
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Here are two versions of the flowers from my Meadow the Sweet Fawn pattern. For the first flower (on the left), I joined my new color in the final stitch of round 1. You can clearly see the jog (the gap created by the change of color). In the second image (on the right) I fastened off my yellow yarn with an invisible join, then joined my new pink yarn in the first stitch of the round. You can barely tell where my join is!!
Here are a few other examples of joining in the last stitch of the round vs joining after fastening off completely. The light blue flowers are the small flowers from my Little Bunnies Easter Basket pattern, the bright aqua flowers are from my Lola and Lance the Little Bunnies pattern. In both images, you can clearly see the color jog in the flower on the left.
To help guide you through this way to color change, I will show you how to create a jog-less seam with my FREE Flower appliqué that you can find here.
Start your flower with a magic ring of 6, then increase in each stitch around so you have 12 sc.
Then, fasten off your yarn with an invisible join and weave in the ends. (You can find a tutorial for the invisible join here.)
If you are familiar with the invisible join, then you know that when you finish your round you end up with an “extra stitch”. In order to avoid counting the join as a stitch, I like to pull my join a bit tighter than I would if I was leaving the edge unfinished for sewing. Then, I join my new yarn in the first actual stitch of the round.
Now, follow the pattern as written.
When you get to the end of your round, fasten off and weave in your ends. Can you see the difference between joining your new yarn in the last stitch as opposed to joining after fastening off? I think it makes a huge difference! Your flowers look neater and cleaner. And your “extra stitch” from the invisible join is snug in between your last petal and your first petal!
This method for changing colors is useful for any project worked in joined rounds. It eliminates the color jog, and creates a cleaner edge and seam. If you prefer to join your color in the last stitch of the round, that’s wonderful!! It’s perfectly fine to join in that way!
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I hope you enjoyed this quick little tutorial. I think it’s an important tip to know!! Drop me a comment to let me know how you change colors when you’re working in joined rounds!!
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