PlanetJune Craft Blog

Latest news and updates from June

amigurumi basics: changing colour [video]

I have a new Crochet Quickies video for you today, showing how to make clean colour changes for amigurumi. This is the same basic technique I explain in my original Changing Colour tutorial (and you may also want to check out my tutorial Changing Colour: Managing the Yarns for my advice on what to do with all the yarn tails you end up with when you’re changing colour).

changing colour in amigurumi video tutorial, by planetjune

In this short video, I demo the colour change technique, and show you what happens if you don’t use this method!

Crochet Quickie: Changing Colour (right-handed)

Click to watch this video on YouTube.

Crochet Quickie: Changing Colour (left-handed)

Click to watch this video on YouTube.

Note: The videos may look a little small embedded in the blog: if so, you can fullscreen them or click through to YouTube to watch them full-sized 🙂

Although I’m demoing with single crochet for amigurumi purposes, you can also use this technique with any other crochet stitches, to give cleaner colour changes. The trick is to always pull through the last loop of the stitch before the colour change with the new colour, no matter which crochet stitch you’re using.

(I’ve made this video now for a reason: you’ll need to know this as background info for a brand new exclusive crochet technique that I’ll be demonstrating in my next crochet video…)

If you enjoy my crochet tutorial videos, please help to spread the word about them, and/or subscribe to the PlanetJune YouTube channel.


The Essential Guide to Amigurumi book by June Gilbank

Loved this tutorial? I have so many more amigurumi tips and tricks to share with you!

Boost your amigurumi skills with my latest book, The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, your comprehensive guide to amigurumi techniques and tips.


Do you find my tutorials helpful? If so, please consider making a contribution towards my time so I can continue to create clear and concise tutorials for you:

Thank you so much for your support! Now click below for loads more crochet video and photo tutorials (and do let me know what else you’d like me to cover in future tutorials…)

See more helpful PlanetJune crochet tips and technique tutorials

17 Comments »

  1. Lesley Hartley said

    I often thought there must be a neater way of decreasing stitches. The usual method is a bit clumsy so your video of invdec was very useful. I shall adopt that method from now on. Thanks Lesley

  2. Mimi said

    Hi I got a crochet hook T tbe thrift store and I am in love I never knew I can crochet so fast and so well but it has no name company or anything I want to find out and vuy the set PLEASE HELP ME. It looks like susan Bates inline ones but I bought the Susan Bates hook set Nd no they are not the same how can I find who made it. My Crochet friend thinks its a Canadian or British company.

  3. Gemma said

    when changing the colour what do you do with the tail of the second colour?

  4. Marg Lomond said

    Hi. Enjoyed watching your tutorials.
    My granddaughter gave me a crochet book for Christmas and it was published in the United Kingdom. Is there a difference between the U.K.and Canadian stitches? They say a double crochet is the same as the way I have been doing a single crochet. ( one loop on hook, go into next stitch and pull up a loop, 2 sts. on hook, then pull yarn thru 2 sts.). And they say a treble is one wrap around hook with a loop on hook already, go into next sts. and pull up a loop, 3 loops on hook, pull yarn thru 2 and then pull thru last 2. I always thought a treble had 2 wraps around the hook to start off with? Or have I been crocheting all wrong? Hope you can answer me. The book is Creative Crochet. Thanks.
    Marg

    • June said

      Don’t worry Marg – you haven’t been crocheting wrongly! There is a difference between the crochet terms used in the UK and elsewhere – see my article Crochet Terminology for all the details 🙂

  5. Dorothy Atkinson said

    Hi June, I just purchased your book Amigurumi for Dummies. It is super. I have made 8 Amigurumi stuffies so far. I’m quite pleased with them. I wish I had, had your book before I started there is such wonderful information in it. I see you have another book out. I believe it’s called Crochet for Idiots. Is it the same as the book that I have or is there more information in it? This is my first visit to your site, so off I go to browse. Thank you again Dorothy.

    • June said

      Hi Dorothy, you can read all about my books (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi and Idiot’s Guides: Crochet) from the links on my Publications page – as you’ll see, they are completely different books, and if you want to crochet more than just toys, I think you’ll find the new book very useful too. (If crocheted toys are your only interest, you won’t find any in the new book, but you may still find it useful as a general crochet reference.)

  6. Gillian McMullen said

    Hi June, I am thrilled with the updated invisible decrease and invisible increase. I recently had a pattern which required three sc in one sc, so I adapted your technique and did one sc in front loop, one sc in both loops, and one sc in front loop – it came out looking great. I tried the same thing with double crochets, and that works well too. I’m finding that using your updated techniques is making my amigurumi neater and smoother. The only problem is that the increases and decreases are SO invisible, that I can’t find them when I’m counting to see where I am in a round!! Small price to pay, though! Thank you so much.

    • June said

      That’s so good to hear, Gillian! I wonder if there are any other areas of crochet that could benefit from improved techniques… hmmm… 😉

    • Dorothy Atkinson said

      Hi Gillian, Clever girl, I’m keeping your new found technique in my notes. Great idea. When you say that you can get lost as to where you are in a round, are you making sure that you are using a marker of some sort at the end of your round? Perhaps I’m misunderstanding what you are referring to. Happy Amigurumi making, isn’t it fun.

    • Dorothy said

      Gillian, my apologies I did misread what you were saying. The way I identify my invisible increase is if you look closely you will see that the first stitch which is done through the front loop sits up higher than the second stitch. Look closely at it the next time you do it and you will see them quickly ever time. I haven’t got a tip for the decrease I just recognize it after studying how it looked.

  7. Chrystal said

    Awesome! Great video. You have a neat accent. 🙂

  8. Judy Carlson said

    I’m curious to see what your new technique is!

  9. pam said

    Thank you! I just sent a link over to Diane – she was wanting to doa color change while working in Tunisian crochet – know this will be so helpful!

    • June said

      Ack, there’s always an exception to every rule… When I say ‘all’ crochet stitches, I mean all standard crochet stitches. Tunisian crochet is a different matter entirely – none of my crochet tutorials apply to Tunisian, as it’s really a different craft. In Tunisian crochet, each stitch is worked in 2 separate parts (during the forward pass and the reverse pass), so there isn’t really a ‘last step’ of the stitch where you should change colour, and the colour change point for Tunisian crochet would depend on whether you want to change colours during the forward pass or the reverse pass – each creates a different effect. Here’s a helpful link for basic Tunisian colour changes: www.stitchdiva.com/tutorials/tunisian-crochet/changing-colors

  10. Stocki said

    Thanks June! I’ll be needing this today :)x

RSS feed for comments on this post

Leave a Reply

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment here! I read and appreciate every comment. I only respond to questions here on the blog, so please return to this page to see my reply, or check the box below to subscribe to new comments by email.

Please note that I can only answer questions related to PlanetJune patterns and tutorials (see details), and I can only respond to questions or comments written in English. Thank you :) - June

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Quick Links: Crochet

    navigation: arrow

    buy crochet patterns and accessories from my online store

    'Everyday Crochet' and 'The Essential Guide to Amigurumi' crochet books by June Gilbank

    Crochet video tutorials and step-by-step photo tutorials

    Free PlanetJune crochet patterns

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Quick Links: Crafts

    navigation: arrow

    Punchneedle Embroidery information, ebook & patterns

    Papercraft ebook & tutorials

    Free PlanetJune craft projects & tutorials

  • Blog Post Categories

  • Blog Archives

  • CAL Galleries

    Ravellenic Games: Team PlanetJune
    PlanetJune Reindeer Games
    PlanetJune Temperature Snake CAL

  • Welcome to PlanetJune!

    June Gilbank

    Hi, I'm June. Welcome to my world of nature-inspired crochet and crafting. I hope you enjoy your visit!

    If you'd like to get in touch, you can contact me here.
    crocheted Canadian flag by PlanetJune
  • A fanned-out pile of the books Everyday Crochet and The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, with text 'The answers to all your crochet questions at your fingertips - find out more'
  • Support PlanetJune!

    Want to say thanks? You can send me money in seconds at paypal.me/planetjune (over $20) or paypal.me/planetjune2 (under $20) or send me a donation through my shop.

    Or simply click through from my links before you shop at Amazon, Etsy, KnitPicks, LoveCrafts or Crochet.com, and I'll make a small commission on your purchase, at no cost to you! Start here:

    ♥ Support PlanetJune ♥

    Tip: This link is also in the footer of every page!

    Thank you so much for your support!