How to Crochet a Two-Colour Spiral

If stripes are the simplest way to play with colour in a crochet project, then creating a striped project in the round that begins with a nifty spiral is the best next step.

It might be a little mind-bendy to think about it, but once you make your first spiral, it’ll make perfect sense and become something you’ll hopefully do again and again to spruce up any simple project in the round.

Here’s what you need:

• 2 colours of yarn in the same weight; consider one colour A and the other B (shown here is Cascade 220; blue is A and green is B)
• a hook the right size for your yarn
• a removable stitch marker

Step 1

With colour A, begin with an adjustable ring. Here’s how:

Step 2: Round 1, First Half

Insert your hook into the ring and pull up a loop, chain 1.

If you’re working in single crochet: Make 6 sc into the ring.

If you’re working in a taller stitch, start with single crochet and gradually increase in height as follows:

For half double crochet: Make 3 sc, 3 hdc into the ring.

For double crochet (shown in example here): Make 2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc into ring.

For all stitches: Finally, remove your hook and pull up your working loop to prevent unraveling (see photo above).

Step 3: Round 1, Second Half

Join yarn B as follows: Leaving a 6″ (15 cm) tail, insert your hook into the centre of the ring and pull up a loop of B, chain 1.

If you’re working in single crochet: Make 6 sc into the ring.

For half double crochet (shown in example here): Make 3 sc, 3 hdc into the ring.

For double crochet: Make 2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc into ring.​

For all stitches: Finally, place marker in last stitch made to indicate the end of the round; remove your hook and pull up the working loop to prevent unraveling (see photo above).​

This completes the first round. Next, you’ll tighten up the ring, then move on to establish the striping pattern.

​Step 4: Tighten the Adjustable Ring

As shown in the video above, firmly pull or tug on the tail of the ring to close it up entirely. There should be no visible hole in the centre, as in the photo above.

Now we’re ready for Round 2.

Step 5: Round 2 and Establishing the Striping Pattern

Just as in any project in the round, we begin increasing here. Because we began with a total of 12 stitches in Round 1, we’ll be adding 12 stitches in total to each subsequent round – we’ll increase by 6 stitches in each colour.

Insert your hook back into the last stitch of Round 1 (this is in colour B).

In this example, B is to be worked in half double crochet (hdc). If you’re working in a different stitch, just substitute that one.​

Continuing with B, [2 hdc in next stitch] 6 times, remove hook and pull the working loop long so it doesn’t unravel.

In this example, A is to be worked in double crochet (dc). ​If you’re using a different stitch, just substitute that one.

Reinsert your hook in the working loop of A. With A, [2 dc in next stitch] 6 times.

You now have a total of 24 stitches at the end of the round – 12 in B and 12 in A (see photo, above.

The striping pattern has been set up: You will always work B into A, and A into B.

Step 6: Continue in Pattern as Established

There are two patterns you’ve established, of course: the increasing pattern (adding 12 stitches to each round; 6 in each colour), and the striping pattern (always working B into A and A into B).

As you continue, you’ll keep at both patterns until, if you’re making a hat or a bowl or something else that’s 3-D, you stop increasing so that your circle will begin to cup into the proper shape. When it’s time for that, simply maintain the striping pattern without increasing anymore.​

Here’s what Round 3 will look like: Continuing with A, [dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next stitch] 3 times; remove hook and reinsert in loop of B; with B, [hdc in next stitch, 2 hdc in next stitch] 3 times — 36 stitches total.​

And there you have it! A two-colour crocheted spiral.

To seriously get a feel for how and why crochet behaves in the round, take my class Crochet in the Round: Basics & Beyond! We go deep, with lots of projects and video instruction.

This spiral is at the heart of the Hat for Science pattern, which you can get for free right here.​