Crochet Kaleidoscope: 5 Motifs That Can Do Tricks

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Motifs are a crochet basic, and yet there is so much they can do. In Crochet Kaleidoscope, author Sandra Eng offers up 100 gorgeous motifs that play with color and pattern in exciting and sometimes surprising ways. And it’s the surprising ones that have really caught my eye. It’s like they have a little wink inside them, a secret design you can only unlock when you put them together with others of their kind.

Sandra and I thought we’d let you in on the wink inside 5 motifs from Crochet Kaleidoscope, that when joined together make amazing patterns and designs. Using photo mosaic software, Sandra used single motif images to create repeating patterns that simulate putting many motifs together. Photo mosaic software is a great tool in general for testing out motif arrangement without crocheting all the motifs first.

1: Optical illusion

This simple hexagon features strategically placed color strips that travel out from the center to create a star or asterisk shape. But when you put it with others you get an exciting graphic pattern! The prominent lattice design is almost an optical illusion, creating stars and hexagons across its surface.

2: The quilt effect

Here’s another simple motif that seems like a pretty basic two color square at first sight. The real magic is in putting it together with others to create the plus signs at the corners where the motifs meet. It reminds me of a modern quilt and would look great in just about any color combination.

3: Textured solid

This motif is one of my favorites. The dimension of the X pattern is so appealing; just looking at it you can tell, a blanket of these motifs would add amazing texture to any room. It’s a great way to make a solid colored piece that isn’t boring!

4: How did you do that?

To me, overlay crochet is awe-inspiring. I love the complex look and gorgeous patterns one can achieve with it. Plus, it makes non-crocheters do a double take, wondering how on earth the stitcher did that—is it even crochet? This particular motif, with others of its kind, looks like it is woven together with its neighbors with x-es at the edges. It’s such a great trick of the eye, one that would make an afghan of these motifs a wonderful conversation piece in any home.

5: Endless possibilities

Like motif #61, this is a simple square that with extra thought put into color arrangement, can result in some pretty outstanding patterns when the motifs are put together. Sandra offers two ways to stitch this motif, which means even more options for creating awesome patterns depending how you orient them. These have a strong quilt-vibe, too!

Check out Crochet Kaleidoscope for more tricky motifs and see what sort of motif magic you find inside!

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