Pixel, C2C or tapestry crochet: which to pick

There are three main ways to crochet a picture-blanket from a chart: pixel crochet in rows, corner-to-corner (C2C), and tapestry crochet. Each one trades speed against detail against ease, and the right pick depends entirely on what you’re making.

The three methods at a glance

Pixel crochet in rows

The most literal of the three: each square on the chart is one double crochet in UK terms (a single crochet in US terms). You work row by row, changing colour when the chart changes colour, and the finished piece looks exactly like the chart at one-stitch-per-pixel resolution.

Pros: Sharpest possible image. Stitches are small and uniform, which means colour transitions are crisp and text or fine detail reads clearly. No new technique to learn beyond the one stitch and joining colours.

Cons: Slow. Very slow. Each square is one stitch and a 100×100 chart is 10,000 stitches. A photo-style cushion is a weekend; a blanket-sized graphghan in rows is a multi-month project. Also produces a stiff fabric, fine for cushions, less ideal for cuddly blankets.

When to pick it: Small pieces under 60×60 where detail matters. Cushion covers, wall hangings, sampler squares, anything you’ll display rather than wrap up in.

A worked example in rows: the Ladybird

The Ladybird is one of Bobble’s free designs: 45 by 45 squares in 3 colours, 2,025 stitches worked in rows, one stitch to a square. In DK on a 4 mm hook, at 18 stitches and 20 rows to 10 cm, it comes out at 25 × 23 cm (10 × 9 in), about 4 hours of crochet.

The metres include the 10% Bobble adds for tension and 0.5 m a colour for the tails. Each colour needs one ball.

The first rows, as Bobble writes them

UK terms. Each square is one double crochet (dc); in US terms, a single crochet (sc).

1. Chain 46 (ch 46) in A (White): 45 for the stitches of row 1 and 1 to turn.
2. Work row 1 into the chain, starting in the 2nd chain from the hook: 1 dc in each chain, 45 dc in all, in the colours row 1 lists.
3. At the end of every row, ch 1 and turn. The ch 1 does not count as a stitch: work the first dc of the next row into the last stitch you made.

1. Row 1 · 45 stitches ←: A x45
2. Row 2 · 45 stitches →: A x45
3. Row 3 · 45 stitches ←: A x19, B x1, C x5, B x1, A x19
4. Row 4 · 45 stitches →: A x16, B x4, C x5, B x4, A x16
5. Row 5 · 45 stitches ←: A x14, B x6, C x5, B x6, A x14
6. Row 6 · 45 stitches →: A x12, B x9, C x3, B x9, A x12
7. Row 7 · 45 stitches ←: A x11, B x10, C x3, B x10, A x11
8. Row 8 · 45 stitches →: A x10, B x5, C x2, B x4, C x3, B x4, C x2, B x5, A x10

The chart has 45 rows. Rows 1 and 2 are the background; the ladybird starts on row 3.

Corner-to-corner (C2C)

C2C builds the blanket diagonally using small blocks (a chain of 3 and 3 trebles in UK terms, 3 double crochet in US terms) that take the place of three or four stitches in rows. Each block is one square on the chart, so the chart looks the same but the build is roughly three times faster.

Pros: Fast. The diagonal construction means you build a triangle, hit the maximum width, then decrease back to a triangle on the other side. Soft drape, ideal for blankets. Easy to work in panels and join later.

Cons: Lower detail per chart cell than rows. Fine text or eye detail in portraits gets lost. The diagonal direction takes a couple of evenings to get used to. Most people give up on row 3 and try again. Heavier on yarn than rows for the same chart size.

When to pick it: Any project bigger than a cushion. Pretty much every blanket-sized graphghan. See our C2C graphghan guide for the technique itself.

Tapestry crochet

Tapestry crochet uses the same stitch as rows, a double crochet in UK terms (single crochet in US terms), but carries the unused yarn colour inside the stitches as you work. When you switch colours, the previous colour is already there inside the row, ready to use, with no joining or weaving.

Pros: Crisp colour changes without ends to weave in. The fabric is denser and more structured than C2C, which makes it brilliant for a bag or anything that needs to hold its shape. Faster than pixel rows because you’re not stopping to join new colours every few stitches.

Cons: The carried yarn shows through slightly on the back, so the wrong side isn’t as clean as a fabric in plain rows. Only suits projects with frequent colour changes. Long runs of one colour waste yarn carrying. Tapestry is traditionally worked in the round, which suits bags but is a poor fit for flat blankets. Bobble charts tapestry as flat rows, worked back and forth, for a cushion or a wall hanging, and in rounds for a tote bag (with Pro) or a bauble cover.

When to pick it: A tote bag, a cushion cover or a structured pillow. Items where you want crisp colour and don’t mind a slightly heavier fabric. Bobble charts a tote bag in rounds from the base to the handles (with Pro) and a bauble cover in rounds; it does not shape hats or baskets. See making a tapestry chart from a photo.

So which one should you pick?

• If you’re making a blanket: C2C, almost always. The time saving over rows is the difference between “blanket I’ll finish this year” and “blanket I’ll finish in three.”
• If you’re making a cushion or wall hanging: Pixel rows for maximum detail, C2C if speed matters more.
• If you’re making a bag or a cushion: Tapestry, because you need the structure.
• If you’re a beginner: Start with a small pixel project in rows to learn colour changes, then move to C2C once you’re comfortable.

Does the chart change between methods?

The chart itself is the same colour grid for all three methods. What changes is how you turn each grid square into stitches. Bobble makes the chart from your photo and writes the instructions for all three. Tapestry is charted as flat rows, or in rounds for a tote bag or a bauble cover. For tapestry it also counts the yarn you carry inside the stitches and warns you when a row uses more than four colours, since tapestry is easier with four or fewer.

So you can experiment without redoing the chart. Pick a small sampler chart and crochet a 20×20 swatch in each technique. After three swatches you’ll know which method suits the project you actually want to make.