Mosaic Crochet

Thursday 9th July 2020

Tags: Crochet, MAL/CAL/KAL, Techniques

Mosaic crochet is one of our favourite techniques at the moment. It gives crocheters the opportunity to play with colour in a really graphic way reminding us of tiled walls and floors such as this design called Terrazzo. 


One of the most exciting designers using mosaic crochet is Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir who is from Iceland   Her new blanket design for 2020, supported by Stylecraft, is called the Queen CAL and launches at the end of August on Ravelry with 4 different colour packs including an exclusive one from our very own Blogstar, Lucia Dunn, which you will be able to order from her website.

We caught up with her recently to find out more about her life as a designer and mosaic crochet. 

Tinna was taught to crochet by her great grandmother aged 8 or 9 but both knitting and crochet are taught in elementary school in Iceland. Following the economic crash of 2008 there was a huge boom in crafts and Tinna found herself giving classes while studying for her master’s degree. She realised there had been no new crochet books published in Iceland for over 50 years so, armed with some designs she made contact with a publisher and her first book hit the shelves in 2011. It was a number one bestseller and 3 more books followed.

Her first Mosaic design, The Havana Afghan, was published 5 years ago and she hasn't looked back since Tinna told us:" I like working with a lot of colours. Intarsia crochet looks great, but I really don't like the technique so when I discovered I could do strong patterns using mosaic crochet it was a revelation. It isn't a quick technique, but it is very satisfying, versatile and easy." Tinna is More recently she has been experimenting with creating smoother lines which you can see in her design Arabia.

Tinna is inspired by her travels. One year out of three she has been living in Havana, where her husband comes from." There is a crazy overload of patterns in Havana, the colours of the tiles with their African elements, Spanish and Moorish inspiration in railings and gates. It’s an explosion of mismatched designs that create a beautiful whole," she says and you can certainly see all that inspiration in her Havana blanket and shawl.


If you would like to explore other designers working in crochet Tinna recommends Martin Up North, Lilla Björn, Pretty Peaceful Crochet and Red Sparrow.

And Tinna’s top tip for mosaic crochet if you've never tried it before and you are a bit daunted?  "It's way easier than you think, really easy, but don't tell anyone, let's keep it between us," she laughs.

We are delighted to be working with Tinna to support her latest CAL so keep an eye out on our social media for launch information.

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