Mosaic Granny Squares and Mosaic Crochet Stitch Patterns

So what’s the difference between Mosaic Crochet and Interlocking Crochet?

Even though many crocheters use the terms interchangeably online, the technique used for Mosaic Crochet is actually quite different than the technique used for Interlocking Crochet. I was prompted to do some additional research by Tara S (thank you Tara) for my post because I had, as many others have, mistakenly used the terms interchangeably.

Here’s what you need to know:

Interlocking Crochet (also known as double filet crochet, triple filet crochet, locking crochet and intermesh crochet)

Interlocking Crochet uses a technique that combines two, or more filet mesh stitch patterns together to create intricate geometric and mosaic designs.

This means, the finished fabric is double thick because you are essentially placing 1 piece of crocheted fabric on top of a second piece of crocheted fabric and working around and through the opposite color of stitches.

You are never actually working into the fabric you are crocheting with the other color of yarn.

What I mean is, when you are working with Color A Yarn, you will never crochet into Color B Yarn.

You will work around the stitches and spaces you crocheted in Color B yarn and then back into the Color A Yarn side of your fabric.  This creates 2 pieces of fabric that are stuck together by working around the chain spaces and stitches of the opposite color. When you look at the back, there is a different design than the design on the front.

You can create great mosaic designs using this technique but it is not actually called Mosaic Crochet.

You can see a great visual example of how use the interlocking crochet technique in this post from Tanis Galik: IC Techniques

Mosaic Crochet

Mosaic Crochet is similar to Mosaic Knitting.  You follow charts which are worked back and forth in rows, using a single color of yarn for every row you work. The finished fabric is thinner because you are only working with one fabric layer.

For the purposes of this explanation I am using white and black yarn.

To begin you will work your foundation row in single crochet. You would choose the opposite color to the first square on the bottom right of the chart. So if your chart has a black square in the bottom right corner, you would begin with your white yarn and work 1 row of stitches (the same number as the chart across = 10) in foundation single crochet.

Then you would begin working the chart back and forth in rows. Each row on the chart represents 2 rows. So, you begin bottom right and work across the chart from right to left (from the 1 to the 2), then turn your work, ch 1 and work back across the same row of the chart, from left to right (from 2 to 1). The return row will be the same as what you just crocheted. At the end of Row 2 you can either finish off your yarn or carry it up the side edge of the project if you are adding an edging later on.

When you are working the rows in black yarn:

For every black square on the chart, you will single crochet and for every white square you will chain. When you chain, you chain the number of squares in white + 1 extra chain.

When you are working the rows in white yarn:

For every white square that is located above a black square, you will work a single crochet. When you see a white square over a white square, you will work in front of the chain stitches and crochet a dropped double crochet stitch into the sc 2 rows below.

When you look on the back, you will see horizontal rows of each color in Mosaic Crochet.

There is a fantastic tutorial available at ClearlyHelena to explain how Mosaic Crochet is done when following a Mosaic Knitting Chart.

Dropped Double Crochet Method

A third method which you may also want to look at is loosely based on mosaic knitting. It is the Dropped Double Crochet Method from Shady Lane Crochet.

Lately I have been receiving a lot of requests for Mosaic Granny Square Patterns and also for Mosaic Crochet Stitch Patterns. Since many designers are using the terms interchangeably, this roundup includes Mosaic and Interlocking Crochet Patterns.  I thought you might appreciate a roundup of these different free patterns and tutorials.

Mosaic Granny Squares and Mosaic Crochet Stitch Patterns

When the original blog is no longer available online I have included the link to the Wayback Machine (from the Internet Archive) ‘snap shot’ of the pattern. For those of you who are not familiar with the wayback machine, it is an online internet archive that takes snapshots of posts that are on the world wide web and then stores them in case someone needs them later. Like us 😉 So have fun making these and be sure to save copies!

1 Optical Illusion Square by Kati Donahue

2 Houndstooth Wannabe by Kati Donahue

3 Mosaic Ripples by Kati Donahue

4 Squared Ripples by Kati Donahue

5 Mosaic Basketweave Placemat by Susan Lowman

6 Nya Mosaic Blanket by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk

7 Plush Plus Rug by Tamara Kellyint

8 Beach Blanket by Melissa Leapman at Red Heart Yarn

9 Interlocking Stitch Blanket by Yarnspirations Design Studio

10 Southwestern Mosaic Cross Throw by Tara Sensenbaugh

11 One Step Beyond Blanket by Martin Up North

12 Wacky Weave Babette by Hilda Steyn

Extra Mosaic Crochet resources (You’ll want to save these ones for later!)

Interlocking Crochet with Tanis Galik 

Sylvia Cosh & James Walters Crochet Double Filet Crochet and Intermeshing crochet which outlines the difference between double filet and triple filet crochet.

How to Mosaic Crochet Using Mosaic Knitting Charts

Create your own Mosaic Knitting Chart

PS if you want to create your own charts to use you can try this free online Mosaic Knitting Pattern Generator from Laura Kogler

Optical Illusion Square by Kati Donahue

This beautiful design is a 12 inch by 12 inch square. Medium weight [4] Yarn and a 5.5 mm (I) hook were used to create the project.

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Houndstooth Wannabe by Kati Donahue

This beautiful design is a 12 inch by 12 inch square. You will need medium weight [4] yarn and a 5.5 mm (I) hook to make this square.

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Mosaic Ripples by Kati Donahue

This beautiful design is a 12 inch by 12 inch square. You will need medium weight [4] yarn and a 5.5 mm (I) hook to make this square.

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Squared Ripples by Kati Donahue

This beautiful design is a 12 inch by 12 inch square. You will need medium weight [4] yarn and a 5.5 mm (I) hook to make this square.

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Nya Mosaic Blanket by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk

This pattern is written in both English and Dutch. You need DK Weight (Light Weight) [3] yarn and a 4 mm (G) hook.

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Plush Plus Rug by Tamara Kelly

Crocheted with super bulky yarn [6] and a 9 mm (M/N) hook. The finished rug is 22 inches by 32 inches but can be customized to any size.

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Beach Blanket by Melissa Leapman

Download the free PDF pattern for this 50 inch by 60 inch beach blanket. Crocheted with medium weight yarn [4] and a 5.5 mm (I) hook.

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Interlocking Stitch Blanket by Yarnspirations Design Studio

Use this mosaic stitch with medium weight yarn [4] and a 5.5 mm (I) hook. The finished blanket is 32 inches by 38 inches.

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Mosaic Basketweave Placemat by Susan Lowman at Red Heart Yarn

These place mats are 13 inches by 19 inches in size but you can easily resize them to make them 12 inches by 12 inches. You need medium weight yarn [4] and a 5.5. mm (I) hook.

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Southwestern Mosaic Cross Throw by Tara Sensenbaugh

This beautiful design makes is a 57 inch square throw using medium weight yarn [4] and a 6 mm (J) hook. Get the free PDF download here.

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One Step Beyond Blanket by Martin Up North

This beautiful blanket uses Medium Weight Yarn [4] and a 5 mm (H) hook. The finished blanket is 33 inches by 40 inches and is super pretty!

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Wacky Weave Babette by Hilda Steyn

You want to check this one out. It includes 27 different block designs using interlocking crochet.

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Interlocking Crochet with Tanis Galik

Find tutorials and free patterns for many interlocking crochet projects.

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Sylvia Cosh & James Walters Crochet Workshops

There are tons of great patterns here. Scroll to #18 for Double Filet Basics and #19 is the Double Filet Neckpurse.

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Intermeshing

Learn the difference between double filet and triple filet and see examples of intermeshing projects.

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Dropped Double Crochet Method by Shady Lane Crochet

Dropped Double Crochet can also be used to achieve a beautiful Mosaic Design. Shady Lane has a lovely assortment of patterns you can purchase and a free video to show you how to use the technique.

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