Crocheting from a graph is absorbing work. I find it hard to put down once I start. It is almost like painting a picture, watching the image emerge row by row.
But graph work has two nuisances, and they are the same two every time: the number of ends to weave in after all those colour changes, and the bulk of carrying unused colours along the back of the afghan.
The small-ball method
What I do is wind small balls of each colour before I start.
Work with one small ball until the graph calls for a colour change, then pick up the next small ball, and so on across the row. Coming back on the next row, pick each small ball up again as you reach it.
You will need several small balls of each colour, because you change back and forth so often. That sounds like a lot of preparation, and it is – but it eliminates most of the end-weaving and keeps the back of the afghan neat, with no strands pulled across it.
Why not just carry the yarn
Carrying is quicker in the moment, and for a design with short colour runs it is fine. The problems appear on larger blocks of colour.
A carried strand across a wide block adds real bulk, and it shows through as a shadow on the front. Pulled even slightly tight it draws the fabric in, and the picture distorts. On an afghan, where the whole point is a flat even surface, that is the thing you notice.
Managing the balls
The honest downside is tangling. Half a dozen small balls hanging off the back of your work will find a way to wrap around each other.
Two things help. Keep the balls small enough to sit close to the work rather than dangling. And when you turn at the end of a row, turn consistently in the same direction each time – alternating turns is what twists them together.
A shallow box or a divided tray under the work keeps the balls apart and saves a lot of untangling.
Choosing a graph
Bold, simple images work best. Fine detail disappears at the scale of a crochet stitch, and subtle shading comes out muddy. Strong outlines and a small number of clearly distinct colours give the sharpest result.
Keep your place with a ruler or a sticky note moved down the chart as you go, and mark each row as you finish it rather than as you begin. A row worked from the wrong line of the graph is a row to unpick.