Circular Potholders

The past couple of days I’ve been working on making potholders. In the past I’ve made them by sewing 2 square dishcloths together or by using a double-thick pattern, like this one, which makes a gorgeous potholder but takes a long time and a lot of yarn.

I wanted something quick and easy, I also had a lot of cotton yarn in various lengths and colours so I wanted something that I could change colours easily when my scraps of yarn ran out.

Here’s what I came up with:

A circular potholder! These work up really quickly, they’ve been taking me under an hour from start to finish. I think they look nice with both variegated and solid colours. I made 4 out of cotton and 1 out of wool.

Taa-daa!

Hooray for busting through my cotton stash! There’s still some left, but this definitely left a dent. I think I’m going to try making some felted ones with my wool stash.

I’m still a little undecided which one I like the most. I think the purple/green one is my favourite, but my partner likes the green/beige one.

Basically I made 2 circles using double crochet, then joined them together. It’s a pretty straight-forward pattern, but nonetheless I wrote it up to share.

Circular Potholder

*Note: Ch 3 at start of every round counts as a stitch

Materials:

-Worsted weight cotton or wool (I’ve read that acrylic will melt, but I’m not sure if it’s true)

-Size I/5.5 hook

** A note about gauge: **

If you’re finding that your circle is curving up into a bowl-shape, you need to go up a hook size. (Try size J/6.0)

If you’re finding that your circle is too slack and when you try to lay it flat there’s an extra bit of material that you can’t smooth down, you need to go down a hook size. (Try size H/5.0)

Pattern (make 2):

Round 1:  In a magic circle, ch 3 (counts as 1 DC), work 11 DC into ring, join. {12}

Round 2: Ch 3, work 2 DC into each st around (11 times). Work 1 DC into last st, join. {24}

Round 3: Ch 3, (work 2 DC into next st and 1 DC into next st), repeat around (10 more times). Work 2 DC into last st, join. {36}

Round 4: Ch 3, (work 2 DC into next st and 1 DC into each of the next 2 sts), repeat around (10 more times). Work 2 DC into next st and 1 DC into next st, join. {48}

Round 5: Ch 3, (work 2 DC into next st and 1 DC into each of the next 3 sts), repeat around (10 more times). Work 2 DC into next st and 1 DC into next 2 sts, join. {60}

For the next round I switched to single crochet

Round 6: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), (work 2 SC into next st and 1 SC into each of the next 4 sts), repeat around and join to first SC {72}

Fasten off, weave in ends.

Finishing:

– Holding the 2 ‘wrong sides’ together, join the 2 circles together.

Edging options:

– Single crochet around

-Slip stitch around

-Crab stitch/reverse single crochet (this is the one I used for the cotton potholders)

Edging with reverse single crochet

For the ring (optional):

– Ch 10, sl st into potholder, ch1 & turn

– Sc 15 evenly into ring created by chain (i.e. not into individual stitches, just into the ring)

Happy Family Day!

You may be wondering what ‘Family Day’ is… It’s a brand new statutory holiday in British Columbia (and several other Canadian provinces) that falls on the 2nd Monday of February. It’s basically a made up holiday and an excuse for a day off between Christmas and Easter — and there are no objections here!

Anyway, I’ve been falling behind on my posts so let me show you some of the projects I’ve completed in the past year…

If you haven’t noticed already, I really like this pattern. On the last 2 pairs I have here I added 3 rows around the thumb too. Here’s a link to the pattern.

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I also really like these Adeline Fingerless Gloves, and they’re stretchier than other gloves I’ve crocheted.

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This pattern for Ripple Lace Fingerless Gloves is a nice in-between. They’re stretchier than the single crochet pattern, but not as bulky as the Adeline gloves, but that might also be because I made them with thinner yarn?

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I’ve made a few of the Urban Jungle Beanie. The first one I made was a little loose around the brim so make sure you measure J

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This one’s my own pattern. I made a case for my e-reader using half double crochets.

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This is the first afghan I made. I improvised my own pattern, but it’s just a basketweave stitch

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I entered this scarf into the annual summer fair in town and won first prize with it – the cash prize was a whopping $6! I used the daisy stitch (sometimes called galaxy stitch)

Cute Coffee Cozies

I love making these coffee cozies! Whenever I buy coffee I always snag a cup sleeve to keep from burning my fingers… These work better than those cardboard disposable ones, and are much more environmentally friendly. They work up really quickly so I’ve made about a dozen to give to my friends. Enjoy!

Materials

Worsted weight yarn – cotton works best (it’s easy to wash, and won’t melt like acrylic will when heated)

Note:  Even though these are washer- and dryer-safe, I’ve noticed that the colours fade when they’re put in the dryer, so it’s probably best to air-dry.

Size I (5.5mm) hook

Note: I crochet tight and had to use a larger hook size to fit a standard size coffee cup. The circumference of my first 3 rows measures about 8″

Pattern

Ch 24. Slip stitch to 1st ch, being careful not to twist chain. Working in continuous rounds:

Row 1-3: Sc around (24 sc)

Row 4: 2 Sc in first st, 1 sc in next 11 sts, 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in last 11 sts (26 sc)

Row 5-6: Sc around (26 sc)

Row 7: 2 Sc in first st, 1 sc in next 12 sts, 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in last 12 sts (28 sc)

Row 8-9: Sc around (28 sc)

Row 10: 2 Sc in first st, 1 sc in next 13 sts, 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in last 13 sts (30 sc)

Row 11-12: Sc around (30 sc)

Row 13: 2 Sc in first st, 1 sc in next 14 sts, 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in last 14 sts (32 sc)

Row 14: Sc around (32 sc)

Pattern Notes

These cozies look really good with multicoloured yarn. Or, try a striped effect by changing the colour every few rows, or 3 colours (A for row 1-6, B for 7-12, and C for 13 & 14). Decorate your cozy with buttons or crocheted flowers.

Here’s a standard 5-petal flower that I like to use:

Sc 5 into a magic ring. Sl st to first st.

*Ch 3, 3Dc into first st, ch 3, sl st into same st. Sl st into next st.

Repeat from * in each of the next 4 sts. Finish off.

Granite Stitch Men’s Scarf

I was looking for a crocheted scarf pattern that would be suitable for men. After several failed attempts with patterns that were too thick and chunky-looking, I came across the solution: use a larger hook and a looser stitch. I was inspired by Crochet in Color’s Ireland’s Scarf, but instead of working the scarf lengthwise, I went width-wise and added ch-1 spaces.

I have seen the “sc1, ch1, repeat” pattern called a granite stitch, but what is it called when the single crochet is replaced with an extended single crochet? I think it still looks pretty “granite-y”, but does anyone know what it’s proper name is?

This scarf would probably work well in women’s colours too, I just find it discouraging how few patterns there are for men’s crocheted items. In my experience, the colours you choose really determine the ‘gender’, and I’ve noticed that masculine scarves tend to be wider and have a stronger boarder.

** Note: I’ve made a step-by-step guide for this stitch and pattern, find it on my blog here **

Granite Scarf Pattern:

Materials

1 ball worsted weight yarn (make sure it’s soft against your skin. I used Bernat Satin in Forest Mist Heather)

Size J (6mm) hook

Finished Size

5″ x 66″ (I made mine 161 rows long)

Stitch Explanation

Esc (Extended Single Crochet):

1. Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch (2 loops on hook)
2. Yarn over, pull through first loop only (2 loops on hook)
3. Yarn over, pull through both loops

Pattern

Foundation: Ch 26 (or any even number)

Row 1: 1 Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across (25 sc). Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2: 1 Esc in first st. *Ch 1. Miss next st. 1 Esc in next st. Repeat from * to end (13 Esc & 12 ch). Ch 1 and turn.

Row 3: 1 Esc in first st. 1 Esc in next ch-1 sp. *Ch 1. Miss next st. 1 Esc in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last st. 1 Esc in last sc. (14 Esc & 11 ch). Ch 1 and turn.

Row 4: 1 Esc in first st. *Ch 1. Miss next st. 1 Esc in next ch-1 sp. Repeat from * to last 2 st. Ch 1. Miss next st. 1 Esc in last st. (13 Esc & 12 ch). Ch 1 and turn.

Repeat last 2 rows until scarf is desired length. To finish, crochet 1 row of sc in each st and ch-1 sp across (25 sc). Ch 1 & turn. Sl st in each st across and finish off (25 sl st).