Saturday, March 31, 2012

Crocheted Double Coaster Tutorial and Free Pattern

Hey everybody,

This is one of my favorite patterns to make. The coasters are simple and take me about 20 minutes to make. They make a quick and easy homemade gift for family and friends. I have made many of them for people and those who also crochet always ask for the pattern. Well, I decided that today would be the day for me to create a tutorial for how to make them. They aren't all that difficult, but they are a little tricky to understand without pictures. Sooo, Happy Spring and enjoy the pattern! :D

Oh.. I also apologize for some slightly blurry photos and if the pattern is confusing. This is my first tutorial. :)


**This pattern is in US crochet terms!**
*Feel Free to sell your finished items. This is an old pattern and can be found in many slightly different formats. 
This photo tutorial is mine, please link back to it if you wish to share it with others! Thanks!*



 Crocheted Double Coaster
Hook Size- 5.00 (H)
 Start by chaining 25. (If you want a nice-sized one for a hot chocolate/coffee/tea mug, then I like to chain 27 or 28).

In the first chain from the hook, single crochet 1.

 Continue sc 1 in each ch across.

Now comes the tricky part.
When you reach your very first chain, sc 1. 

Now you are going to continue around to the back side of the 25 chains. Does that make sense?

Continue with 1 sc in each ch.

Now you should be back at your first sc. 
See where the blue needle is pointing? 
Sc in this sc and in each sc around.

You should be getting a roundish type shape.


Continue to sc in each sc. 
Your coaster should kind of resemble a canoe type shape.

As you continue to sc around, your coaster will start to look like a pouch.


To see how close you are to being done, flatten in the corners of the pouch. You will be done once they meet in the middle. (This is further explained down further.)



(Above) Fold in the corners of the pouch. This shows you how many more rounds you need to do.

Keep sc around until the sides meet up in the middle. (below).

Once the sides touch, you can finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing.


Thread your yarn needle, and whip stitch your coaster closed.


Ta-Da! Easy, huh?
Now you are done, weave in your yarn ends!




This is a weird picture, but I pulled the coaster sides out after it was sewn together to try to show you the layers.

Here is the coaster from the side view.

Taa-Daa!!
Now you have a finished double coaster! I love these coasters because since they have the two layers, they are especially good at soaking up liquid/condensation from your drinking glasses in the summertime. 

I use Lily Sugar'n Cream or Peaces and Cream cotton yarns for my coasters. They come in cheerful summery colors. I can get 2 coasters from each of these skeins and have some yarn left over. 

This pattern is also a common pattern to use for potholders. Just make the square bigger (chain more at the beginning) and had a chained loop at the end. Since they are double-thick, they are great at protecting your hands from heat.

If you have questions or need help, please comment and let me know. I would be glad to help out!
Also, feel free to post pictures of your coasters in the comment section. I would love to see how your coasters turn out!
Thanks for reading! :)

P.S. - I will post the pattern without all of the side-notes and pictures soon. Stay tuned! :D

Peace,
Katy


More Grannies!

Good Morning Everyone!! 

I have been sooo busy with school and life in general. We only have 2 weeks before our Spring Term Finals. So it has been crazy around here. In addition, I have been busy with classwork, practicum, tutoring , work and with trying to hang out with friends and have time for myself. And, I am still trying to get over my Bronchitis. Whew! So crazy.

Anyways, here are more of my granny squares that I made a week or so ago. I finally took pictures and posted them. They are all the same size except the pink and green one with the white flower. That was the first one I made. 




My projects that I want to work on this summer are starting to create a loonnngg list. Hopefully, I will actually get some of them done. haha. Once I write out a list, I will post pictures and such for everyone to see. :) 
Also- once I am home for the summer and start my butterfly waystation- you will be flooded with caterpillar pictures! Oooo! CAN"T WAIT!!! :D

Have a great weekend everybody!!

Peace,
Katy



Saturday, March 24, 2012

First Flowers of Spring!!

Ooo. Aren't they pretty? I'm so excited for the flowers to start blooming. Crazy that it is only March and the flowers are already out. That doesn't normally happen in Iowa, USA. Oh, well. I'm enjoying it! :)









Peace,
Katy

Hello!

Just found out about the giveaway going on at Yarn Madness' blog. She has some cool prizes picked out! Very Cool! She'll be picking winners on April 10th- my birthday. :)


Check out her blog if you get a chance. :)


I've been busy making grannies using Barbina's pattern for her flower square. I have made enough squares that I almost have the full pattern memorized. I think I may sew together the squares and create a blanket with them. So far this is what I have:

















I haven't decided if I am going to put flowers on all of them. I kinda like the look of some squares with flowers and some without. 
Peace,
Katy