Coasters are a great gift, an awesome way to add some color to a room or end table, an effective stash buster and a great way to introduce crochet to a beginner. This week’s coasters look best in a solid color (in my opinion) and only take a very short time to make up. See Cool Coasters 1 and look out for a couple weeks more of free coaster patterns to come!

Skill Level:

Finished Size: 4 1/2″ (11.43 cm) X 4 1/2″ (11.43 cm)

Materials: Sport Weight Yarn approx. 10 yards (4 g) Crochet Hook G (4.25 mm)

Note on Weight: pattern shown using mercerized cotton to give coasters a ‘stiffer’ feel and retain form
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Every Fall I get orders from customers online for warm winter wear, but more importantly I get many orders here at home from my pickiest, ficklest customers: my own four children.

It seems like this year’s biggest requirement from the older children is that they want their hats to match compliment their new winter coats and they want them to be very, very warm.

Here are some tips for making extra warm winter accessories:
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These adorable coasters are so easy to make up! The coasters featured in the photos are made of one solid color, but they would also look great in multiple colors, or with Round 4 done in an alternate complimentary color. These would also be a great Christmas gift (or kids Christmas project) in Red, Green and White!

This third installment of Stitches for Your Crocheting Arsenal (check out Part 1 and Part 2 for even more special stitches!) contains the instructions for two more special stitches, photos of those stitches and some general uses for them.

Basketweave Stitch
The Basketweave Stitch is one of my favorite stitches in crochet. It seems difficult at the onset, but once you have mastered Back Post and Front Post Double Crochet Stitches, textured stitches like this are a breeze. Great for heavier scarfs and blankets, the basketweave stitch is often used for textured kitchen and bathroom cloths.

With only two weeks left until October 31st there is still lots of time to work up some great Halloween themed projects for a gift, for yourself or the special little trick or treater in your life!

• Trick or Treating can be one of the best and most memorable happenings of a child’s youth! Make it fun and even more memorable with one of these goodie bag patterns! 5 Halloween Goodie Bags, Small Halloween Treat Bag
• Dressing up can be fun at anytime of the year, but especially fun for Halloween. Any of these patterns can be used as a great Halloween get up for babies, kids and adults! Pumpkin Baby Cocoon with Hat , Bunny Rabbit Cocoon, Pirate Hat in Five Sizes, Argh Me Matey Pirate EyePatch
• Don’t want to go all out this Halloween but still want to be festive? Use black, orange, yellows and other Halloween colors or one of these Halloween Appliques, to change up these accessory patterns. Mens Striped Hat and Scarf, Fast and Easy Scarf, Spiderweb Scarf, Simple Cell Phone Case

What are you crocheting for Halloween?

Super fun and super simple, this pirate’s eye patch works up in minutes and is good for hours of play or for a quick ‘costume’ while handing out candy this Trick or Treat.

100% wool yarn isn’t recommended for this pattern because it can irritate the eye. Acrylic, acrylic mix, cotton or cotton mix yarns are recommended to prevent eye irritation and also to keep the eye patches strap from stretching too much!

Need a hat to match? Check out the Pirate Hat Crochet Pattern!

This flower is much like the darling posy applique but is larger and can also be used as a motif for afghans, scarfs, table runners, jewelry and more. Motifs like this are also great ways to get rid of scrap yarn! Make up a bunch to decorate a blanket, one to add the cute element to a baby beanie or make a dozen or so and whip stitch them together for a belt or a bracelet.

Pictured are three of these simple six-petal flowers, the grey one was done in DK weight yarn with an H hook, the red one in sport weight yarn with a G hook and the black one in fingerweight yarn with a E hook.

I’ve been adding a lot of ‘How to Crochet’ type posts lately about special stitches and trims to add to your crocheting arsenal. In the comments of almost every one of these posts there is a question about an important part of the stitch/trim instructions, the beginning chain and what it means to ‘chain a multiple of’.

Some of us might have seen the term ‘multiple’ in crochet stitch instructions and convulsed in fear, being that it is so reminiscent of grade school math. If you aren’t familiar with this term, the definition is: the product of a quantity by an integer; “36 is a multiple of 9”.
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Crocheted accessories are usually versatile and this wrist cuff pattern is no different. Wrist cuffs can be worn as sweat bands, as jewelry, or simply as a winter accessory to help keep warm. Keep in mind that different yarns would be preferable for the different uses of the cuff. Cotton, linen or bamboo would be better for a sports type sweat band and acrylic or wool-mix yarn would be better for a winter weather cuff.
Four motifs of the same color are whip-stitched (see Whip Stitching in Crochet for more info. on this technique) together to form the cuff in this photo, but feel free to experiment with different colors and textures of sportweight yarn (any heavier yarn will make a larger cuff) while making your unique cuff.

All across the nation there is a heightened anxiety about the waste we are creating and the over-consumption our communities are experiencing. Here on Crochet Spot we have briefly addressed this growing concern with Ideas for Going Green and Tips for Being A Frugal Crocheter. It’s a very popular subject right now and exciting as well, because people are looking for ways to save money and help save our environment.
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