This is the project to reach for when you want something finished by the end of the evening. A flower-shaped coaster, about 19 cm across, worked in two colours from the centre out. It uses up the odd balls of cotton that never quite make a whole project, and a set of four tied with a ribbon is a proper gift rather than a token one.
The whole pattern is below. Nothing held back.
What you need
- DK weight yarn (3 ply), 25% cotton / 75% acrylic — beige 100 g, rust 100 g
- 3.5 mm crochet hook
- Yarn needle and scissors
Finished size: 19 cm across. The centre circle is 5 cm, each petal is 7 cm.
Skill level: Easy. If you can work a magic ring and a half double crochet, you can make this. New to the magic ring? Here is how to do one properly.
A note on terms: this pattern is written in US crochet terms. If you are used to UK terms, our US to UK conversion chart will save you a lot of confusion.
Abbreviations
- R — round
- st — stitch
- ch — chain
- sl st — slip stitch
- sc — single crochet
- hdc — half double crochet
- dc — double crochet
- inc — increase (2 hdc in the same stitch)
- B yarn — beige R yarn — rust
The pattern
End every round with a slip stitch into the first stitch.
Rounds 1 to 3 — the centre, in beige
- R1: magic ring, ch 1, 12 hdc into the ring, sl st to join. (12)
- R2: ch 1, inc in each st around. (24)
- R3: ch 1, (hdc, inc) × 12. (36)
Do not cut the beige yarn. You need it again for the chain detail at the end, and rejoining it is more fiddly than just letting it hang.
Rounds 4 to 8 — the petals, in rust
- R4: join rust yarn, ch 2, then (dc + ch 2 + dc, ch 1, skip the next 2 st) all the way around. You should finish with 12 clusters. Sl st to join.
- R5: ch 2, and into each ch-2 space work a bigger cluster: (2 dc + ch 2 + 2 dc, ch 1). Repeat in every ch-2 space around.
- R6: ch 2, and into each ch-2 space work (3 dc + ch 2 + 3 dc, ch 1). Repeat in every ch-2 space around.
- R7: repeat round 6.
- R8: ch 2, then into each ch-2 space work (8 dc, ch 1). Repeat around, then cut the rust yarn and fasten off.
Each round makes the petals fuller. By round 8 they have gone from little points to proper rounded petals, which is the bit that makes it look finished rather than homemade.
The beige chain detail
This is what lifts the coaster out of ordinary. You are going to surface-crochet a chain over the top of the rust petals, in beige, so the flower gets an outline.
- Pick the beige yarn back up and hold it at the back of the work. You will be pulling loops through to the front.
- Sl st into one of the skipped-stitch spaces at the base of a petal.
- Working up the side of the petal: ch 2, sl st, ch 2, sl st, ch 2, sl st, ch 2, sl st, ch 3, sl st.
- Across the top of the petal: 8 sc.
- Working back down the other side: repeat step 3.
- At the 2 skipped stitches between petals: sl st, sl st — then you are in position for the next petal.
Repeat steps 3 to 6 on every petal, then cut the yarn and secure it.
Three things that make it sit flat
- Keep your tension even through rounds 5 to 7. If the clusters get tight, the coaster cups. If they get loose, it ruffles. Ruffling is more common, and it is why people give up on circular patterns.
- Block it. Two minutes with a damp cloth and a warm iron hovering above it — not touching — turns a slightly wavy coaster into a flat one. More on blocking here.
- Use cotton, not acrylic, if it will meet a hot mug. Acrylic can go shiny and flat under heat. A cotton blend handles it.
Make it a set
Four coasters take an evening or two and turn into a gift. Change the petal colour on each one and keep the centre the same, and the set still reads as a set.
Prefer a printable copy?
The whole pattern is on this page, free, and always will be. If you would rather have a tidy PDF to print or keep on your phone — with the step photos alongside the instructions — you can download it here. It is free too. No account, no waiting.
If this went well, the scalloped round basket uses the same increase logic on a bigger scale, and it is also free. All our free crochet patterns are in one place.