art to life: Crafts tutorial: Fruity Trivets and Pot Holders, free crochet patterns

Crafts tutorial: Fruity Trivets and Pot Holders, free crochet patterns

Late last summer we had dinner with our friend Mrs. Halby on her porch. She paraded many delicious plates of food out to us, among them, a hot baking dish of roasted fingerling potatoes. Of course, I was interested in the potatoes, but I was even more captivated by the adorable pot holder Mrs. Halby had used to transport them. It was a crocheted slice of watermelon that it turns out had been a gift from Mexico. I vowed to make my own version, and finally here it is, just in time for this summer's outdoor dinners.

Update!

This pattern is now available as a knitting pattern, too! You can find it right here.

We've also got Knit or Crochet Fruity Trivets + Pot Holder Kits that include both patterns and all of the yarn! You can find our kits right here.

Materials

NOTES: To make all three sets of Trivets and Pot Holders, you only need one skein of each color. You will also have enough yarn to make an orange, lime and watermelon Trivet and 2 Pot Holders (or 2 Trivets or 4 Pot Holders).

Orange

3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca's Worsted Cotton, 100% Cotton. These colors are, from the left, Poppy (#601), Dandelion (#638) and Bone (#80). This last color is part of Blue Sky's organic collection and is located here on our web site.

A size K crochet hook.

A removable stich marker.

Lime

3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca's Worsted Cotton, 100% Cotton. These colors are, from the left, Pickle (#633), Lemongrass (#607) and Bone (#80). This last color is part of Blue SKy's Organic collection and is located here on our web site.

A size K crochet hook.

A removable stich marker.

Watermelon

3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca's Worsted Cotton, 100% Cotton. These colors are, from the left, Pickle (#633), Lotus (#617) and Toffee (#623).

A size K crochet hook.

A removable stich marker.

Patterns

Gauge

2 3/4 single crochets = 1 inch

Finished Sizes

9 inches in diameter

Trivet Pattern

Note

The yarn is used doubled throughout this pattern, which is a lot easier than it may sound. Because this yarn tends to cling to itself, I didn't experience any problems with splitting.

To double the yarn you can either pull from both the center and the outside of the ball, or you can wind the skein into two even balls and pull from each of those.

The Center

With the Main Color, chain 6 and slip stitch into the first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: Make 12 single crochets (sc) into the ring.

Note: Mark the first stitch of the next round with a removable marker. Reposition the marker at the beginning of each round to mark the new first stitch.

Round 2: *1 sc into next stitch, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (18 stitches)

Round 3: *1 sc into next 2 stitches, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (24 stitches)

Round 4: *1 sc into next 3 stitches, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (30 stitches)

Continue to work in this pattern, each round adding one stitch between the increases until there are 9 stitches between the increases. Do not make the last single crochet of the last round . (65 stitches)

Change Colors

Still using the Main Color, do the first half of the final single crochet of the round.

Now using the Contrast Color, finish the single crochet by pulling the new yarn through the two loops on the hook. Cut the Main Color yarn.

The Rind

Using the Contrast Color, continue to crochet the circle in the same pattern:

Next Round: *1 sc into next 10 stitches, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (70 stitches)

Next Round: *1 sc into next 11 stitches, 2 sc into next stitch, repeat from * to end of round. (77 stitches)

Final Round: Slip stitch into each single crochet.

Cut the yarn and pull it though the final stitch.

The Seeds

Fold a 72 inch piece of the Accent Color in half, and thread it onto a tapestry needle.

1. Bring the needle up from the back to the front, coming out of one of the natural holes in the work. Leave a six inch tail in the back that you can later weave in.

2. Bring the needle to the back through a hole two rounds up and slightly to the left of the starting point.

3. Now bring the needle to the front through the hole directly to the right of the last entry point.

4. Next bring the needle to the back through the original starting hole.

5. Bring the needle to the front at the top left of the "V".

6. Bring the needle to the back through the top right of the "V".

7. Again, bring the needle to the front through the original starting point.

8. Now bring the needle to the back through the stitch at the center top of the triangle.

9. Complete the seed by bringing the needle to the front, again, through the original starting point.

This last step is so that the back of the Trivet looks as nice as the front. Here is the finished seed on the back side...

Sew the needle through the stitches to the next place you want to start a seed. Make sure that the Accent Color doesn't pop through anywhere!

Repeat these steps until you have sewn/sown as many seeds as you like.

Weave in the ends, block your Trivet and move on to the Pot Holder!