Crochet Fruit Coasters (Elisa's Crochet) for DT & AL

Crochet is really addictive. Now that I've learnt how to do it, I can't stop. And have become quite obsessive. There are so many free patterns available online too! So lately, I've been feeding my crochet addiction with beginner patterns. With Hainchan's Tira, I started learning crochet with an intermediate level pattern, though it can also be attempted by beginners (posted here). But I decided to briefly practise the basics with some beginner level patterns. 

A great beginner pattern for practice is a cup coaster, as it's a simple matter of crocheting rounds, starting with a magic ring...which is the foundation for most amigurumi works. After making a few coasters for practice, I went on to make a set of 8 fruit coasters, along with a coaster basket and lid for my friends DT and AL. Actually finished this in early September, but didn't want to post about it until I actually gifted them....

Crochet Fruit Coasters. Free pattern by Elisa's Crochet (pattern here) (on IG).

The fruit coaster pattern is a free pattern by Elisa's Crochet (pattern here). Her pattern called for a 4mm hook but I only have a 3.75mm hook at this time, so I modified the pattern by adding a couple of rows to get the desired size. Made 8 types of fruits: lime, lemon, grapefruit, orange, apple, pitaya (aka dragon fruit), kiwi, and watermelon. And used 4 different brands of cotton yarn - Sirdar Happy Cotton, Scheepjes Catona, Schachenmayr Catania, and Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton - all of which had slightly different properties too (more below).

So, starting with the 4 citrus fruits - orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime. The pith for all 4 citrus fruits was made with Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton #100 White, and the pith between the segments embroidered using the stem stitch.

Orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime (on IG).

Orange: Both the rind and pulp in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #792 Juicy. 

Grapefruit: The rind in Schachenmayr Catania #00208 Sonne, and the pulp in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #793 Sorbet. 

Lemon: The rind Scheepjes Catona #280 Lemon, and the pulp in #403 Lemonade. 

Lime: The rind in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #779 Fizz, and the pulp in #778 Sherbet.

I originally crocheted the grapefruit rind with Sirdar Happy Cotton #792 Juicy, but decided to change it to a lighter orange colour, ending up with using the Schachenmayr Catania yarn. No particular complicated, technical or practical reason, just an aesthetic one. That way, they'd all look different when in a stack - the more colours, the merrier, isn't it?

A colourful stack. The more, the merrier. Right? (on IG)

And then 4 non-citrus fruits - apple, pitaya, kiwi and watermelon. I originally only made kiwi and watermelon, but decided to add apple and pitaya because I had excess white, red and pink yarn leftover. I also liked the idea of 8 fruit coasters better than just 6.

Apple, dragon fruit/pitaya, kiwi, and watermelon (on IG).

Kiwi: The fruit pulp in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton #100 White and Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #779 Fizz. The skin in #776 Biscuit. The seeds were embroidered using the single chain stitch in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #775 Liquorice. 

Watermelon: The fruit pulp in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #790 Ketchup. The rind in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton #100 White, and the skin in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #782 Laundry. Like the kiwi coaster, I embroidered the seeds with the single chain stitch in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #775 Liquorice. 

Apple: The fruit pulp in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton #100 White, and the skin in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #790 Ketchup. Unfortunately, my apple isn't the seedless variety. The 2 seeds are embroidered with the single chain stitch in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #775 Liquorice.

Dragon fruit/Pitaya: The fruit pulp in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton #100 White, and the skin in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #799 Bubblegum. The seeds were embroidered using French knots, in Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #775 Liquorice DMC 25 Stranded Cotton in #310 Black. 

Off all the 8 fruits, my personal favourites would be the kiwi and lime. Well, I'm a nutter for the colour green, and I particularly like the green shade of Sirdar Happy Cotton #779 Fizz. I do not like the actual kiwi fruit. Nor do I care for eating limes, but I do like using limes in food. And for some reason, the lime coaster conjures up the idea of a delicious, icy cold mojito.

If the question was which one I had the most fun making, it would be the kiwi, watermelon, and pitaya. I found the embroidering element of the process pretty fun. I originally used short single stitches to sew on the "seeds" of the pitaya, but changed it to French knots in the 2nd one I made. 

Dragon fruit/pitaya seeds - 2 versions: French knots with DMC 25 Stranded Cotton #310 Black (left), and short running stitches with Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #775 Liquorice (right). 

Though stitching French knots on a crocheted surface was a little frustrating, as they sometimes 'disappeared' into the gaps (i.e. the holes between the crochet stitches) when I pulled too tightly. In the end, I chose to include the one with French knots into the set. Although...I kind of personally preferred the one with the single stitches; somehow the contrast seemed more... I don't know.... Balanced?

Finally, the coasters all go into a little crochet basket. The coaster basket and lid were made using a free pattern by Crochet 365 Knit Too (pattern here). 

Crochet coaster basket with lid (on IG).

I modified the pattern a little: used a combination of single crochet and double crochet stitches, added a few rows to fit the size of the coasters, and incorporated a lozenge pattern in different coloured yarns. 

Crochet coaster basket with lid (more on IG).

For the yarn, I used the remaining Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in #100 White for the basket and lid, and the impromptu lozenge pattern, and pompom were made using the remaining Sirdar Happy Cotton DK yarn in #793 Sorbet, #778 Sherbet, and #779 Fizz. 

I made a mistake with the lozenge pattern at the part where each round ends, and it's actually fairly visible. That came about because I made a mistake calculating the stitch intervals where I was supposed to change colours... Well, I was also watching Star Trek: Discovery on Netflix during the process... so....  ¯\_（○・ε＾○）_/¯

Lined with Liberty Tana lawn (also on IG).

Lined the interior with Liberty Tana lawn "Milky Way" scraps that were left over from the smocked dress made for my niece (posted here). 

Everything was made with 100% cotton yarn, as cotton yarn is durable and withstands heat better than acrylic or acrylic-cotton blend yarns. I took a page from advice about using cotton yarn or kitchen yarn for items such as pot coasters/holders. 

When I started, I knew little about cotton yarn. Only the basics, i.e. its qualities, the pros and cons of cotton yarn, mercerised and unmercerised cotton yarns. Because I adore Liberty fabrics, and have sewn with Tana lawn several times, I knew about the difference in the mercerisation process, but when it came to yarns, I wasn't familiar with the effects. But I came to learn that it is way more obvious in yarn than in cloth. 

As mentioned, I used 4 different brands of cotton yarn: Sirdar Happy Cotton, Scheepjes Catona, Schachenmayr Catania, and Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton. Making these coasters was my first time crocheting with 100% cotton yarn. So, for me, this exercise turned out to be a HUGE learning experience for me. 

At first, I struggled getting my crochet hook through the loops because cotton yarn doesn't have as much 'give' as acrylic or acrylic-cotton blend yarn, which I was (by now) used to using. I did get the hang of it after a while. In fact, I personally found using cotton yarn to be useful in teaching me how to practise getting my stitch tension right. Precisely because it doesn't have as much 'give' as acrylic or blended yarn. As I went along, I found myself pulling less tightly.

I also came to like the smoother feel of cotton yarn, and the ease with which is slides from my finger as I crochet. Acrylic doesn't quite slide through so easily. It feels great to be able to crochet continuously, and not have to stop intermittently just to pull and re-twine the yarn around my finger!

Crochet fruit coasters - work in progress! (On IG, and more on IG)

After crocheting a few rounds, I also came to see what a difference it makes when using mercerised and unmercerised cotton yarn. Most of the yarn I used for the coasters was Sirdar Happy Cotton, which is an unmercerised cotton yarn. It was smooth and flexible to use, and comes in convenient 20g yardage. BUT it gets fuzzy very easily and quickly. I found this somewhat annoying because the fuzziness gave the coasters a slight used/broken-in appearance, even though they weren't. Not exactly what I want when they're meant as gifts! Nonetheless, I had already committed funds, time, and effort, so it was a waste to start over using different yarn. Plus Sirdar Happy Cotton retails here at $2.20 per 20g bonbon! Perfect yardage for crocheting a small number of coasters, but not so friendly on the wallet.

For the lemon coaster, I used Scheepjes Catona, and Schachenmayr Catania for the grapefruit rind. And for all white parts, I used Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton. At the time, I used them as substitutes because I couldn't get my hands on these colours in Sirdar Happy Cotton, as these colours were sold out at Golden Dragon Store. Unlike Sirdar Happy Cotton though, these 3 are mercerised cotton yarns. Scheepjes Catona and Schachenmayr Catania have a similar twist weave, and pretty much 'feel' the same during use, and result in the same appearance. They're also the same thickness as Sirdar Happy Cotton, but do not give the same fuzziness in the crocheted work as Sirdar Happy Cotton. 

Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton is slightly thicker, and has a different weave. It was not as easy to crochet with, having less 'give' and felt stiffer/more rigid to use than the other 3, but it was more durable, and kept its sheen better than the others. I also liked how the double crochet stitch pattern in the crochet basket showed up quite distinctly. I suppose maybe it depends on what you want the crochet item to look like at the end?

But as Jasmine-sensei (AppleLulu Crafts) explained during our amigurumi workshop (posted here), cotton yarn gives the crocheted item a 'pixelated' look, which some people might not want in a kawaii amigurumi work. But she also pointed out that ultimately, it is a matter of preference. At this point, I think I'm still too early in the crochet journey to come down definitively on a personal preference.

Tools & Materials Used:

• Patterns:
• Fruit coasters by Elisa's Crochet (pattern here), slightly modified to add additional rounds
• Crochet box & lid, modified from pattern by Crochet 365 Knit Too (pattern here) 
• Yarn (100% cotton yarn):
• Sirdar Happy Cotton DK #775 Liquorice, #776 Biscuit, #778 Sherbert, #779 Fizz, #782 Laundry, #793 Sorbet, #790 Ketchup, #792 Juicy, #799 Bubblegum (from Golden Dragon Shop)
• Scheepjes Catona #280 Lemon, #403 Lemonade (from Tiny Rabbit Hole)
• Schachenmayr Catania #00208 Sonne (from Tiny Rabbit Hole)
• Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton #100 White (from Spotlight Plaza Singapura) 
• DMC 25 Stranded Cotton #310 Black - embroidery thread (from my stash)
• Clover Amour Crochet Hook 3.75mm - Ideally, I wanted to use the 4mm hook but it was sold out when I went shopping for one.
• Clover Darning Needle (Series 339)