Iced Coffee on the Beach! A Free pattern for Coasters and Sunglasses Case…

A few weeks ago the lovely people at Stylecraft Yarns sent me some of their new ‘Naturals Organic Cotton’ to try out. Ever since I heard about this yarn I’ve been really keen to try it out… I love crocheting with cotton and I love that this one is organic and also a DK weight yarn. 🙂

There are 38 colours to choose from in the range and I chose these four colours…

And I got crocheting! 🙂

It really is lovely to crochet with and I can certainly recommend it. The colours are really gorgeous and it’s so great that yarn companies are offering environmentally friendly yarn choices.

I ended up designing a simple coaster with a matching sunglasses case…

And I’m offering this as a free pattern here on my blog… scroll down to get to the patterns in both UK and US crochet terminology.

Summer has arrived here on the south coast of England… and whilst we have had the occasional rainy day (we had really heavy thunderstorms earlier in the week), we’ve actually been able to enjoy being outside a lot and I’ve even swam in the sea!

I’ve also finally discovered iced coffee in this warmer weather! And I really really like it… 🙂

So ‘Iced Coffee on the Beach’ seems like the perfect name for this little crocheted collection…

As always, I had fun photographing these down on the beach! It was a very hot day and with me I took an antique wooden milking stool which we acquired many years ago and of course little Salty came too!

The coasters are crocheted in just 7 rounds…

And the sunglasses case is crocheted in alternating front post and back post stitches to give it lots of padding and stretch! Perfect to protect those glasses…

So here are the patterns in UK Crochet Terminology. US Terms are at the end of this blog post.

‘Iced Coffee on the Beach’ Coasters and Sunglasses Case

You will need:

• Stylecraft ‘Naturals’ Organic Cotton DK (100% cotton, 50g/105m/115yds) 1 ball in each of the following colours:
• Yarn A: Coral (7180)
• Yarn B: Blue Lagoon (7197)
• Yarn C: Buttermilk (7174)
• Yarn D: Sea Green (7192)

I used a 4.0mm hook

Abbreviations:   

blo: back loop only

BPtr: Back Post treble (see below)

ch: chain

ch-sp: chain space

dc: double crochet

FPtr: Front Post treble (see below)

htr: half treble

puff stitch: see below

RS: right side

ss: slip stitch

st(s): stitch(es)

tr: treble

WS: wrong side

Back Post treble: complete a treble st as normal but insert hook around the stem of the st inserting hook from right to left going from the back to the front and then round to the back again.

Front Post treble: complete a treble st as normal but insert hook around the stem of the st inserting hook from right to left going from the front to the back and then round to the front again.

Puff stitch: this is the same as htr3tog: (yoh, insert hook into place, yoh, pull up a loop) 3 times, yoh, pull through all the loops on the hook.

Coaster

To Work:

Using Yarn A, make a magic ring. 

Round 1 (RS) 3ch (counts as first tr here and throughout), 11tr into the ring, ss to top of first 3 ch to join. [12 sts]

Round 2 5ch (counts as 1 tr and 2 ch), (1tr in next st, 2ch) eleven times, ss to third ch of beginning 5 ch, fasten off. [12 tr with 12 x 2-ch-sps]

Round 3 Join Yarn B into any ch-sp, 3ch, 2tr in same ch-sp, 3tr in each of next 11 ch-sps, ss to top of first 3 ch. [36 sts]

Round 4 Join Yarn C in space between any two 3 tr groups, 3ch, 3tr in same place, (miss next group of 3 sts, 4tr in next space) eleven times, ss to top of first 3 ch. [48 sts]

Round 5 Join Yarn D in space between any two 4 tr groups, 2ch (does not count as st), *(1 puff st, 2ch, 1 puff st) all in same place, 2ch, miss 4 sts, repeat from * eleven times in each space between the 4 tr groups around, ss to top of first puff st, fasten off. [12 pairs of puff sts]

Round 6 Join Yarn B into any 2-ch-sp between a pair of puff sts, 2ch, 2htr in same ch-sp, miss next puff st, 3htr in next 2-ch-sp, continue with 3htr in each 2-ch-sp around, ss to top of first 2 ch. [72 sts]

Half Treble stitches are unique in that they have 3 loops/strands at the top of the stitch. Make sure that in Round 7 you are inserting your hook into just the one very back loop only which sits towards the back of the work. This ensures that two loops remain to the front of the work.

Round 7 Join Yarn A into blo of any st, 2ch, 1htr in blo of same st, 1htr in blo of each of next 5 sts, (2htr in blo of next st, 1htr in blo of each of next 5 sts) eleven times to end of round, ss to top of first 3 ch, fasten off and weave in ends.

Sunglasses Case

Pattern Notes: 

The sunglasses case is made in the round. Each round is joined with a slip stitch and then the work is turned so the next round is crocheted back along the round just made as if you’re working in rows. This ensures there is no seam and the join is straight.

To Work:

Using Yarn D, make 30ch, ss to first ch to form a large ring. 

Round 1 (RS) 3ch (counts as first tr), 1tr in each ch to end, ss to top of first 3 ch to join, turn. [30 sts]

Round 2 2ch (counts as first htr here and throughout), 1FPtr around next st, (1BPtr around next st, 1FPtr around next st) 14 times to end, ss to top of first 2 ch, turn. [30 sts]

Round 3 2ch, 1BPtr around next st, (1FPtr around next st, 1BPtr around next st) 14 times to end, ss to top of first 2 ch, turn. [30 sts]

Round 4 2ch, 1FPtr around next st, (1BPtr around next st, 1FPtr around next st) 14 times to end, ss to top of first 2 ch joining with Yarn C, turn. [30 sts]

Rounds 3 and 4 form the pattern repeat. Four rounds are worked in each colour as indicated below.

Rounds 5 – 8 Using Yarn C repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn B at end of Round 8.

Rounds 9 – 12 Using Yarn B repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn A at end of Round 12.

Rounds 13 – 16 Using Yarn A repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn B at end of Round 16.

Rounds 17 – 20 Using Yarn B repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn C at end of Round 20.

Rounds 21 – 24 Using Yarn C repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, fasten off and weave in ends.

Top edging

A Crab Stitch edging will now be worked along the top of the sunglasses case. Crab Stitch is basically double crochet stitches worked backwards from left to right instead of right to left.

Join Yarn D to any st from Round 24, 1ch (does not count as st), complete 1 reverse double crochet stitch (also known as Crab Stitch) in each st around, ss to first st, fasten off and weave in ends.

To Make up

Sew closed the bottom edge… and enjoy!

So there you go… I hope you enjoy an iced coffee on the beach one day… in the meantime Happy Crocheting Everyone… 😄

Pattern in US crochet terminology

Abbreviations:     

blo: back loop only

BPdc: Back Post double crochet (see below)

ch: chain

ch-sp: chain space

dc: double crochet

FPdc: Front Post double crochet (see below)

hdc: half double crochet

puff stitch: see below

RS: right side

sc: single crochet

ss: slip stitch

st(s): stitch(es)

WS: wrong side

Back Post double crochet: complete a double crochet st as normal but insert hook around the stem of the st inserting hook from right to left going from the back to the front and then round to the back again.

Front Post double crochet: complete a double crochet st as normal but insert hook around the stem of the st inserting hook from right to left going from the front to the back and then round to the front again.

Puff stitch: this is the same as hdc3tog: (yoh, insert hook into place, yoh, pull up a loop) 3 times, yoh, pull through all the loops on the hook.

To Work:

Using Yarn A, make a magic ring. 

Round 1 (RS) 3ch (counts as first dc here and throughout), 11dc into the ring, ss to top of first 3 ch to join. [12 sts]

Round 2 5ch (counts as 1 dc and 2 ch), (1dc in next st, 2ch) eleven times, ss to third ch of beginning 5 ch, fasten off. [12 dc with 12 x 2-ch-sps]

Round 3 Join Yarn B into any ch-sp, 3ch, 2dc in same ch-sp, 3dc in each of next 11 ch-sps, ss to top of first 3 ch. [36 sts]

Round 4 Join Yarn C in space between any two 3 dc groups, 3ch, 3dc in same place, (miss next group of 3 sts, 4dc in next space) eleven times, ss to top of first 3 ch. [48 sts]

Round 5 Join Yarn D in space between any two 4 dc groups, 2ch (does not count as st), *(1 puff st, 2ch, 1 puff st) all in same place, 2ch, miss 4 sts, repeat from * eleven times in each space between the 4 dc groups around, ss to top of first puff st, fasten off. [12 pairs of puff sts]

Round 6 Join Yarn B into any 2-ch-sp between a pair of puff sts, 2ch, 2hdc in same ch-sp, miss next puff st, 3hdc in next 2-ch-sp, continue with 3hdc in each 2-ch-sp around, ss to top of first 2 ch. [72 sts]

Half Double Crochet stitches are unique in that they have 3 loops/strands at the top of the stitch. Make sure that in Round 7 you are inserting your hook into just the one very back loop only which sits towards the back of the work. This ensures that two loops remain to the front of the work.

Round 7 Join Yarn A into blo of any st, 2ch, 1hdc in blo of same st, 1hdc in blo of each of next 5 sts, (2hdc in blo of next st, 1hdc in blo of each of next 5 sts) eleven times to end of round, ss to top of first 3 ch, fasten off and weave in ends. 

Sunglasses Case

Pattern Notes: 

The sunglasses case is made in the round. Each round is joined with a slip stitch and then the work is turned so the next round is crocheted back along the round just made as if you’re working in rows. This ensures there is no seam and the join is straight.

To Work:

Using Yarn D, make 30ch, ss to first ch to form a large ring. 

Round 1 (RS) 3ch (counts as first dc), 1dc in each ch to end, ss to top of first 3 ch to join, turn. [30 sts]

Round 2 2ch (counts as first hoc here and throughout), 1FPdc around next st, (1BPdc around next st, 1FPdc around next st) 14 times to end, ss to top of first 2 ch, turn. [30 sts]

Round 3 2ch, 1BPdc around next st, (1FPdc around next st, 1BPdc around next st) 14 times to end, ss to top of first 2 ch, turn. [30 sts]

Round 4 2ch, 1FPdc around next st, (1BPdc around next st, 1FPdc around next st) 14 times to end, ss to top of first 2 ch joining with Yarn C, turn. [30 sts]

Rounds 3 and 4 form the pattern repeat. Four rounds are worked in each colour as indicated below.

Rounds 5 – 8 Using Yarn C repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn B at end of Round 8.

Rounds 9 – 12 Using Yarn B repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn A at end of Round 12.

Rounds 13 – 16 Using Yarn A repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn B at end of Round 16.

Rounds 17 – 20 Using Yarn B repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, joining with Yarn C at end of Round 20.

Rounds 21 – 24 Using Yarn C repeat Rounds 3 and 4 twice, fasten off and weave in ends.

Top edging

A Crab Stitch edging will now be worked along the top of the sunglasses case. Crab Stitch is basically single crochet stitches worked backwards from left to right instead of right to left.

Join Yarn D to any st from Round 24, 1ch (does not count as st), complete 1 reverse single crochet stitch (also known as Crab Stitch) in each st around, ss to first st, fasten off and weave in ends.

To Make up

Sew closed the bottom edge… and enjoy!