Autumn is here!  It's a lovely season of colorful leaves, cozy scarves, pumpkin spice, and of course...warm, yummy drinks!  My favorite hot drink would be a tie between spiced apple cider and hot chocolate.  What about you?

Since I didn't have any cup coasters around to sit my mug atop of, I decided to make some!  Care to crochet up a few with me?



These are definitely super simple to make (hence, the name!) and extremely quick.  They only require knowledge of how to make the magic ring, chain, double crochet stitch, and slip stitch.  The estimated time to crochet four coasters is less than an hour!  Just add a bit of time to cut out the circular, felt backings, attach them to the coasters with a running whipstitch, and you're done!

Felt sewn to the back of the crocheted coaster improves durability!

Let's get started, shall we? ^_^




Level: beginner

Stitches: magic ring, chain (ch), double crochet (dc), slip stitch (sl st)

Estimated time: 1.5 hours to complete a set of four coasters

Materials:

• Worsted weight 4 yarn (My favorite medium weight yarns to use: Caron Simply Soft, Red Heart Soft, Vanna's Choice (Lion Brand), or Lion Brand Heartland)
  
• Crochet hook 3.50mm or 4.00mm (I used 3.50mm because my mug bottoms are slightly smaller than standard mugs. If you have standard mugs, I recommend 4.00mm)
• Scissors
• Felt (I used a similar color to yarn)
• Sewing needle
• Embroidery thread (I used a similar color to yarn/felt)

Crochet Directions:

1. Start with a magic ring, and secure it with a stitch.
2. [Round 1] Ch 3 (this will be our first dc), and then work 11 dc into the ring. (12 dc total)
3. Sl st into the third ch (top of our first dc) to join the round.
4. [Round 2] Ch 3, and inc around.  Inc means to work two dc into one stitch. (24 dc total)
5. Sl st into the third ch to join the round.
6. [Round 3] Ch 3, and then work *inc, 1 dc* around. (36 dc total)
7. Sl st into the third ch to join the round.
8. [Round 4] Ch 3, and then work *inc, 2 dc* around. (48 dc total)
9. Sl st to join the round.
   
   Yay! You are done with your first coaster! :)  If you'd like a larger coaster, simply continue the pattern by ch 3, and *inc, 3 dc* around.  

 Finishing:

1.  Place the crocheted coaster on top of felt. Trace around, and cut out.
2.  Using needle and thread, whipstitch the felt circle to the crocheted coaster.

Congratulations!  Now you're all done! :)


I'd love to see a photo of your finished product!  Feel free to share it on Sweet Softies' Facebook page, or here in the blog comments below!  If you have any questions, please let me know!  I'd also love to hear what your favorite hot beverage for the Fall is! ^_^