This little number will work up quickly and is solid and double-sided to be useful in the kitchen. Grab some cotton scraps in 5 colors and a handful of stitch markers. Trust me, you’ll want the stitch markers at least for the first time.
Or, if you’re making a mini mandala, use any yarn you like with an appropriate sized hook. You’ll still want the stitch markers.
Favorite, queue, or create your project page on Ravelry: North by Northwest on Ravelry.com
North by Northwest – Potholder or Mini Mandala
by Polly Plum
Crochet Terms: American
Skill Level: Easy to medium
Finished Size: 8″ circle
Yarn: Worsted weight cotton
Hook: H/5.0mm
Additional Materials: stitch markers, yarn needle
Designer’s Notes
Please mark all of your ch1 spaces. You’re going to need to work into them later and they will be much easier to find if you use stitch markers.
This pattern is free for personal use only. Please see my Copyright page for more details on what that means.
Abbreviations
ch – chain
dc – double crochet
hdc – half double crochet
r(#) – round number
sc – single crochet
sk – skip
slst – slip stitch
sp – space
st- stitch
tr – treble crochet
yo – yarn over
Special Stitches
Standing sc – to start a round, with slip knot on hook, insert hook into indicated stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through two loops on hook
Standing dc – to start a round, with slip knot on hook, hold slip knot in place with thumb or finger, yo and hold that in place too, insert hook in indicated stitch, yo and pull up a loop, carefully yo and draw yarn through two loops on hook twice
Dtr – yo 3 times, insert hook into indicated st and pull up a loop, (yo and pull through 2 loops on hook) 4 times
Trtr – yo 4 times, insert hook into indicated st and pull up a loop, (yo and pull through 2 loops on hook) 5 times
Picot – ch3, slst into back bump of first ch
Commence Pattern
Begin with double magic circle (or use chain loop if you prefer).
With Color A
Round 1: ch4 (counts as first tr). 15 tr into magic circle. Close magic circle and slst to first tr to join. Do not fasten off.
16 tr
Round 2: Ch1 and sc in same st as join. Ch1. (Sc in next tr, ch1) 15 times. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
16 sc, 16 ch1 sp
With Color B
Round 3: Standing sc in any ch1 sp. Sc in same sp. (Sk next sc, 2sc in next ch1 sp) 3 times, ch1. *(Sk next sc, 2sc in next ch1 sp) 4 times, ch1.* Repeat from * to * twice. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
32 sc, 4 ch1 sp
With Color C
Round 4: Standing sc in the first sc after any ch1 sp. Sc in next 3 sc. *^Ch1, sc in next 4 sc, ch2, sk ch1 sp,^ sc in next 4 sc.* Repeat from * to * twice, and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
32 sc, 4 ch2 sp, 4 ch1 sp
With Color D
Round 5: Standing sc in the first sc after any ch1 sp. Sc in next sc. *^Ch1, sc in next 2 sc, 2sc in ch2 sp, sc in next 2 sc, ch1, sc in next 2 sc, ch2, sk ch1 sp,^ sc in next 2 sc.* Repeat from * to * twice, and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
40 sc, 4 ch2 sp, 8 ch1 sp
With Color E
Round 6: Standing dc in first sc after any ch2 sp. Dc in next sc. *^Ch1, sk next ch1 sp, (dc in next 3 sc, ch1) twice, sk next ch1 sp, dc in next 2 sc, (dc, ch1, dc) in next ch2 sp,^ dc in next 2 sc.* Repeat from * to * twice, and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first dc to join. Fasten off.
48 dc, 16 ch1 sp
With Color D
Round 7: Standing sc in dc immediately after any ch1 sp that aligns with a skipped ch1 sp from r5. Sc in next 2 dc. *^Sc in next ch1 sp, sc in next 3 dc, working in front of next ch1 sp tr into the skipped ch1 sp from r5,^ sc in next 3 dc.* Repeat from * to * 6 times, and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
8 tr, 56 sc
With Color C
Note: do not skip any stitches in this round. The first st after the dtr may be hidden behind it, make sure you don’t miss it.
Round 8: Standing sc in the sc made into the ch1 sp from r6 that aligns with the skipped ch1 sp from r4. *Working in front of sts from previous rounds dtr into skipped ch1 sp from r4, sc in next 16 st.* Repeat from * to * 3 times omitting 1 sc from end of last repeat. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
4 dtr, 64 sc
With Color B
Note: do not skip any stitches in this round. The first st after the trtr may be hidden behind it, make sure you don’t miss it.
Round 9: Standing sc in any dtr. Sc in next 3 sc. *2sc in next sc (this will be the sc made into the tr), sc in next 4 sc, working in front of sts from previous rounds trtr into the skipped ch1 sp from r3, sc in next 4 sc, 2sc in next sc (this will be the first sc after the sc made into the tr), sc in the next 7 sc.* Repeat from * to * 3 times omitting 4 sc from the last repeat. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
4 trtr, 76 sc
With Color A
Round 10: Standing sc in any trtr. Sc in same st. (Sc in next 9 sc, 2 sc in next sc) 7 times. Sc in last 9 sc. Slst to first sc to join. Do not fasten off.
88 sc
Round 11: Ch1 and sc in same st as join. Sc in next sc and place st marker in this st. Sc in the next 3 sc. (2sc in next sc, sc in next 10 sc) 7 times. Sc in last 5 sc. Stsl to first sc to join. Fasten off.
96 sc
For pot holder make two circles through round 11. Place them back to back and work round 12 in the blo of both circles.
Round 12: Work entire round in blo. Standing sc in marked sc from r11. Sc in next 11 st. (Picot, sc in next 12 sc) 7 times. For pot holder: ch10 and slst to back bump of first ch. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off. For mandala: Picot and slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
96 sc, 7 picots and a ch10 loop (or 8 picots for the mandala)
Weave in all ends.
