I made a larger version of the free beaded crochet coaster pattern and here are some of my observations.
The yarn is acrylic, fingering weight (about 6-ply), two strands held together, so this would be equivalent to 12-ply yarn. I used red color wood beads. I used 3mm crochet hook. The pattern I followed is the Easy Beaded Crochet Coaster pattern.
The finished item measures 8 inches or roughly about 21 cm in diameter. This is about 2 inches or 4cm bigger than the original pattern. I think I really prefer the smaller version. Anyway, some of my observations are below.
1. Acrylic that is soft and somewhat stretchy is not a good yarn for this project. I don't quite like the shiny quality of this kind of acrylic as well. This very inexpensive acrylic yarn tends to fray and pill, making it look worn out when I haven't even used it at all. So next time, if I use acrylic yarn for this project, I would choose the best quality, strong sturdy yarn.
2. This acrylic yarn is soft and lofty. This makes a large coaster (or small centerpiece) rather limp. What I like is stiff, strong and sturdy material that can stay flat under a glass or bowl to protect the table underneath.
3. A small item is better using this pattern. The finished item using thicker yarn is not a good idea at all. The size of this item makes the item less likely to stay flat. The weight of the beads does help keep the item flat but because of the size of the item, that doesn't work out very well.
4. I prefer to sew the beads around the edge of the piece in such a way that the beads lie on the outside rather than on top along the edges. If the beads lie around on the outside, it looks better and seems to make the item more rigid, flat and stable.
5. It's good to be consistent when sewing the beads around the edge, consistent with the distance between the beads (I skipped 2 sc all around) as well as the direction of the needle.
So the next time I use this pattern, I will be using fingering weight cotton yarn and will make a coaster of suitable small size for a cup or glass.
I hope these will be helpful for those using the Beaded Coaster Pattern.
If you're on Ravelry, please share your finished coaster via the pattern page. Thank you!
Comments
Post a Comment