Tips for Crocheting Rough Material

Twine is rough. It’s thick, hard to manipulate and has a sharp texture. When you make your crochet stitches with it you will not only have to work your fingers much harder than you do with yarn, but you will have to be careful to also pick up the soft yarn strand at the same time.

There are two ways around this friction problem for fellow soft-handed people. One is to limit your session times to an hour. When you have worked it for an hour, put it away somewhere safe and stop for a while or carry on with another project you have on the go.

Don’t pick it up again until the areas where friction was being created along your fingers is no longer sore. This might be in a number of minutes or hours, depending on you.

The other solution is to simply wear gloves. If you do this, make sure that they are very tight so that you can still work your fingers properly, and pick gloves made of leather.

Equipment Needed to Crochet a Twine Basket

To crochet this basket you will need the following:

• An aluminium 6mm crochet hook, with no hook grip.
• 300m of twine
• 100g of smooth yarn*
• A yarn needle*
• Scissors

Make sure that you have all of this equipment ready before you begin.

What hook should I use to Crochet Twine?

The biggest lesson I learned during the creation of this pattern, was which crochet hook to use. Primarily it needs to be a fairly large size, because the twine is thick and added to a strand of yarn. I chose a 6mm hook.

When stitching with a tough, thick material, you really need specific qualities to your hook.

Firstly, it needs to have space. Thick, non-compressing material like twine needs room on the hook. The soft grip hook I tried to use initially picked up the strands and manipulated them well, but the strands simply didn’t fit on the hook.

So I swapped to the white plastic hook shown. Whilst this is great for some yarn types, and had plenty of space, the end wasn’t pointed enough.

The next one I tried was a more pointed plastic hook, and this worked well for selecting stitches and moving them up the hook, but I couldn’t grip it hard enough to work the twine.

I finally moved on to one of the crochet hooks I have owned for years. One of my first set of hooks, it’s plain aluminium, straight up and down, with a fair but not excessive hook. It did the job.

To summarise – to crochet with twine you need a hook with space, a sharp point and a little friction.

Crochet Twine Basket Pattern

The base of this crochet basket begins with a standard circular increase. Moving onto a single back loop only row to create a flattened base. You then built this base by forming equally sized circles.

Row 1 – Chain (ch) 6 and join with a slip stitch (sl st) to form a circle (6)

Row 2 – Ch 3, put eleven double crochets US (dc) into the centre of the ring. Forming a ring of 12 stitches in total. Sl st to join (12)

Row 3 – Ch3, 1dc into the same stitch, 2dc into each subsequent st. Sl st to join. (24)

Row 4 – Ch3, *2dc into next st, 1dc into the following st. Repeat from *. Sl st to join at the end of the row. (36)

Row 5 – Ch3, 1 dc next st, *2dc next st, 1dc next 2 st. Rep from *. Sl st to join. (48)

Row 6 – Ch3, 1 dc next 2 st, *2dc next st, 1dc next 3 st. Rep from *. Sl st to join (60)

Row 7 – Ch3, 1 dc next 3 st, *2dc next st, 1dc next 4 st. Rep from *. Sl st to join (72)

Row 8 – Ch3, 1 dc next 4 st, *2dc next st, 1dc next 5 st. Rep from *. Sl st to join (84)

Row 9 – Ch3, 1 dc next 5 st, *2dc next st, 1dc next 6 st. Rep from *. Sl st to join (96)

Row 10 – Ch3, 1dc into the back loop only (blo) of the next 6 st, *2dc blo next st, 1dc blo next 7 st. Rep from *. Sl st to join (108)

Row 11 to 22 – Ch3 then dc in every stitch, sl st to join at the end of each row.

Crochet Twine Basket Handle

The handle of the basket is crocheted separately and sewn onto the main basket

• Row 1 – Ch 11 + 3 (14)
• Row 2 − 1dc in each stitch.
• Row 3 to 21 – Ch3, 1dc in each stitch to row end.

Once you have made your handle, using a yarn needle sew the handle onto the main basket at opposite sides.

I recommend attaching it at one side to the point that your rows begun and ended, as it will help to keep your basket looking neat.

Uses for the Crochet Twine Basket

The finished basket is fairly large by design. I am using mine as a storage basket for my daughter’s toys.

I am attempting to make everything I can for her new room myself, and as any parent knows toy storage is a big deal for kids bedrooms.

It is functional and looks the part too.

I really love vintage and rustic looks, and trying to tie them in with a two year old’s room isn’t always easy.

Practicality is important too.

The wide, sturdy handle means that it’s easy to pick up and move around at play time, and just as simple to tidy up with at the end of the day.

The great thing about this basket is that it is so functional and there are loads of ways you can use it.

It would be fab for bringing your stock to a market day and displaying it whilst you are there. It would rock as an alternative, eco-friendly market basket.

The twine makes it strong and durable in a way that a pure yarn basket will be, even doubled up on strands. So simply stock it up with whatever you choose, and you’re ready to go!

Your Basket Kit List

I used Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarns* to design this crochet basket pattern. The base was crocheted with a strand of black and a strand of white yarn. The basket sides were crocheted with a continuous strand of jute yarn, and additional strands of green, blue or yellow yarn color changed at intervals.

• 7mm crochet hook
• 10 oz of jute worsted weight cotton yarn
• 5 oz of white worsted weight cotton yarn
• 5 oz of black worsted weight cotton yarn
• 5 oz of blue worsted weight cotton yarn
• 2.5 oz of yellow worsted weight cotton yarn
• 2.5 oz of green worsted weight cotton yarn

Optional

• tapestry needle for sewing in ends
• stitch marker

Pattern Notes

Here are some abbreviations you’ll see in the basket pattern:

• ch – chain
• sc – single crochet
• sc2tog – use one single crochet to join two stitches together
• 2sc – put two single crochets into one stitch
• slst – slip stitch
• sk – skip the next stitch
• cc – color change
• blo – back loop only

You’re going to be working with two strands of cotton yarn at once. This means using a big hook, and having to put pressure on yourself to provide adequate tension.

Use an ergonomic hook, and take plenty of breaks. Make sure you’re sitting comfortably, and stretch out your wrists and shoulders periodically as you go.

Crochet Basket Pattern

Start in black and white yarn strands, using your 7mm crochet hook

Round 1

Make a magic circle of 8 stitches.

Round 2

Ch 2 as the first single crochet. Then make 1 single crochet in the base of the chain, and two single crochets in each of the remaining 7 stitches. (8)

Round 3

Ch2, 2sc, (1sc, 2sc) x 7, then slip stitch into the top of the chain.

Round 4

Ch2, 1sc x 1, 2sc, (1sc x 2, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 5

Ch2, 1sc x 2, 2sc, (1sc x 3, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 6

Ch2, 1sc x 3, 2sc, (1sc x 4, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 7

Ch2, 1sc x 4, 2sc, (1sc x 5, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 8

Ch2, 1sc x 5, 2sc, (1sc x 6, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 9

Ch2, 1sc x 6, 2sc, (1sc x 7, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 10

Ch2, 1sc x 7, 2sc, (1sc x 8, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 11

Ch2, 1sc x 8, 2sc, (1sc x 9, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 12

Ch2, 1sc x 9, 2sc, (1sc x 10, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 13

Ch2, 1sc x 10, 2sc, (1sc x 11, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 14

Ch2, 1sc x 11, 2sc, (1sc x 12, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 15

Ch2, 1sc x 12, 2sc, (1sc x 13, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 16

Ch2, 1sc x 13, 2sc, (1sc x 14, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 17

Ch2, 1sc x 14, 2sc, (1sc x 15, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 18

Ch2, 1sc x 15, 2sc, (1sc x 16, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain (144)

cc jute and blue

Ch2, 1sc x 16, 2sc, (1sc x 17, 2sc) x 7 slst into top of chain (152)

Round 19

Ch2, then make 1sc x 151 into the back loop only (BLO), slst into top of chain (152)

You are now going to be building up the sides of the basket. We’ll begin with a couple of reductions.

Round 20

Ch2, 1sc x 16, sc2tog, (1sc x 17, sc2tog) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 21

Ch2, 1sc x 143, slst into top of chain

Round 22

Ch2, 1sc x 15, sc2tog, (1sc x 16, sc2tog) x 7 slst into top of chain

Round 23 – 28

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc blue strand to green

Round 29 – 30

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc green strand to blue

Round 31 – 32

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc blue strand to green

Round 33

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc green strand to blue

Round 34

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc the blue strand to green

Round 35 – 41

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc the green strand to blue

Round 42

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

cc the blue strand to yellow

Round 43

Ch2, 1sc x 135, slst into top of chain

Round 44

Chain 20, skip 14 stitches and slst into the 15th stitch, 1sc x 52, Chain 20, skip 14 stitches and slst into the 15th stitch, 1sc x 52

Round 45

Begin this round by working into the handle.

(1sc x 4, 2sc ) x 4, sk, slst, 1sc x 50, (1sc x 4, 2sc ) x 4, sk, slst, 1sc x 50

Round 46

Make 1sc into each stitch for the round. Slip stitch to join at the end.

Waffle stitch and mini solid square throw pillow

This pillow cover started with the pink and green example of a waffle stitch granny square I made for this article. The yarn scraps all came from the same blanket I finished last year, and I loved seeing the colors together again. So it seemed the obvious thing to do was use up more of the leftover yarn and make a waffle stitch granny square pillow! Here I am making up more squares. As you can tell by the artificial light and bedroom carpet backdrop, this surprisingly urgent idea occurred to me quite late at night…

Once I had 9 waffle stitch granny squares, I joined them with mattress stitch,. Then added a border of light blue double crochet, and blocked the whole panel to admire my progress so far.

By this point, the compulsion to make waffle stitch squares was less intense. So I decided to make the back of the pillow using dinky 3-round solid granny squares instead. Since I was getting low on some colors, I thought I would be less likely to run out of one at an inconvenient time doing it this way.

Making the back panel

Here’s my pile of mini granny squares. Laid out, they fill roughly the same area as my 9 waffle squares. My plan is to join them, and add another light blue border to make the back panels the right size to join to the front panel. The border will also help make the seams really discreet later.

And here they are joined together. I’m going to make my pillow cover with an envelope closure, which is why they’re joined in two sections. And as luck would have it, a single row of double crochet around the outside edge is going to make them about the same dimensions as the front panel. I wish I could say I knew it was going to turn out that way all along. But it was more luck than wisdom!

First I added the border to 3 edges of the smaller section. The fourth edge will be covered by the other section when the pillow cover is constructed. So I left it as-is. Then I joined this section to the front of the pillow case using mattress stitch.

I wasn’t sure if they would have exactly the same number of stitches along the corresponding edges, so I placed one panel on top of the other and secured them with stitch markers at regular intervals. I figured this would help me to pick up any extra stitches on one panel at even intervals, instead of all at one corner. Of course the alternative would have been to count the stitches before I started sewing!

Adding the second back panel

Next I added three rows of double crochet to one long edge of the other back panel. This is so that it overlaps the first panel to form an envelope closure. I’m also going to add some buttons to hold the case closed, and the gaps between the stitches will double up as button holes.

Then I joined this section to the front panel too. A little tip I like to use at the corners when making granny square throw pillows is to grab both corner chain stitches in one mattress stitch, like this.

It helps keep the corner tightly closed when you add the filling.

Finally I added some buttons from a cardigan my mother in law made for my daughter when she was a baby. Then I found a throw pillow the right size on our sofa, and put the pad inside this case instead. I’m a big fan of switching the cases on our throw pillows around to keep our space feeling interesting. Obviously I’ll keep the case I took off to use again in future though! And here’s the finish result:

Mini circle granny squares throw pillow

Do you have a work in progress which has been in progress for so long you can’t quite remember where you were going with it? Clearly I made these dinky circle granny squares to use up short ends of the navy, burgundy, raspberry, yellow and green yarns. But then they got stashed in a drawer and forgotten for – I think – about 7 years. So I decided to make some of these into a small pillow too.

I didn’t have any matching white yarn left, so I tried joining them using cotton sewing thread instead. Now I can report that it works, but:

• It slides around more, making it trickier to get the tension just right.
• The seams are much less stretchy than if they’d been joined with a wool yarn.
• The difference in texture does catch the eye if you know to look for it. I’m pretty confident no one will notice if I don’t point it out though!

I joined 9 squares in a 3 x 3 pattern using mattress stitch, and compared it to a naked pillow that’s been abandoned at the back of our closet ever since our puppy chewed up its original case 4 years ago.

It came up a bit small, so I raided my yarn stash for some more colors in a similar (I think) fiber, and added two rows of double crochet as a border.

Much better.

Your Crochet Cushion Kit List

• 3.5oz Rico Creative Cotton aran weight yellow (saffron) yarn.
• 3.5oz Lily Sugar ‘n Cream aran weight jute yarn.
• 3oz Lily Sugar ‘n Cream aran weight white yarn.
• 4mm crochet hook
• Bag of toy safe stuffing or cushion pad
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors/yarn cutter

These are the yarns I used, but this pattern will work just fine with any other yarn, including yarn scraps!

If you choose to use a round cushion pad, pick one that’s around 16 inches in diameter, as this should be about the finished size of your crochet throw pillow.

Pattern Notes

We’ll begin with a magic circle, then you’ll use double crochet (US) stitches, and chains. You will form the shape of your throw pillow by increasing and then decreasing the rounds.

All of the color changes take place at the start of a round, so you’ll find those jogs are easily disguised within the pattern of the crocheted circular crochet throw pillow.

Abbreviations:

• ch – chain
• dc – double crochet
• cc – color change
• 2dc – increase by putting two double crochets into the same stitch
• dc2tog – decrease by putting double crochet two stitches together
• slst – slip stitch

Your Circular Crochet Throw Pillow Pattern

Begin using your 4mm crochet hook and your yellow yarn.

Round 1

Make a magic circle of eight stitches (8)

Round 2

Chain 3 (to make the first double crochet), then put 1 double crochet into the 1st stitch (at the base of the chain), 2dc x 7, then slip stitch into the top of the initial chain to join.

Ch3, 1dc in same stitch, 2dc x 7, slst. (16)

Round 3

Ch3, 2dc, (1dc, 2dc) x 7 (24)

Round 4

Ch3, 1dc, 2dc, (1dc x 2, 2dc) x 7 (32)

cc to white

Round 5

Ch3, 1dc x 2, 2dc, (1dc x 3, 2dc) x 7 (40)

cc to jute

Round 6

Ch3, 1dc x 3, 2dc, (1dc x 4, 2dc) x 7 (48)

Round 7

Ch3, 1dc x 4, 2dc, (1dc x 5, 2dc) x 7 (56)

Round 8

Ch3, 1dc x 5, 2dc, (1dc x 6, 2dc) x 7 (64)

Round 9

Ch3, 1dc x 6, 2dc, (1dc x 7, 2dc) x 7 (72)

cc white

Round 10

Ch3, 1dc x 7, 2dc, (1dc x 8, 2dc) x 7 (80)

Round 11

Ch3, 1dc x 8, 2dc, (1dc x 9, 2dc) x 7 (88)

cc yellow

Round 12

Ch3, 1dc x 9, 2dc, (1dc x 10, 2dc) x 7 (96)

Round 13

Ch3, 1dc x 10, 2dc, (1dc x 11, 2dc) x 7 (104)

Round 14

Ch3, 1dc x 11, 2dc, (1dc x 12, 2dc) x 7 (112)

Round 15

Ch3, 1dc x 12, 2dc, (1dc x 13, 2dc) x 7 (120)

Round 16

Ch3, 1dc x 13, 2dc, (1dc x 14, 2dc) x 7 (128)

cc white

Round 17

Ch3, 1dc x 14, 2dc, (1dc x 15, 2dc) x 7 (136)

cc jute

Round 18

Ch3, 1dc x 15, 2dc, (1dc x 16, 2dc) x 7 (144)

Round 19

Ch3, 1dc x 16, 2dc, (1dc x 17, 2dc) x 7 (152)

Round 20

Ch3, 1dc x 17, 2dc, (1dc x 18, 2dc) x 7 (160)

Round 21

Ch3, 1dc x 18, 2dc, (1dc x 19, 2dc) x 7 (168)

Round 22

Ch3, 1dc x 19, 2dc, (1dc x 20, 2dc) x 7 (176)

cc white

Round 23

Ch3, 1dc x 20, 2dc, (1dc x 21, 2dc) x 7 (184)

cc yellow

Round 24 – 26

1sc x 184 (184)

cc white

Round 27

Ch3, 1dc x 19, dc2tog, (1dc x 20, dc2tog) x 7 (176)

cc jute

Round 28

Ch3, 1dc x 18, dc2tog, (1dc x 19, dc2tog) x 7 (168)

Round 29

Ch3, 1dc x 17, dc2tog, (1dc x 18, dc2tog) x 7 (160)

Round 30

Ch3, 1dc x 16, dc2tog, (1dc x 17, dc2tog) x 7 (152)

Round 31

Ch3, 1dc x 15, dc2tog, (1dc x 16, dc2tog) x 7 (144)

Round 32

Ch3, 1dc x 14, dc2tog, (1dc x 15, dc2tog) x 7 (136)

cc white

Round 33

Ch3, 1dc x 13, dc2tog, (1dc x 14, dc2tog) x 7 (128)

cc yellow

Round 34

Ch3, 1dc x 12, dc2tog, (1dc x 13, dc2tog) x 7 (120)

Round 35

Ch3, 1dc x 11, dc2tog, (1dc x 12, dc2tog) x 7 (112)

Round 36

Ch3, 1dc x 10, dc2tog, (1dc x 11, dc2tog) x 7 (104)

Round 37

Ch3, 1dc x 9, dc2tog, (1dc x 10, dc2tog) x 7 (96)

Round 38

Ch3, 1dc x 8, dc2tog, (1dc x 9, dc2tog) x 7 (88)

cc white

Round 39

Ch3, 1dc x 7, dc2tog, (1dc x 8, dc2tog) x 7 (80)

Round 40

Ch3, 1dc x 6, dc2tog, (1dc x 7, dc2tog) x 7 (72)

cc jute

Round 41

Ch3, 1dc x 5, dc2tog, (1dc x 6, dc2tog) x 7 (64)

Round 42

Ch3, 1dc x 4, dc2tog, (1dc x 5, dc2tog) x 7 (56)

Round 43

Ch3, 1dc x 3, dc2tog, (1dc x 4, dc2tog) x 7 (48)

Round 44

Ch3, 1dc x 2, dc2tog, (1dc x 3, dc2tog) x 7 (40)

cc white

Round 45

Ch3, 1dc, dc2tog, (1dc x 2, dc2tog) x 7 (32)

cc yellow

Round 46

Ch3, dc2tog, (1dc, dc2tog) x 7 (24)

Fill with toy safe stuffing. Tear it into small pieces before you insert them, and spread them gently into the entirety of the circumferences of the circle.

Round 47

Ch3, 1dc in same stitch, 2dc x 7, slst. (16)

Round 48

Ch3, then dc2tog until the circle is too tight to easily work. Now swap to your yarn needle and sew closed.