THE HARRY TABLEWARE
Your step-by-step guide to making your masterpiece
Hey there, stitch superstar! You’ve just unlocked the secret sauce to making your very own set of tableware, and we’re excited to be stitching it out with you.
Whether you've got the coaster set, or the placemat and coaster set. These instructions will cover everything you need to know.
This guide will be your BFF through the entire journey. Whether you’re brand new to crochet or just here for a refresh, we’ll take you from “how do I hold this hook?” to “look what I made!” — one cosy row at a time.
Heads up! You'll need the digital pattern that came with your kit as well as this online guide. The pattern contains the specifics, this guide gives you the extra layer of detail.
INCLUDED IN YOUR KIT
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (Or CLOSE ENOUGH!)
Before we dive into the good stuff, let’s warm up those hands and your hook. Think of this like stretching before a workout, except comfier, cuter, and way more fun.
Grab some of the yarn from your kit (just a little, you’ve got enough to spare!), and get familiar with the motions. Try out the stitches you’ll be using in this pattern. This is your time to mess it up, try again, and feel things out — no pressure, no judgement, just you and your new fave hobby.
Bonus: Practising now = fewer headaches later (trust us on this one).
For this practise session we recommend you crochet a flat square - it's the best way to learn the stitches and once you've got that mastered you can move into the pattern and lean the magic ring.
Slip Knot
AKA how to attach your yarn to your hook!
Chain
In this video we show you how to make a foundation chain - the starting point for most crochet projects.
Half Double Crochet
This is the main stitch you'll use in this pattern. Once you've got this, you're ready to start!
Slip Stitch
The last piece to the puzzle, we use a slip stitch to join the rounds of our placemat/coaster.
Repeat after me:
“I solemnly swear to crochet bravely, unpick calmly, and pretend I meant to do that.
I accept that chaos is part of the craft, and possibly part of my personality.
I will finish what I start… eventually.”
THE COASTER
To make our coasters you’ll start with a magic ring which you’ll do 10 half double crochet stitches into. Then you’ll do 2 rounds to complete the piece. Your kit comes with enough yarn to make 8 coasters.
First you'll make a magic ring. These can look a little scary to begin with but we promise, just follow the steps in the video and you'll master it!
A magic ring lets you start crocheting in the round with a centre you can pull completely tight.
Once the ring is made, chain 1 - this gives us the height to create our half double crochet stitches (HDC). This chain does not count as a stitch.
Then we’re going to do 10 HDCs into the ring.
If you’ve been practising crocheting flat, you just need to think of the ring as your foundation chain - it’s the base that we need to make sure our yarn is attached to.
💡 If you're struggling to pull your hook through the loops, chances are your tension is too tight. Loosen up when you yarn over so that the hook as more space to get through.
Once you've done all 10 HDC into the ring, you'll grab the tail from the magic ring and pull tightly to close the ring.
Then, insert your hook under both bars of the first stitch, yarn over and pull through to close the round.
🔥 Nice Work! You're half way through your coaster.
In this second round we're going to double the number of stitches, we do this by doing 2 HDC into each stitch from the previous round.
So, to start, chain 1. Then you'll do 2 HDC into each stitch.
💡Make sure you mark the first HDC you do with your stitch marker - that way you'll know when you've completed the round. The marked stitch is also where you'll insert your hook to do the slip stitch at the end.
PLACEMAT
To make our placemats you’ll follow the same instructions as the coaster. Once you've finished the second round, you'll do another 5 rounds, increasing the number of stitches as you go.
Repeat the same steps from the coaster. Just make sure you stop after the slip stitch and don't fasten off. You'll need to continue with step 5 from this point.
We're going to continue working in rounds of HDC. In order to grow the size of the piece we will continue adding stitches in each round. Unlike round 2 though, you're not increasing every stitch, so many sure you pay attention to the sequence of increases for each round.
Use your stitch marker to mark the first stitch of each round.
Okay, we're mixing things up in this round. Instead of using the HDC stitch, we are going to do this round in double crochet stitch.
DC is a longer stitch and will help to make sure our placemat sits flat.
Time to do the final round. We're going to used single crochet stitches for this round, and in increases this time - easy!
BLOCKING (Optional)
The final step in finishing a piece is to block it. This step is optional and not all beginner crocheters will block their work but it can improve the overall shape and finish of your piece, and in this case, it can help the coasters and placemats sit flat.
Blocking is a process where you wet your piece to set the finished size and even out the stitches.
Soak your piece in cool water. You only need to let your piece sit in the water for a few minutes and make sure the full piece is completely wet.
Remove your piece from the water and dry it off by rolling it in a towel. You want to get us much of the moisture out of it as possible at this point but be gentle! You don't want to stretch the piece.
Transfer your damp piece to a flat surface to block it on. If you've got a blocking mat - great! otherwise a towel will work. The surface needs to be somewhere where your work can lie flat and can stay there until it fully dries so that the shape sets properly. Make sure it's not a surface that can be easily damaged by having something wet sitting on it!
Arrange your piece so the right side is facing up and the shape is as you'd like it. If you've got a measuring tape you can measure and adjust the piece so it's the correct size.
Allow the work to air dry - this can take a few days. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the process, just use a light heat and don't concentrate the air in one spot.
