Introduction: Jute Crocheted Costers

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About: hello people, i am hobbiest as well as architecture and designing student. i love to explore different materials. i work with wood, concrete, leather, paper, clay. i love painting and sculpture making.

Hello people,

I am here with my new instructable which is a jute coasters. Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced primarily from plants in the genus Corchorus, which was once classified with the family Tiliaceae, and more recently with Malvaceae. so here i am going to show you how to weave and make coasters. You can purchase jute twine at the craft store or at the grocery store in the hardware aisle. Jute comes in varying qualities. Your craft store will likely carry a nicer quality but it will cost more. I bought my jute from a mart near me, for less than $2 a roll. It is quite rough and “hairy” and therefore more challenging to crochet, but still does the job.To make a coaster you need to know how to make a magic ring/crochet in the round, double crochet, and weave in ends.so let's make it......

MATERIALS:

  • Jute twine
  • G/6 or 4.25 MM crochet hook
  • scissors
  • yarn needle

Step 1: HOW TO CROCHET: WORKING IN THE ROUND

  • It can be a little tricky to see the technique with the jute twine, so here is the same method with regular worsted weight yarn.
  • Working in the round starts with a chain that you join with a slip stitch (abbreviated sl st) to form a loop. A pattern will direct you to chain a certain number, let's say 5 for instance... (don't count your initial slip knot or the loop on your hook).

  • ...and then slip stitch into the first chain (the one next to your slip knot) to form a loop. (To slip stitch, insert your hook into the chain stitch as you would with a single crochet, yarn over, and then pull the yarn through both loops on your hook at once. You will be left with one loop, the working loop on your hook.)

  • You will have a little loop of chain stitches looks like what i had shown into image.

  • To begin your first row, or "round," you will need to start with a turning chain. A pattern will direct you to chain 1 or chain 2 or even 3 depending on which stitch comes next (sc, dc, or tc). It will also tell you whether or not to count this chain as the first stitch in the round. In this example I am using single crochet, so chain 1, and then instead of working into the individual chain stitches, you will work into the center of your loop.

  • Insert your hook through this center and work the number of stitches the pattern calls for to complete the round. I am showing you what this looks like after one single crochet.

  • And here is the first round after I've completed eight single crochet stitches.

  • The stitches will slide along this loop a bit, and you will want to move them to the side as you increase the number of stitches in the circle. Once you add rounds this first round of stitches will stabilize. I always crochet right over the initial slip knot, burying the tail of the yarn a bit, as it will be woven in later anyway.You will complete the first round, and every subsequent one with a slip stitch into the top of the first stitch in the row or round, as directed by the pattern.

Step 2: Making Coaster...

  • Chain 4.

Slip stitch into the first chain. This is your “magic ring.” (It is nicknamed the magic ring because if you ever need to tighten the middle of the ring, you simply pull on the tail)

  • Chain 2.

9 Double crochet (dc) into the center or hole of the ring (not into any stitches). Crochet over the tail as you go encasing it in your work. (You should have a total of 10 stitches including the chain 2) Slip stitch into the top of the chain 2 to complete the circle or round.

  • Chain 2.

Dc into the same stitch as the chain, then crochet 2 dc in each stitch around. (total of 20 stitches including chain2)

Slip stitch into the top of chain 2.

Tie off. Cut tail and weave in tail.

With worsted weight yarn, you would normally want to use 12 total dc stitches (including the chain 2), but jute is relatively so inflexible and thick that you have to reduce the number of stitches for it to lay flat.

There may still be somewhat of a bump in the center of your coaster where the yarn is more dense. If it causes your cups to wobble consider reducing the number of stitches again. This will depend on the quality of your jute… if it is really thick or thin, or stiff or flexible. One coaster takes so little jute and time, that making a test coaster first is a good idea.

Turning it over to the “wrong” side may also help reduce the bump if need be.

  • Extra tips for crocheting with jute:
-Give yourself plenty of slack. Trying to crochet jute too tightly will make inserting the crochet hook almost impossible. If you normally crochet tightly, make a concerted effort to loosen your gauge.

– When weaving in the tail at the end, weave it carefully and slowly. Trying to weave it through multiple stitches is really, really difficult and may require the use of needle nosed pliers.

– Crocheting jute is not easy. It takes time to get used to. Keep at it. Your last coaster will probably look much better than your first.

– If you have never crocheted in the round before, don’t start with jute. Make a few coasters with regular yarn first to get the hang of it. Be aware that your regular yarn test coasters will be smaller than the jute coasters.

  • Despite the finickiness of crocheting with jute, I love how beautifully scratchy and rustic it looks.