Halloween Granny Square Crochet Coaster – Free Pattern
A Halloween granny square crochet coaster is the fastest way to make a whole set of spooky coasters. Each one takes about twenty minutes, uses tiny amounts of yarn, and comes out in a different colour combination, so a set of six looks bright, playful and collected rather than matching.
It is a classic three-round granny square with a single crochet border, worked in orange, purple, black and lime. Because every coaster uses the same four colours in a different order, they all belong together while each one is unique.
You need a chain, double crochet and single crochet. If you have made the Halloween granny square pillow on this site, you already know the stitches.
Why this granny square coaster works
A granny square grows by exactly twelve double crochet a round: 12, 24, 36. The corners shape it, so it stays flat and square every time. Three rounds plus a border give a coaster about four inches across.
Changing colour every round gives a strong, graphic look, and with four colours there are dozens of possible orders. That is what makes a set so satisfying: you can keep making them without repeating.
The honest trade-off: granny squares have small gaps between the groups, so this coaster is a little open. It works well under mugs and glasses, but a very wet glass may let a little moisture through. A solid border round helps.
Materials you will need
- Yarn: worsted weight cotton in orange, purple, black and lime green, about 5 yards of each per coaster
- Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6)
- Notions: tapestry needle, scissors
Finished size
About 4″ square in worsted cotton.
Abbreviations
- ch = chain.
- dc = double crochet.
- sc = single crochet.
- sl st = slip stitch.
- corner = 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc worked into one corner space.
Pattern notes
- Worked in joined rounds with the right side facing.
- The ch 3 at the start of a round counts as the first dc.
- All groups go into spaces, never into stitches.
- Change colour every round by fastening off and joining the new colour in a corner.
Step by step
Part 1: The granny square
Round 1: With your first colour, make a magic ring. Ch 3, 2 dc into the ring, ch 2, *3 dc into the ring, ch 2*; repeat twice more. Join to the top of the ch 3. Fasten off. (12 dc)
Round 2: Join the second colour in any corner. Ch 3, 2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in the same corner. *Work a corner in the next corner space*; repeat twice. Join. Fasten off. (24 dc)
Round 3: Join the third colour in a corner. Work a corner, then *3 dc in the gap between groups, corner in the next corner space*; repeat around, ending with 3 dc in the last gap. Join. Fasten off. (36 dc)
Part 2: The border
Round 4: Join the fourth colour in a corner. Ch 1, work 1 sc in each dc and 1 sc in each gap between groups along each side, and 3 sc into each corner space. Join. Fasten off.
The solid single crochet border squares off the coaster, frames the colours and closes the outer gaps.
Colour orders for a set of six
Use the four colours in a different order on each coaster. Six combinations that look great together:
- Black centre, orange, purple, lime border
- Orange centre, purple, lime, black border
- Purple centre, lime, black, orange border
- Lime centre, black, orange, purple border
- Black centre, purple, orange, black border
- Orange centre, black, purple, orange border
Keeping the border black on half of them and coloured on the others makes the set look deliberate.
Making a set faster
Work in batches. Make all the Round 1 centres in one sitting, then all the Round 2s, then the Round 3s, then the borders. You change colour less often and the set comes together in an evening.
Turning coasters into something bigger
Make twelve and join them in a 3 × 4 grid for a Halloween table runner. Join four in a square and add a border for a trivet. Or sew a loop to one corner and hang them as a garland.
Finishing and care
Weave each end into its own colour on the back, so dark ends do not show through light rounds. Machine wash cool in a laundry bag and dry flat.
Frequently asked
My square is not square.
Each corner needs two groups with a ch 2 between them. Check that no corner has only one group.
Can I use acrylic?
It works, but cotton absorbs drips and handles hot mugs much better.
How do I hide all the ends?
Crochet over the tail of the new colour for the first few stitches of each round. It saves weaving most of them in.
Why cotton is the right yarn for coasters
Coasters have two jobs: protecting a table from heat and soaking up the drips from a cold glass. Cotton does both better than any other fibre. It absorbs moisture instead of letting it run off, and it tolerates the heat of a hot mug without softening, melting or going shiny the way some acrylics can. It also washes well again and again, which matters for something that sits under coffee every day.
Look for plain worsted-weight kitchen cotton or a recycled cotton. Mercerised cotton has a lovely sheen and crisp stitches but absorbs a little less; it is perfect for decorative coasters and party tables.
Blocking coasters flat
Even a well-made coaster can curl slightly at the edge. Blocking fixes it in minutes. Wet the coaster, press out the water in a towel, lay it flat, pat it into shape and leave it to dry. For a quicker result, lay a damp cloth over it and press with a warm iron, lifting rather than sliding. Cotton responds very well to steam, and once blocked the coaster stays flat through many washes.
Why granny squares make great coasters
Granny squares are one of the oldest designs in crochet, and they suit coasters perfectly. They are quick, they use tiny amounts of yarn, and they are endlessly variable. Once you know the three rounds, you can make them almost without looking, which makes coaster sets ideal for travel, waiting rooms or an evening in front of the television.
Planning colours with a sketch
Before you start a set, draw six small squares on paper and colour each one in with your chosen order. Lay them side by side to check that no two neighbouring coasters look too similar. It takes two minutes and saves you from finishing a set where two coasters are nearly identical.
A Halloween table runner
If you love the coasters, make more and join them. Twelve squares in a strip of two by six, joined with black single crochet, make a Halloween table runner. Add a black border round and a tassel at each end, and it becomes a centrepiece you can bring out every year. Because every square uses the same three-round pattern, they always fit together perfectly.
Common mistakes
The colours look muddy: two similar colours are next to each other. Put a dark round between two bright ones. The square curls: tension is too tight; go up half a hook size or block it flat. The corners are rounded: the ch 2 in each corner was missed.
How long it takes
Each coaster takes about twenty minutes, including the border. A set of six is a single evening if you work in batches, starting all the centres first and finishing all the borders last.
Hiding the colour changes
With four colours in three rounds, each coaster has eight yarn ends. The neatest way to deal with them is to crochet over the tails as you go: when you join a new colour, lay the old tail and the new tail along the top of the round you are working into and enclose them inside your next few stitches. They disappear completely, and you only have one or two ends to weave in at the very end. Trim them close once the coaster has been washed and blocked, as cotton can relax slightly after the first wash.
Storing a set
Keep the set together in a small basket or tied with a ribbon so none go missing. Granny square coasters stack neatly, and a basket of them on a Halloween drinks table doubles as decoration. At the end of the season, wash them, dry them flat and store them with your other Halloween makes.
A final tip
Start every coaster in a set with the same yarn and the same hook, and block them all together at the end. That way, even with six different colour orders, they finish at exactly the same size and stack neatly.
Before you start
Lay your four colours out and decide your first colour order. More Halloween makes are in Halloween.
