A Christmas bauble coaster gives a familiar holiday ornament a useful place on the table. The cream circle is framed with sage green, with a small rectangular cap and a separate chain loop above it. The central surface stays plain so the outline carries the decoration.
This original version uses half double crochet for a compact six-round disk. A single-crochet border firms the edge, then four short rows are worked directly into six border stitches to create the cap. There is no separate cap rectangle to sew onto the circle.
Make one coaster and check it with your intended cup before planning a set. The flat crochet baubles use a different double-crochet ornament construction. This pattern develops the bauble idea into a plain coaster with an attached cap and green outline.
About this Christmas bauble coaster
This is an original interpretation inspired by the reference image, not the exact recipe behind the photograph. The stitch arithmetic has been checked, but the pattern has not been physically tested. No measured gauge, diameter or yarn consumption is supplied. Use the instructions and diagrams for placement; the photographs illustrate the intended style.
The cream disk grows by eight stitches per round. Half double crochet is shorter than double crochet, so the increase rhythm differs from the twelve-increase disk used in the hanging baubles. The cap is worked after the green border, keeping the point where the two shapes meet easy to identify.
Choose cotton and a suitable hook
- Smooth cotton yarn in cream and sage green, both of similar thickness.
- A hook suited to your yarn. For DK cotton, a 3 mm hook is a starting option rather than a tested gauge recommendation.
- A blunt yarn needle, scissors and a removable stitch marker.
- A flat drying surface and rustproof pins if the yarn label permits damp blocking.
Choose a yarn with clear stitch definition. Very fuzzy yarn can hide the first hdc top and the nearby joining stitch. Use the same yarn family for both colors so the narrow border does not pull against the cream disk.
This project suits a crocheter familiar with basic increases and turning short rows. It contains no stuffing or backing. The loop is decorative and useful for storage; keep it outside the area beneath the cup.
US crochet abbreviations
- MR: magic ring.
- ch: chain; sl st: slip stitch.
- sc: single crochet; hdc: half double crochet.
- inc: 2 hdc in the same stitch for the cream disk.
- st/sts: stitch/stitches.
The Craft Yarn Council abbreviation guide is a useful reference for standard US names. A half double crochet starts with one yarn over, then closes three loops together.
Half double crochet and its stitch top
Yarn over, insert the hook into the indicated stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop. Yarn over and draw through all three loops. Work the following round through both loops of the V-shaped top. Do not use the extra horizontal bar behind that top for this pattern.
An increase is two complete hdc in one base stitch. The two stitches have separate tops. Count those tops when checking each round, keeping the beginning chains and joining slip stitch separate.
Christmas bauble coaster: cream disk
Work joined rounds without turning. Ch 1 at the start of every round; it does not count as a stitch. Begin in the same stitch as the previous join. Join each round to its first actual hdc, never to the beginning chain.
Round 1: eight-stitch center
With cream, make an MR. Ch 1 and work 8 hdc into the ring. Close the ring gently and join with a sl st to the first hdc. Count: 8 hdc.
Mark the first hdc before starting the next round. Leave a tail long enough to weave through the backs of several stitches, changing direction to secure the ring later.
Round 2: increase in every stitch
Ch 1. Work 2 hdc in each stitch around. Join to the first hdc. Count: 16 hdc. Eight base stitches each receive two stitches.
Round 3: one plain stitch, then an increase
Ch 1. Repeat eight times. Join to the first hdc. Count: 24 hdc.
Each repeat uses two base stitches and produces three. Eight repeats use all sixteen stitches from Round 2. Keep the first repeat next to the join rather than starting in the next stitch.
Round 4: two plain stitches, then an increase
Ch 1. Repeat eight times. Join. Count: 32 hdc.
Round 5: three plain stitches, then an increase
Ch 1. Repeat eight times. Join. Count: 40 hdc.
Round 6: four plain stitches, then an increase
Ch 1. Repeat eight times. Join to the first hdc and fasten off cream. Count: 48 hdc.
