Patriotic Tunisian Crochet Placemats

Tunisian crochet is one of my favorite techniques. I bought yarn last year to make Patriotic Tunisian Crochet Placemats for Memorial Day and July 4, but I just now got around to making them (I’ll plan better next year :-)). For this project, I made a total of 6 placemats: 3 stripes and 3 plaids. I used both Bernat® Handicrafter® Delux™ Cotton Yarn in navy blue and poppy red and Lily’s Sugar’n Cream 100% cotton yarn in red, white, and navy blue. Making Patriotic Tunisian Crochet Placemats is a great weekend project. Once you get started, the fabric takes shape rather quickly.

Keeping the yarn from tangling is the most difficult part of making these placemats. Because you change colors at either the return pass or the forward pass or both , the yarn has a tendency to tangle. I usually stop about every 3 or 4 rows and straighten out the yarn so that it does not tangle.

A note about blocking. I blocked two placemats at a time under a fan on my back porch. With the air conditioning running, it takes too long to block indoors.

SKILL LEVEL
Easy

MATERIALS (MAKES 6 PLACEMATS)
100% cotton yarn, worsted weight, 4 ounces/113 grams; 200 yards/184 meters; 2 skeins each colors red (A), white (B), and navy blue (C)
Tunisian hook size J (6 mm) or size needed to get gauge
Crochet hook size J (6 mm)
Yarn needle
Scissors
Blocking mats
Blocking pins

GAUGE
16 rows in Tunisian simple stitch is 5 inches; 15 sts in Tunisian simple stitch is 4 inches.

ABBREVIATIONS
Begin (beg)
Chain (ch)
Single crochet (sc)
Slip (sl)
Stitch (st)(sts)
Tunisian simple stitch (tss)
Yarn over (yo)

PATTERN STITCH
Tunisian Simple Stitch: Skip first vertical bar, insert hook under next vertical bar, yo, pull up loop, insert in next vertical bar, yo, pull up loop. Repeat across. Do not turn. To return, insert hook in last vertical bar of row and horizontal bar behind it, yo, pull up loop, *yo, pull through 2 loops. Repeat * to end of row.

PATTERN NOTES
1. This pattern is written in American Standard crochet terms.
2. This pattern is worked without turning.
3. For last stitch on forward pass, insert hook in vertical bar and horizontal bar behind it.
4. Change colors by laying new color over hook and pulling through loop.
5. Finished placemats must be blocked and shaped to remove curled ends.

MEASUREMENTS
18″x 13″after blocking

TUNISIAN CROCHET PLACEMAT TUTORIAL – PATRIOTIC STRIPES

For the 3 striped placemats, start and end 3 placemats each in red, white, and blue with a single crochet border of the same color. Each finished placemat should have 20 rows of the main color and 19 rows of the remaining two colors. The single crochet border should match the main color.

Patriotic Stripes Pattern:
With A and crochet hook, ch 46.

Foundation row forward: Beg in second ch from hook and using Tunisian crochet hook, pull up a loop in each st across (46).

Return row: Yo, pull through 1 loop. *Yo, pull through 2 loops.* Repeat from * until 2 loops remain on hook. Drop A and pick up B. Pull through both loops.

Changing color for a second stripe

Row 1 forward: Skip first vertical bar. *Tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * in each stitch across to last vertical bar.

Row 1 return: Yo, pull through 1 loop. *Yo, pull through 2 loops.* Repeat from * until 2 loops remain on hook. Drop B and pick up C. Pull through both loops.

Changing color for a third stripe

Row 2 forward: Skip first vertical bar. *Tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * in each stitch across to last vertical bar.

Row 2 return: Yo, pull through 1 loop. *Yo, pull through 2 loops.* Repeat from * until 2 loops remain on hook. Drop C and pick up A. Pull through both loops.

Remaining rows: Repeat pattern until there are 20 rows or stripes (main color) and 19 rows each of the remaining two colors. Do not fasten off main color. Cut remaining colors leaving long tails. Weave in ends. See BORDER instructions below.

TUNISIAN CROCHET PLACEMAT TUTORIAL- PATRIOTIC PLAID

For 3 plaid placemats, start and end each pass with a different color. The last return pass should be the same color as the foundation row forward and the single crochet border. Repeat the pattern for the remaining placemats.

Patriotic Plaid Pattern:
With A and crochet hook, ch 46.

Foundation row forward: Beg in second ch from hook and using Tunisian crochet hook, pull up a loop in each st across. Drop A and pick up B (46).

Changing color at the end of the foundation row

Return row: Yo, pull B through 1 loop. *Yo, pull through 2 loops.* Repeat from * until 2 loops remain on hook. Drop B and pickup C.

Changing color at the beginning of the forward row

Row 1 forward: Skip first vertical bar. *Tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * in each stitch across to last vertical bar. Drop C and pickup A.

Row 1 return: Yo, pull A through 1 loop. *Yo, pull through 2 loops.* Repeat from * until 2 loops remain on hook. Drop A and pick up B. Pull through both loops.

Changing colors on return pass

Repeat pattern until the fabric measures about 171/2″ wide and the return pass is the main color. Do not fasten off main color. Cut remaining colors leaving long tails. Weave in ends. See BORDER instructions below.

BORDER
Using crochet hook and main color, ch 1. Insert hook in next vertical bar and horizontal bar behind it. Yo and pull up a loop. Yo, pull through 2 loops (1 sc). Sc across to end of row; 2 sc in corner. Sc in each row down side(s) and across bottom; 2 sc in each corner. Join to first sc with sl st. Fasten off.

BLOCKING
Lock 4 blocking mats together (blocks 2 at one time). Completely wet placemat in cold water and gently squeeze until excess water is gone. Size placemat on mat to 18″x13″; secure in place with fork blocking pins. Let dry completely before removing pins.

Blocking placemats

CARE
Machine wash and dry in cool water on delicate setting. Do not bleach. Do not iron. Do not dry clean. Dry flat.

DISCLOSURE
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and buy the product, I will receive a very small commission of the sales price at no cost to you.

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