This crochet turtle coaster I found at Amigurumi Today is easy to make and useful for saving furniture surfaces. It requires knowledge of the magic circle and some basic sewing skills. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any brown  yarn, so I went with two shades of green. Also, I didn’t have any safety eyes, but I was able to substitute yarn to act like embroidery. Most patterns suggest leaving a long end when finishing a part in order to sew it to the whole. I have experimented, and it has never successfully worked for me. Instead, I prefer to leave a short end and use either yarn or thread to sew together the parts. Thread is usually better than yarn, especially if the colors match well, because it fastens tightly.

After crocheting all eight pieces, it’s best and convenient to sew all of them but the shell onto the belly. By doing it that way, all stitches and ugly threads will be hidden underneath it. Before sewing the head to the body, I semi-embroidered the eyes and mouth. This method helps me center everything better. When I first saw this pattern, I wondered if it would be all right to use acrylic yarn because of the heat issue. Then I realized that it’s not a potholder, so any heat coming off of cups shouldn’t melt the material. The turtle coaster ended up being much larger than I thought it would be, so it could be a cute little potholder. If making it into a potholder, I would use cotton yarn to avoid melting or flames.

I think the coaster turned out really cute! There are so many other cute and free patterns available at Amigurumi Today. The site is definitely a must for any crocheter. Everything is categorized nicely and described in great detail. So, whether you’re just beginning or are a pro, it’s a great site.

Turtle Coaster