Football Placemat ~ FREE Crochet Pattern

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Here is a free crochet pattern for a football placemat. I used Red Heart Comfort Yarn, but you can use any other yarn that matches the gauge. I would have made it with a cotton yarn because I don’t like synthetics in my kitchen. But I couldn’t find a solid brown at my local yarn shop and so I settled for a synthetic yarn instead. Yarn shops usually have the best selection of yarn available.

I think the white lines are curved in the opposite direction as on a real football, but other than that it matches the appearance rather nicely. Even the stitches on top turned out pretty good after I played around with it a bit.

This pattern has been updated on Sept. 19, 2012 in order to fix a mistake as well as to make it easier to follow regarding the pattern rows.

Football Placemat

Watch the Videos Here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Skill Level: Intermediate

Material: Red Heart Comfort, (affiliate link) colors Brown and white or beige.
Gauge: Measures about 1″ over 4 rows and 7/8-1″ over 3 sts.
Hook Size: H/8-5.00MM
Finished Measurement: Measures approximately 12 x 18 inches

Abbreviations:

CA = Color A
CB = Color B

RS = Right Side
WS = Wrong Side

Beg = Beginning
Ch/Chs = Chain/Chains
Dec = Decrease
FO = Fasten Off
Fpdc = Front Post Double Crochet
Hk = Hook
Inc = Increase
Lp/Lps = Loops/Loops
Rem = Remaining
Rep = Repeat
Sc = Single Crochet
Sc2tog = Single Crochet 2 Together
Sk = Skip
Sl St = Slip Stitch
St/Sts = Stitch/Stitches

Notes:

The ch-1 at beginning of each row does not count as first st.

Pattern Row Instructions:

Single Inc Row (1 Inc made at beg of row): Ch 1, 2 sc in first st, sc in each st across. Turn.

Double Inc Row (1 Inc made at beg and end of row): Ch 1, work 2 sc in first st, sc in each st up to last st, 2 sc in last st. Turn.

Even Pattern: Ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn.

Single Dec Row: Ch 1, sc2tog over first 2 sts, sc in each st across. Turn

Double Dec Row: Ch 1, sc2tog over first 2 sts, sc in each st up to last 2 sts, sc2tog over last 2 sts. Turn.

CA = Brown
CB = Beige or White

Pattern Instructions:

Row 1 (WS): With CA, ch 4, work 1 sc in 2nd ch from hk and in next 2 chs. Turn. (3 sts)

Rows 2-6: Work Double Inc Row. (13 sts on row 6)

Rows 7-8: Work Single Inc Row. (15 sts on row 8)

Row 9: Work Double Inc Row, but join CB in last st. (17 sts)

Rows 10-11: Work Single Inc Row. (19 sts on row 11)

Row 12: Work Double Inc Row (21 sts)

Row 13:Work Single Inc Row, but join CA in last st. (22 sts)

Row 14: Work Single Inc Row. (23 sts)

Row 15: Work Double Inc Row. (25 sts)

Row 16-17: Work Single Inc Row. (27 sts on row 17)

First Half

Row 18 (RS): Ch 1, 2 sc in first st, sc in next 11 sts, leave the rem sts unworked. (You will come back here later when you do the Second half). Turn. (13 sts)

Rows 19-21: Work Even Pattern. (13 sts)

Row 22: Work Single Inc Row. (14 sts)

Rows 23-34: Rep rows 19-22, working 3 rows in Even Pattern followed by 1 Single Inc Row. (17 sts on row 34)

Rows 35-40: Work Even Pattern. (17 sts)

Decrease Rows:

Row 41: Ch 1, sc in each st up to last 2 sts, sc2tog over last 2 sts. Turn. (16 sts)

Rows 42-44: Work in Even Pattern. (16 sts)

Rows 45-56: Rep rows 41-44, working 1 Dec row followed by 3 rows in even pattern. FO for First half, and Turn at the Second half. (13 sts)

The Second Half

Row 18 (RS): With (RS) facing, count over 12 sts from the edge on row 17. Join yarn to the 12th st (this should leave 3 sts unworked in the center), ch 1, sc in same st and in each st up to the last st, 2 sc in last st. Turn. (13 sts)

Rows 19-56: Rep rows 19 to 56 on first half, but reversing the Inc and Dec sts so they are worked on the outside edge of the rows. (13 sts on last row.)

Row 57: (This row will join both the first half and second half.) Ch 1, sc2tog over first 2 sts, sc in next 11 sts, ch 3, sc in next 11 sts of next half, sc2tog over last 2 sts. Turn. (24 sts and 3 chs)

Row 58: Ch 1, sc2tog over first 2 sts, sc in next st and in each st and ch across. Turn. (26 sts)

Row 59: Work Single Dec Row. (25 sts)

Row 60: Work Double Dec Row. (23 sts)

Rows 61: Work Single Dec Row, but join CB in last st. (22 sts)

Row 62: Work Single Dec Row. (21 sts)

Row 63: Work Double Dec Row. (19 sts)

Row 64-65:Work Single Dec Row, joining CA to last st made in row 65. (17 sts)

Row 66: Work Double Dec Row. (15 sts)

Rows 67-68: Work Single Dec Row. (13 sts)

Row 69-73: Work Double Dec Row. (3 sts)

Row 74: Ch 1, sc across. Do not turn, do not fasten off, continue with edging.

Edging:

Ch 1, sc around base of last sc made, sc evenly around changing up the colors as you come to a color change so that the edge matches the colors of the football. Join with sl st. FO.

Use the images below to quickly determine the right side from the wrong side. Notice the difference in how the stitches appear between the two colors.

With right side of work facing, join CB to the center stitch of the unworked stitches of row 17. Ch 1, sc into the same st, as pictured above.

Sk the next st and turning your work, sk the first row, work 2 fpdc around the second st from the end of the next row, as pictured above.

*(Sk next row, sc at the end of the next two rows, sk next row, work 2 fpdc around the second st from the end of the next row) 7 times.* Turn your work, sk next st, sc in next st, sk next st, and turning your work again, work 2 fpdc around the 2nd st from end of the corresponding row; rep from * to *. Join with sl st to first sc. (see images above)

Fold placemat in half with the wrong sides facing, and working into the corresponding back loops on both sides, sc into each lp to the end (this creates a nice ridge on top). FO.