Two-Color Spiral Crochet Coaster Pattern

A two-color spiral looks like a trick, but it is only two ordinary spirals sharing one center. Each color works half of every round, then waits while the other color catches up. There are no joins, no turning chains and no cut ends until the very last stitch, which makes this one of the tidier ways to put two colors into a round coaster.

The pattern is written in US crochet terms. The center is single crochet and the rest is half double crochet.

Materials and Finished Size

• Worsted weight (#4) cotton yarn in two colors, called color A and color B
• US H-8 (5 mm) hook
• Two removable stitch markers
• Yarn needle and scissors

Five rounds give a coaster of about 3.75 in (9.5 cm) across, and the optional sixth round brings it to about 4.25 in (11 cm). Treat both figures as approximate, because gauge varies from one crocheter to the next. Two colors with strong contrast show the spiral most clearly. If you are still choosing, the guide to the best yarn for crochet coasters explains why cotton is the usual pick.

How the Two Arms Work

Picture the first round as a ring of twelve stitches: six in color A followed by six in color B. From there, color B works over the six A stitches and stops when it reaches the waiting loop of color A. Color A then works over the six B stitches. Each color always crochets into the other color’s stitches, never its own, and that is what winds the two arms around each other.

Only one loop can be on the hook at a time. Whenever you set a color down, pull its loop up to about 1 in (2.5 cm) so it cannot slip out, and clip a stitch marker through it. When you return to that color, remove the marker, put the loop back on the hook and pull the working yarn to shrink the loop to its normal size.

Abbreviations

• ch = chain
• sc = single crochet
• hdc = half double crochet
• sl st = slip stitch
• st(s) = stitch(es)

Two-Color Spiral Pattern

From round 2 on, each round has two halves. Color B works first, then color A follows the same instruction. The counts give the stitches made by each color and the total for the round.

1. Round 1, color A: Make a magic ring. Ch 1 (does not count as a stitch), 6 sc in the ring. Leave the ring open. Pull the loop up, mark it and drop color A.
2. Round 1, color B: Insert the hook in the ring, pull up a loop of color B and ch 1 (does not count as a stitch). Work 6 sc in the ring, right after the A stitches and over the B tail. Pull the ring tail to close the center. Do not join. (6 sc in each color; 12 sc total)
3. Round 2: With B, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts) 2 times across the 6 A stitches. Mark and drop B. With A, work the same across the 6 B stitches. (8 hdc in each color; 16 hdc total)
4. Round 3: With B, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next st) 4 times across the 8 A stitches. Mark and drop B. With A, work the same across the 8 B stitches. (12 hdc in each color; 24 hdc total)
5. Round 4: With B, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts) 4 times across the 12 A stitches. Mark and drop B. With A, work the same across the 12 B stitches. (16 hdc in each color; 32 hdc total)
6. Round 5: With B, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 3 sts) 4 times across the 16 A stitches. Mark and drop B. With A, work the same across the 16 B stitches. (20 hdc in each color; 40 hdc total)
7. Round 6 (optional): With B, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 4 sts) 4 times across the 20 A stitches. Mark and drop B. With A, work the same across the 20 B stitches. (24 hdc in each color; 48 hdc total)

There is a built-in check on every half round. Color B has finished its half when the marked loop of color A is the next thing in front of the hook. Color A has finished when the next stitch ahead is the first B stitch of the round you are working. If you run out of stitches early or have some left over, recount that half before moving on.

Stepping Down to Round the Edge

When the last round is done, each arm simply stops, leaving a step as tall as a half double crochet. Two shorter stitches turn that step into a slope.

1. Put the B loop back on the hook. Sc in next st, sl st in next st. Fasten off.
2. Put the A loop back on the hook. Sc in next st, sl st in next st. Fasten off.

These four stitches sit on top of the first stitches of the other color’s final half round. They are not included in the round totals above.

Why the Counts Grow This Way

A flat circle in half double crochet gains about eight stitches per round. Split between two colors, that is four increases for each arm, which is why rounds 3 to 6 repeat an increase four times per color. Round 2 is the exception: twelve single crochets already make a full center, so that round adds only four stitches in total to bring the circle onto the usual 16, 24, 32, 40 sequence.

If the coaster starts to form a bowl, your stitches are probably tight for the hook, and if the edge waves, they are loose. The article on keeping crochet coasters flat shows how to tell the two apart and what to change.

Finishing the Coaster

You will have four tails: two at the center and two at the edge. Weave each one into stitches of its own color on the back so nothing shows through on the front. The steps for hiding tails securely are in finishing crochet coasters. A light blocking evens out the two step-downs and helps the outline read as a circle.