October has two acts. The first is Halloween — the pumpkins, the bats, the candy. The second starts the morning of November 1st, when the costumes come off and autumn itself takes the stage: golden light, crisp air, and leaves everywhere you look. This week's make is for that second act: a set of flat, fast crochet leaf coasters in rust, gold, and olive green that turn any table into autumn.
One leaf takes about 30 minutes. A set of four is a single cozy evening — and because the pattern is a simple flat construction, it is a perfect first "real project" for a beginner who has mastered chains and basic stitches. Let us make a pile of leaves.
What You'll Need
- Yarn: 100% cotton worsted-weight (Category 4) in rust orange, golden ochre, and olive green — about 12 g per leaf, so a set of four needs less than 50 g total. Cotton is the honest pick for coasters: it works up into a dense, flat fabric that sits steady under a mug and does not pill the way acrylic can with warm cups. Small amounts of dark brown for the stems and veins.
- Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6). A slightly smaller hook than the yarn label suggests gives you a tighter, more protective fabric — exactly what a coaster needs.
- Notions: tapestry needle with a large eye, scissors, and an optional stitch marker.
- Optional: a heavy book for blocking, and natural twine plus a kraft tag if you are gifting the set.
No affiliate links in this post — this is a scrap-basket project. Dig out the leftovers from your autumn makes.
The Pattern: Flat Fall Leaf Coaster
This is Lolo's own original leaf construction: a chain foundation worked on both sides with graduated stitches (tall in the middle, short at the ends), a slip-stitch edging round that sharpens the tip, a little crocheted stem, and an optional surface vein. All in US terms.
Finished size: about 12 cm (4.75 in) long and 5.5 cm (2.25 in) wide with cotton worsted and a 4.0 mm hook — a true mug-size coaster.
Stitches: chain (ch), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc), treble crochet (tr), slip stitch (sl st).
The leaf (make 4–6):
- Foundation: ch 16.
- Side A: starting in the 2nd ch from the hook, work: sc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc, dc, tr, tr, dc, dc, dc, hdc, hdc, sc. (14 sts)
- Side B: rotate the chain and work into the bottom loops of the same 14 chains, mirroring the sequence: sc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc, dc, tr, tr, dc, dc, dc, hdc, hdc, sc. (14 sts). Sl st to the first st of Side A to join. (28 sts)
- Edging round: ch 1, sc in each st around. At the pointed tip, work 3 sc in the same st to sharpen the point; at the base (where the stem goes), work 2 sc in the same st. Sl st to the first sc to join. (31 sts) Fasten off and weave in the ends.
- Stem: join brown yarn at the base st, ch 9; starting in the 2nd ch from the hook, sl st in each ch across (8 sl sts); sl st into the base st of the leaf to anchor. Fasten off and weave in the end.
- Vein (optional but recommended): with brown or a darker shade of the leaf colour, join at the base center and work a straight line of surface slip stitches up the middle of the leaf to the tip. Keep them loose — tight veins pucker the fabric. Fasten off and weave in.
Count check: Side A and Side B each use the same 14 chains, 14 + 14 = 28 stitches around. The edging adds 2 stitches at the tip (3 worked where 1 was) and 1 at the base (2 where 1 was), for 31. If your leaf curls at the edges, your tension is looser on one side than the other — block it flat under a heavy book overnight and it will behave.
Building the Set: Colours That Look Like October
Make four to six leaves and rotate the colours: two rust, two golden ochre, two olive green. The magic is in the mix — a single-colour stack reads as "coasters," but a mixed autumn palette reads as decoration that happens to hold mugs.
- Block before you stack. Lay the finished leaves flat, press them gently under a heavy book overnight, and they will sit perfectly flush on the table.
- Mix light and dark. Alternate rust, gold, and olive in the stack so no two adjacent leaves are the same colour.
- One leaf, many lives. These are coasters, but they are also appliqués — read on.
Variations: One Pattern, Five Projects
- Table scatter: make eight tiny leaves (same pattern, thinner yarn or a 3.5 mm hook) and scatter them around a centerpiece. Instant autumn table styling.
- Autumn garland: string twelve leaves on a crocheted chain and hang it where the Halloween garland hung — same mantel, new season.
- Tote appliqué: sew one leaf flat onto a canvas tote or a denim jacket pocket. No stem needed; the appliqué version is just the leaf.
- Hot pad: work the exact same counts in chunky/bulky yarn with a 6 mm hook for a bigger, thicker leaf that handles a casserole dish. No count changes needed.
- The gift stack: pile four mixed leaves, tie with natural twine, and thread a blank kraft tag through the knot. A handmade autumn gift in five minutes of assembly.
Troubleshooting
- My leaf looks like a football, not a leaf: the graduated sequence is what makes the shape — tall trebles in the middle, short singles at the ends. Check that Side A and Side B mirror each other exactly.
- The edges ripple or wave: the edging round is being worked too loosely, or your hook is too big. Go down to 3.5 mm for the edging round if you crochet loosely.
- The vein puckers the middle: surface slip stitches pulled too tight. Work them with a relaxed hand — the vein should lie on the fabric, not cinch it.
- It is too small for my big mug: size up the hook (4.5 or 5.0 mm) rather than adding chains — the proportions stay leaf-like.
- It curls like a bowl: your stitches tightened as you worked. A night under a heavy book fixes most curl; next time, consciously relax your grip on Side B.
Autumn, in a Stack of Leaves
That is the whole project: one chain, two mirrored sides, an edging round, a stem, and a vein — repeated four times in the colours of the season. Keep a set on your own table, gift a set to someone whose kitchen could use a little October, and drop a few in a wooden bowl next to our mini apple for a centerpiece that carries you straight through Thanksgiving. And if you are making handmade gifts this year, the Halloween gift guide has eight more tiny makes to pair them with — the leaf stack is the quiet one, and quiet gifts get used every day.
Happy crocheting — and see you this evening with a brand-new make.