The waistcoat stitch is one of the most beautiful crochet stitches...if you know how to use it! This stitch can be really tight, really dense, difficult to work and even more difficult to pick a project it works for! The Cactus Cozy seeks to solve all those issues with an adjustable plant pot holder made in stretchy yarn and a simple, beginner friendly (and free) pattern. For the visual learners, there's a video tutorial for this pot cozy. You can find the video here:
For a downloadable, printable copy of the pattern, click HERE:
Now the key to this pattern is the yarn. It's gotta be big and stretchy. You can use t-shirt yarn but I used a fiber filled cotton tube yarn like Jumbo Tube Cotton from Ice Yarn. Bernat Maker Big is a great alternative to this yarn as well.
You should also shoot for an extra large hook size, larger than the yarn recommends. For my yarn, a 15mm hook was perfect. Also grab a removable stitch marker and then you're ready to begin!
Pattern
To begin round 1, make a magic ring and work 8sc into the center of the ring. Draw closed.
Round 2: 2sc in each stitch (mark the first stitch to work in a spiral)
Round 3: *2sc, 1sc* rep to the end of the round (remember to move your marker to the beginning of the new round each time)
For my roughly 5.5in (14cm) plant pot, these are all the rounds I needed. But if you have a pot with a larger diameter, continue by adding 1sc to the end of the repeat in round 3. So an example round 4 would be *2sc, 1sc, 1sc* and and example round 5 would be *2sc, 1sc, 1sc, 1sc* and so on. Grow your circle until it is the same diameter as the widest part of your flower pot.
Next round: work 1sc in the back loop of each stitch
Next round and all further rounds: *1sc in the center of the sc post from the prev row (waistcoat st)*
Continue working waistcoat stitch in a spiral until your planter cover is as tall as you'd like.
Finish off by slip stitching into the next sc post, and slip stitching in between the next two posts. then fasten off and weave in your ends!
There you have it! A little plant pot cozy to zhoozh up even the fake-est of succulents. Don't forget to check out the video for an in depth tutorial of the waistcoat stitch!