Coasters out of Pop Tabs

July 28, 2021

BER months are just around the corner. When September 1 comes, Christmas Day is fast approaching.

I don’t know what’s with the BER months that time flies so fast. With just a blink of an eye, Christmas Day is right in front of you.

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this before in my previous articles that during Christmas, me and my officemates have this tradition of giving gifts to female employees only. And since there are plenty of female employees, we look for gifts that are cheap but useful. A pack of tissue, handkerchief, memo pads, pens, a small notebook, highlighters, combs, wallets, scarf, anything that is up to one’s budget. This is not compulsory to all female. One can also choose whom to give. She may not give to all females.

Last year I gave alcohol with crocheted alcohol bottle cozy. The year before that, I gave crocheted face scrubs.

This year I was thinking of giving another crocheted item and thought about the pop tabs that was given to me last year by the sister of my female boss. She is also into crafts, particularly knitting and crochet and she was crocheting ear savers using pop tabs in replacement of the buttons. She said that she advertised in her Facebook page that she is looking for pop tabs and a friend of hers gave her thousands of pop tabs. She gave some of it to me and until now I have not used it yet. I find it difficult to use the pop tabs for the ear saver and besides I have plenty of buttons that I bought online.

So I searched for any pattern using pop tabs and found a lot in Pinterest and YouTube. I look for something easy to do and follow.

This is what I found in YouTube that I think is fast and easy. I wrote down the pattern every time I finish each round. I'm writing it as I go along.

Hope I made justice on her tutorial.

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Pop Tabs Flower Coaster

Materials Needed :

6 Pop tabs ( to make 1 coaster)

Yarn – I use acrylic yarn from my yarn stash

Hook – 3.5mm hook or any hook size that is right for your yarn

Directions:

Place two pop tabs in front of each other. Please see picture for clarification.

Crochet two single crochet to tie up both pop tabs. This is done in the middle of the tabs. (Sorry, I don’t know how to describe it well, but check on the picture for a clearer understanding of what I meant).

Keep on adding pop tabs by joining them with 2 single crochet. Until all the six pop tabs are joined.

Once you have all the six pop tabs on the loop, join the first pop tab and the last pop tab with two single crochet to make a circle.

Now that we have the circle formed, we need to bring the loop to the back of the project by inserting the hook from the bottom, catch the loop and pull it to the back of the project.

Then make a chain of 3 to bring the yarn up and do the following in one hole of the tab:

1 single crochet

1 half double crochet

3 double crochet

Chain 2

3 double crochet

1 half double crochet

1 single crochet

Skip the first hole of the next pop tab and crochet the same set in the second hole of the pop tab.

Repeat the process until the sixth petal is made. Join with a slip stitch at the beginning of the round.

To make it more attractive and a bit bigger, another round is added.

Attach another yarn of different color on top of a double crochet right after the chain 2 of the previous round. Make single crochet in each stitch. There will be four single crochet in all.

 Then make one long single crochet by inserting the hook in between two pop tabs.

Continue with single crochet in each stitch.

Make 2 single crochet in the chain 2 space of the previous round.

Repeat this process around and join with a slip stitch at the beginning of the round.

As you can see in the picture below, it is still slightly smaller for the cup. A third round is then added by using double crochet stitches.

I made a slight revision to the YT tutorial for this round to maintain the shape of the flower.

Start the round in second single crochet of the previous round. Chain 3 and this counts as one double crochet.

Then do more double crochet in the next four stitches. This makes 5 double crochet in all.

In the next stitch do a single crochet. (This is where I changed the pattern)

Skip one stitch then double crochet in the next five stitches.

Chain 1 and do another double crochet in the same space as the last double crochet made.

Repeat this process around and join with a slip stich at the beginning chain.

Fasten off and hide all ends.

Does it look better with the added rounds?

The size is just perfect for a cup coaster.

I timed myself in crocheting another of this pop tab to check how much time I spent working on this and surprisingly it took me less than 30 minutes to finish one.

Every time you drink from a can, I hope you will remember this article and save the pop tabs for me. I would gladly accept any donation of pop tabs as after this I will try making a placemat using these pop tabs but that is for another story.

This will help save our Mother Earth even for just a tiny part of it.

I am linking the YouTube tutorial below just in case you did not understand the written pattern.

That’s all folks!

Thanks for dropping by.

🧡🧡🧡