The crochet Birdhouse Hot Pad is super fun and quick to make. Worked with leftover Aran/worsted weight yarn, this little project makes the perfect kitchen accessory for all birds and Spring lovers!
I first had the idea to crochet a birdhouse hot pad when I made the hot pads of the A Year of Potholders collection.
For the months of February and March, I made a Lovebirds Potholder, and a Spring Garden Potholder, where you can see a nice nest box in between flowers and branches.
I loved these potholders but I also wanted to crochet a birdhouse in the shape of a real nest box.
So, I started thinking about how to obtain the shape of the house without working in rows, and I came up with several ways to crochet pentagons using different stitches and techniques.
In particular, for this potholder, I chose the single crochet pentagon pattern to make the pentagon-shaped birdhouse!
There are many reasons why I love this pattern:
- The basic pentagon is crocheted in the round…
- So, you will not have to add any border to it!
- You can easily adapt the size by removing or adding a few rounds,
- And that also means that you can use any yarn weight that you have at hand.
In other words, you can shop your stash and use some leftover yarn. At least, that’s what I did!
Cotton Backing
Since I gifted this potholder to a friend, I sewed a cotton lining to the back. With this finishing touch, the hot pad looks beautiful on both sides and also has some extra thickness!
To make the cotton backing, I simply laid the crochet birdhouse on the cotton fabric and drew all around at about 0.5″ (1 cm) from the border.
I cut two pieces from the fabric. Then, right sides facing, I sewed them together leaving 0.5″ (1 cm) of sewing allowance. Before sewing all around, I made sure to turn the fabric outside out, gave it a little press, and closed the remaining gap.
Finally, with the mattress stitch, I hand-sewed the fabric to the back of the crocheted potholder.
Find more kitchen decor ideas to crochet…
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AD-FREE PRINTABLE PATTERN
The ad-free, printable PDF pattern of the Birdhouse Hot Pad is available in all my online shops. Get your copy on Ravelry, LoveCrafts, or Etsy!
MATERIALS
- 4.0-mm (G/6 USA, 8 UK) Hook
- Aran (4, Medium) Weight Cotton Yarn
- Tapestry Needle
YARN & YARDAGE
I used a mix of (1) Ice Yarns Cakes Natural Cotton and (2) Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran in the following colors:
- A – (1), White/Pink/Brown – 52 yds (47.5 m)
- B – (2), Soft Fudge (610) – 8.7 yds (8 m)
- C – (2), Coffee Bean (611) – 9.5 yds (8.7 m)
- D – (2), Paper White (601) – Small amount
- E – (2), Lime Green (629) – Small amount
- F – (2), Grass Green (630) – Small amount
- G – (2), Dolphin Blue (637) – Small amount
YARN SUBSTITUTIONS
ABBREVIATIONS (US TERMS)
Ch – Chain
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Dc – Double Crochet
Inc – Increase
MC – Magic Circle
RS – Right Side
Sc – Single Crochet
Sk – Skip
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch
Tr – Treble Crochet
WS – Wrong Side
Yo – Yarn Over
Special Stitches
Increase (Inc)
One increase consists of 2 sts worked in the same indicated st. The pattern indicates when to make a sc, hdc, dc, or tr inc.
Invisible Join
Learn how to finish a round with the invisible join HERE.
Magic Circle (MC)
Find a tutorial on how to crochet the magic circle HERE.
SIZE
8.7″ (22 cm) at the largest point excluding the hanging loop.
GAUGE
11 rounds of the pentagon pattern in 4″ (10 cm).
PATTERN NOTES
- If the pattern says “sc 2”, you need to sc 1 in each of the next 2 sts.
- (…) – Repeat the instructions within brackets for the indicated number of times.
- […] – Crochet the instructions within brackets all in the same indicated st.
Birdhouse Hot Pad – FREE CROCHET PATTERN
Pentagon Pattern
For a step-by-step tutorial on how to crochet a single crochet pentagon, see this blog post HERE.
Crochet in the round working in a spiral. Do not join rounds with a sl st.
Using A, make a MC.
Round 1. Sc 5. (5 sts)
Round 2. Sc inc 5. (10 sts, photo 1)
Round 3. (Sc 1, [sc 3]) 5 times. (20 sts)
Round 4. Sc 2, (sc inc 1, sc 3) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 1. (25 sts)
Round 5. Sc 2, (sc inc 1, sc 4) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 2. (30 sts)
Round 6. Sc 3, ([sc 3], sc 5) 4 times, [sc 3], sc 2. (40 sts)
Round 7. Sc 4, (sc inc 1, sc 7) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 3. (45 sts)
Round 8. Sc 4, (sc inc 1, sc 8) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 4. (50 sts)
Round 9. Sc 4, (sc inc 1, sc 9) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 5. (55 sts)
Round 10. Sc 4, (sc inc 1, sc 10) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 6. (60 sts)
Round 11. Sc 5, ([sc 3], sc 11) 4 times, [sc 3], sc 6. (70 sts)
Round 12. Sc 6, (sc inc 1, sc 13) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 7. (75 sts)
Round 13. Sc 6, (sc inc 1, sc 14) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 8. (80 sts)
Round 14. Sc 6, (sc inc 1, sc 15) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 9. (85 sts)
Round 15. Sc 6, (sc inc 1, sc 16) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 10. (90 sts)
Round 16. Sc 7, ([sc 3], sc 17) 4 times, [sc 3], sc 10. (100 sts)
Round 17. Sc 8, (sc inc 1, sc 19) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 11. (105 sts)
Round 18. Sc 8, (sc inc 1, sc 20) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 12. (110 sts)
Round 19. Sc 8, (sc inc 1, sc 21) 4 times, sc inc 1, sc 13. (115 sts, photo 5)
Fasten off and finish with an invisible join.
Base
RS facing, join B in the second sc of one inc at any corner of the pentagon.
Row 1. Sc inc 1 in same st as joining, sc 22, sc inc 1. (26 sts)
Row 2. Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn. Sc across. (26 sts)
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Roof
RS facing, holding your pentagon with the base down, join B in the second sc of inc at the right corner (or left corner if you are left-handed).
Row 1 (RS). Sc inc 1, sc 22, sc inc 1, sc 22, sc inc 1. (50 sts)
Row 2 (WS). Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn. Sc 24, sc inc 2, sc 24. (52 sts)
Row 3 (RS). Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn. Sc 25, sc inc 2, sc 25. (54 sts)
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Hanging Loop
WS facing, join B in first st of sc inc in the middle of the roof, ch 14, sl st into next st.
Row 1 (RS). Ch 1, turn. Working inside the loop you just created (and not into the chains!), sc 20 or as many sc as needed to fill up the loop.
Fasten off and weave in your ends.
Door Applique
With C, ch 8.
Row 1 (RS). Starting from 3rd ch from hook, dc 5, [dc 6] in next ch. Working on the other side of initial ch, dc 5. (16 sts)
Row 2 (WS). Ch 1 (does not count as a st here and throughout), turn. Sc 6, sc inc 4, sc 6. (20 sts)
Row 3 (RS). Ch 1, turn. Sc 7, (sc inc 1, sc 2) twice, sc inc 1, sc 6. (23 sts)
Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.
Heart Applique
For the heart window, I used the center of the little heart square, which you can find HERE.
Make one heart with C.
Pole Applique
Crochet in the round working in a spiral. Do not join rounds with a sl st.
With C, make a MC.
Round 1. Sc 6 in MC. (6 sts)
Round 2. Sc inc 6. (12 sts)
Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.
Large Leaf
Make two leaf appliques, one with E and one with F. You can find the pattern HERE.
Optional: With a length of D, embroider a few decorations along the petals of the large flower.
Small Leaf
With E, ch 5.
Round 1. Sl st 1 in the second ch from hook, sc 1, hdc 1, [hdc 5]. Working on the other side of initial ch-5, hdc 1, sc 1, sl st 1.
Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.
Flower Appliques
For the flower appliques, I used this pattern HERE.
Make one medium flower applique with D, and one large flower with G.
Finishing
Using the pictures as a guide, sew the door, the pole, and the heart appliques on the pentagon.
Attach the small leaf and one large leaf just below the hanging loop, and cover the base of the leaves with the smaller flower.
Attach the remaining large leaf and large flower to the side of the door.
Weave in all your ends.
YOUR CROCHET Birdhouse Hot Pad IS READY!
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