The Berry Steps holder is a stepped wall organizer that stores three spare toilet rolls in a diagonal line. It has a soft peach back panel shaped like a staircase, with three berry-red waffle pockets climbing from bottom left to top right. Two slim loops at the top let it hang from a pair of hooks or one wide rail.
The two colors give a warm, modern look. The fine grid texture on the panel keeps it in the background, while the deep waffle squares on the pockets add depth and help them keep their shape.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished panel measures 11 in (27.9 cm) wide by 19 in (48.3 cm) tall, not counting the hanging loops. Each pocket holds a standard roll up to about 4.5 in (11.4 cm) across.
You make the panel flat in rows, starting at the bottom tier and working up, and leave stitches unworked to form each step. Next you add a two-round border and the hanging loops. Then you make three pockets in the round from the base up and whipstitch them to the panel.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 11 in (27.9 cm) wide x 19 in (48.3 cm) tall, plus loops of about 3 in (7.6 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4)
- Hook: 5.0 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 4 (1 back panel, 3 pockets), plus 2 loops worked onto the panel
- Layout: 3 pockets on a diagonal, one per tier
- Piece sizes: panel tiers 10 in / 8 in / 6 in (25.4 cm / 20.3 cm / 15.2 cm) wide, each 6 in (15.2 cm) tall; pockets 4.5 in (11.4 cm) across the base and 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall
- Panel size before border: 10 in (25.4 cm) x 18 in (45.7 cm)
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) on every edge
Materials
Use a smooth worsted-weight cotton or cotton-acrylic blend. Cotton holds its shape and copes with bathroom humidity. The amounts below assume a yarn of about 180 m (197 yd) per 100 g.
- Peach (panel, border, loops): 200 g, about 360 m (394 yd)
- Raspberry (3 pockets): 220 g, about 396 m (433 yd)
Tools:
– 5.0 mm (H-8) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– 8–10 locking stitch markers
– Scissors
– Measuring tape
– Blocking mat and rust-proof pins
– Spray bottle
All quantities include a margin of about 15% for gauge swatches and differences in tension.
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- FPdc – front post double crochet
- BLO – back loop only
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- rnd – round
- RS – right side
Special stitch – hdc3L (half double crochet in the third loop): Yarn over and insert the hook into the horizontal bar just below the back loop of the next hdc, on the side facing away from you. Finish as a normal hdc. This pushes both top loops forward and makes the fine grid texture on the panel.
Gauge and Checkpoints
- Panel: 14 hdc3L and 12 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm)
- Pocket: 15 sts and 8 waffle rnds = 4 in (10.2 cm)
- Border: 14 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm)
Make one pocket before you start the panel. It’s the quickest test piece, and if a roll fits it, your gauge is close.
Checkpoints:
– Pocket base after Rnd 8: 4 in (10.2 cm) across
– Pocket base after Rnd 9: 4.5 in (11.4 cm) across
– Finished pocket: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall, and the walls hug a roll
– Panel after Row 18: 10 in (25.4 cm) x 6 in (15.2 cm)
– Panel after Row 54: 18 in (45.7 cm) tall
If your pieces come out too big, go down 0.5 mm in hook size. If they come out too small, go up 0.5 mm. If only the panel’s row height is off, keep the stitch counts and adjust your hdc height. The border math depends on the 12-rows-per-4-in ratio.
Pocket (Make 3, Raspberry)
Base
Rnd 1: Make a magic ring, ch 1, 6 sc in the ring, sl st to the first sc. (6)
Rnd 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around, sl st to join. (12)
Rnd 3: Ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, repeat around, join. (18)
Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, repeat around, join. (24)
Rnd 5: Ch 1, sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st, repeat around, join. (30)
Rnd 6: Ch 1, sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st, repeat around, join. (36)
Rnd 7: Ch 1, sc in next 5 sts, 2 sc in next st, repeat around, join. (42)
Rnd 8: Ch 1, sc in next 6 sts, 2 sc in next st, repeat around, join. (48)
Checkpoint: the base measures 4 in (10.2 cm) across.
Rnd 9: Ch 1, sc in next 15 sts, 2 sc in next st, 3 times, join. 48 sts worked once each + 3 increases = 51 sts.
Walls
Rnd 10 (turning ridge): Ch 1, sc in BLO of each st around, join. (51) The unused front loops form a crisp edge where the base meets the walls.
Rnd 11: Ch 2 (doesn’t count as a st), dc in each st around, sl st to the first dc. (51)
Rnd 12 (grid round A): Ch 2, FPdc around next st, dc in next 2 sts, 17 times, join. (51: 17 FPdc + 34 dc)
Rnd 13 (grid round B): Ch 2, FPdc around each st around, join. (51)
Rnd 14: Repeat Rnd 12. (51)
Rnd 15: Repeat Rnd 13. (51)
Rnd 16: Repeat Rnd 12. (51)
The FPdc columns repeat every 3 sts, and the all-FPdc rounds make the horizontal ridges. Together they form raised squares with sunken cells, which is the waffle grid.
Rim
Rnd 17: Ch 1, sc in each st around, join. (51)
Rnd 18: Sl st loosely in each st around. (51) Fasten off, leaving a 36 in (91.4 cm) tail for sewing.
Checkpoint: the pocket is 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall, and the walls draw in to about 4.3 in (10.9 cm) across.
Back Panel (Make 1, Peach)
Tier 1
Row 1: Ch 37, hdc in the 3rd ch from the hook and in each ch across. (35)
