This hanging holder has three round pockets in a row, each one sized to hold a standard toilet paper roll. The pockets are worked in soft butter yellow shell stitch. Cream yarn is used for the base, a narrow band at the bottom, a scalloped rim on top, and two hanging straps that loop over a wooden dowel or towel rail.
The look is fresh and cottage-style, and it suits a light bathroom with wood and plants. The fans are stacked in offset rows, so the yellow body has a fish-scale texture, and the cream scallops make a soft edge around each roll.
All instructions use US crochet terms. Each pocket is 5 in (12.7 cm) across and 4 in (10.2 cm) tall. The three joined pockets measure 15 in (38.1 cm) wide, and the holder hangs 7 in (17.8 cm) tall from the top of the strap loops.
You work each pocket from the bottom up: a flat single crochet base, a short cream band, five rounds of yellow shells, and then you stop. You sew the three pockets together along short vertical seams. Then you work the cream scalloped border around each pocket rim, and finally you sew on the two straps.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 15 in (38.1 cm) wide x 4 in (10.2 cm) tall pockets; 7 in (17.8 cm) total hanging height
- Skill level: Easy-Intermediate
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4), cotton or cotton blend
- Hook: 5.0 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 5 (3 pockets, 2 straps)
- Layout: 3 pockets in one row, straps on the two outer pockets
- Piece size: each pocket 5 in (12.7 cm) diameter
- Size before border: each pocket 3.25 in (8.3 cm) tall
- Border depth: 0.75 in (1.9 cm)
Materials
Use a smooth worsted cotton or cotton blend. Cotton keeps the pockets firm and upright, and the shells show up clearly. Acrylic also works, but the pockets will be softer and may slump a little.
- Color A – Butter Yellow: 50 g, about 85 m (93 yd)
- Color B – Cream: 75 g, about 128 m (140 yd)
These amounts include a safety margin of roughly 15%.
Tools:
– 5.0 mm (H-8) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– 4 locking stitch markers
– Scissors
– Measuring tape
– Wooden dowel, 16–18 in (40.6–45.7 cm) long and about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) thick, or an existing towel rail
– Rust-proof pins for blocking
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- BLO – back loop only
- sk – skip
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- MR – magic ring
- rep – repeat
Shell: 5 dc in the same stitch.
Split shell (start of Round B): Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc) and 2 dc in the first stitch. At the end of the round, work 2 dc back into that same first stitch. The two halves together make one full shell, and the ch-3 is its center stitch.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 14 sc and 16 sc rounds = 4 in (10.2 cm). In the shell pattern, 1 shell repeat (6 sts) is about 1.7 in (4.3 cm) wide, and 2 shell rounds are 1 in (2.5 cm) tall.
Make one complete pocket before you start the others. It is your gauge swatch, and a toilet paper roll is a handy fit test.
Checkpoints:
– After Round 9: the base measures 5 in (12.7 cm) across and lies flat.
– After Round 11: the walls stand up and are 0.5 in (1.3 cm) tall.
– After Round 16: the pocket is 3.25 in (8.3 cm) tall and still 5 in (12.7 cm) across.
– After the border: the pocket is 4 in (10.2 cm) tall.
If the base is too big (over 5.25 in / 13.3 cm), go down to a 4.5 mm hook. If it is too small (under 4.75 in / 12.1 cm), or a roll won’t drop in easily, go up to a 5.5 mm hook. Don’t add or remove rounds. The shell pattern needs exactly 54 sts.
Pocket (make 3)
Work in joined rounds. Don’t turn. The ch 1 at the start of a round never counts as a stitch.
Base
With Color B:
Round 1: In a MR, ch 1, 6 sc. Sl st to the first sc. (6 sts)
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around. Sl st to the first sc. (12 sts)
Round 3: Ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times total. Sl st to the first sc. (18 sts)
Round 4: Ch 1, sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 5: Ch 1, sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times. (30 sts)
Round 6: Ch 1, sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times. (36 sts)
Round 7: Ch 1, sc in next 5 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times. (42 sts)
Round 8: Ch 1, sc in next 6 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times. (48 sts)
Round 9: Ch 1, sc in next 7 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep 6 times. (54 sts)
Checkpoint: the base should be 5 in (12.7 cm) across. Stagger the increases if your circle starts to look hexagonal.
Cream Band
Round 10: Ch 1, sc in BLO of each st around. Sl st to the first sc. (54 sts)
The BLO round makes a crisp fold, so the walls turn upward.
Round 11: Ch 1, sc in each st around. On the final sl st, pull through Color A. Fasten off Color B. (54 sts)
Shell Body
With Color A:
Round 12 (Round A): Ch 1, sc in first st, sk 2, shell in next st, sk 2, sc in next st; rep from * 8 more times, omitting the last sc. Sl st to the first sc. (9 shells, 9 sc; 54 sts)
Round 13 (Round B): Ch 3, 2 dc in same st (half of split shell). Sk 2, sc in center dc of next shell, sk 2, shell in next sc; rep from * 7 more times. Sk 2, sc in center dc of last shell, sk 2, 2 dc in the first st of the round. Sl st to the top of ch-3. (9 shells, 9 sc; 54 sts)
Round 14 (Round A): Ch 1, sc in top of ch-3 (center of split shell). Sk 2, shell in next sc, sk 2, sc in center dc of next shell; rep from * 8 more times, omitting the last sc. Sl st to the first sc. (54 sts)
Round 15: Work as Round 13. (54 sts)
