Project introduction
This is a pattern overview, not a full tutorial. The designer at Sincerely Pam created the Alex Basket after her friend Stevee mentioned needing a cover for a plant pot. Her love of home decor and her habit of adding handmade touches to every room shaped a versatile design that works both as a cozy pot cover and as a standalone storage basket. Dense, structured stitchwork gives the finished pieces their sturdy feel.
The complete free pattern, with every instruction and stitch detail, lives on the designer’s own site. Start with the Original designer’s pattern and instructions for the exact pattern, then use this overview to plan your yarn, sizing, and supplies before you begin.
Yarn
You are not locked into one brand for this project. The source says any yarn will work, as long as your hook is a few sizes smaller than the size recommended on the yarn label, which keeps the fabric firm and structured. The original pot cover was made in Bernat Maker Fashion, while the basket used Bernat Handicrafter held double stranded. The linked double crochet stitch adds extra rigidity, so the finished items hold their shape well.
The designer later remade the pot cover in Lion Brand Fast-Track, a super bulky size 6 yarn, following the instructions as written and checking the fit against the plant pot after every round. The source notes that Fast-Track yarn has been discontinued and recommends a substitute yarn instead. When you work with bulky yarns, measuring often is the safest route to a cover that fits.
Customize
The written instructions produce completely vertical sides, but the designer’s remake needed to fit a conical plastic pot that started smaller at the bottom and grew gradually wider toward the top. To handle the taper, she checked her progress after every couple of rounds while working the base, then continued measuring as she worked up the sides of the cover.
Whenever the fabric started to feel too snug, she added an extra stitch or two at the beginning or end of the next round. She alternated the placement of those extra stitches to help keep the back seam looking straight. This flexible approach adapts the same basic design to pots of many shapes, as long as you keep checking the fit.
Linked double crochet stitch
The signature texture of the Alex Basket comes from the linked double crochet stitch, which links each stitch into the one before it and creates a beautifully dense fabric. That density is exactly what a storage container or plant pot cover needs, keeping small objects corralled and plain, unsightly pots hidden behind handmade texture. The designer points readers to a helpful stitch tutorial on her own site.
A practical note on access: the web version of the pattern is free on the designer’s site, while the ad-free printable PDF is a paid download available through her Ravelry, Etsy, or LoveCrafts shops. The source does not list a price, so check the shop listings for current terms before you buy.
Pattern Key
The pattern uses standard US crochet abbreviations. The source lists them exactly as follows:
- ch: chain
- st(s): stitch(es)
- sk: skip
- sp: space
- slst: slip stitch
- sc: single crochet
- dc: double crochet
- LDC: linked double crochet
- BLO: back loop only
ALEX PLANT COZY CROCHET Pattern Overview
Project photography of the plant cozy appears here, showing the finished cover on a potted plant.
Pot Cover (13” Circumference x 4” tall)
Materials
Complete supply checklist for both projects, exactly as the source lists them:
- 1 skein of Bulky #5 yarn for the pot cover (the sample was made in Bernat Maker Home Dec)
- 4 skeins of Bernat Handicrafter in Overcast for the grey basket, or 2 skeins of Premier Yarn Downton Abbey Matthew for the beige basket (the source notes the Premier yarn is discontinued)
- J (6.0 mm) hook for both projects (the designer used her Furls Streamline Swirl)
- Measuring tape
- Tapestry needle
Gauge
The pot cover is sized at 13″ in circumference and 4″ tall, and its gauge is the first 3 rounds measuring 4″ in diameter. Construction begins with a magic circle and works outward in double crochet increases to build the base. To make a larger cover, the source advises continuing to work increase rounds until the base reaches the desired circumference before moving on to the side rounds.
The sides transition to linked double crochet, starting with one round worked through the back loop only and continuing in plain rounds, which creates firm vertical walls. A final round of reverse single crochet gives the top edge a neat corded finish. After fastening off and weaving in the ends, the cozy slips over the pot. This summarizes the construction method only; the exact round-by-round instructions are on the designer’s site.
ALEX BASKET CROCHET Pattern Overview
Project photography of the basket appears here, showing both colorways and the finished handle detail.
Basket (approximately 8” diameter x 6” tall)
Materials
The basket is worked with two strands of yarn held together, which accounts for the larger quantities. The grey version calls for 4 skeins of Bernat Handicrafter in the Overcast shade, while the beige version uses 2 skeins of Premier Yarn Downton Abbey Matthew, a yarn the source flags as discontinued. Both versions use a J (6.0 mm) hook, and a measuring tape and tapestry needle round out the supplies.
Gauge
Using two strands held together, the first 5 rounds measure 8″ in diameter, and the finished basket is approximately 8″ in diameter by 6″ tall. The base grows through five rounds of double crochet increases starting from a magic circle. For a larger basket, the source says to continue working increase rounds until the base reaches the desired circumference before starting the sides.
The body switches to linked double crochet, beginning with one round through the back loop only before continuing in plain rounds. A handle is built into the upper rounds with a chain loop, then the top is finished with single crochet rounds and a reverse single crochet edge. As with the pot cover, this overview covers shape and method; the designer’s site holds the exact pattern instructions.
Copyright Notice: © 2018 Sincerely, Pam
The source gives straightforward usage terms. You are free to sell finished items made from this pattern, but the pattern itself may not be shared, copied, or reproduced in whole or in part. The designer’s photographs are likewise copyright protected and may not be used. If you sell finished pieces online, the source asks that you link back to one of her shops.
For more handmade home accents, see the Harvest Crochet Pillow Cover: Pattern Overview and the Crochet Pattern Halloween Ghost Hand Soap Cover: Pattern Overview.
