This hanging toilet paper holder gives a bathroom a cheerful holiday touch. A solid red back panel hangs from a wooden ring. Three pockets across the front each hold one standard roll, and the pockets have diagonal red-and-white stripes that look like candy canes.
The look comes from two colors and one simple texture. The back panel is worked in firm red half double crochet. The pockets use an open V-stitch that changes color in two-V blocks and moves one V over on every row, so the stripes run on a slant. A red single crochet trim edges every pocket, and a two-round red border goes around the whole holder.
All instructions use US crochet terms. The finished holder measures 16 in (40.6 cm) wide and 11 in (27.9 cm) tall, not counting the hanging loop. The loop rises about 2.5 in (6.4 cm) above the shoulders.
Construction is simple. You make one shaped back panel with a hanging tab built in, then three identical pockets. You sew the pockets to the panel side by side and work the border around the panel. Finally, you fold the tab over a wooden ring and sew it down.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 16 in x 11 in (40.6 cm x 27.9 cm), plus a hanging loop of about 2.5 in (6.4 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate (color changes in V-stitch)
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Worsted (weight 4)
- Hook: 5 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 4 (1 back panel, 3 pockets)
- Layout: 3 pockets in one row across the back panel
- Pocket size: 7 in (17.8 cm) wide at the top and 5.75 in (14.6 cm) tall; the bottom edge is gathered to 5 in (12.7 cm)
- Back panel size before border: 15 in (38.1 cm) wide and 10 in (25.4 cm) tall, plus a 5 in (12.7 cm) tab
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm), 2 rounds of single crochet
Materials
Use a smooth worsted-weight yarn. Cotton or a cotton blend gives crisp stitch definition and stands up to bathroom humidity. Soft acrylic also works and is easy to wash. Pick a true red and a bright white so the stripes stand out.
- Red: 150 g, about 285 m (311 yd)
- White: 50 g, about 95 m (104 yd)
These amounts include a margin of about 25% for gauge differences and swatching.
Tools:
- 5 mm (H-8) crochet hook
- 1 unfinished wooden ring, 3 in (7.6 cm) across
- Tapestry needle
- 6 removable stitch markers
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Rustproof pins and a blocking mat
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sl st – slip stitch
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- sp – space
- sk – skip
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- hdc2tog – half double crochet 2 together
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
- rnd – round
Special stitch – V-stitch (V-st): (dc, ch 1, dc) in the same stitch or space.
Color changes: Change color on the last yarn over of the last dc before the new color. Lay the unused strand along the top of the row below and work over it so it stays hidden inside the dc stitches. Keep the carried strand loose enough that the fabric stays flat.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Back panel gauge: 17 hdc and 12 rows = 5 in (12.7 cm).
Pocket gauge: 10 V-sts plus 2 edge dc = 7 in (17.8 cm) wide, and 8 rows of V-sts = 4 in (10.2 cm).
Make one pocket first as your test piece. After Row 1 it should measure 7 in (17.8 cm) wide. After Row 8 it should measure 4 in (10.2 cm) tall. When the pocket is finished, it should be 5.75 in (14.6 cm) tall.
Back panel checkpoints:
- After Row 1: 15 in (38.1 cm) wide
- After Row 12: 5 in (12.7 cm) tall
- After Row 20: 8 1/3 in (21.2 cm) tall
- After Row 24: 10 in (25.4 cm) tall, and about 11.5 in (29.2 cm) wide across the top
- Tab: about 2.65 in (6.7 cm) wide and 5 in (12.7 cm) long
If your piece is too big, go down a hook size, to 4.5 mm. If it is too small, go up to 5.5 mm. Check width first. If the width is right but the height is off by less than 0.25 in (0.6 cm), you can fix it in blocking.
Back Panel
With red, ch 53.
Row 1 (RS): Hdc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn. (51 hdc; the skipped ch-2 does not count)
Rows 2–20: Ch 1 (does not count), hdc in each st across. Turn. (51 hdc)
Shoulder shaping:
Row 21: Ch 1, hdc2tog, hdc in each st to last 2 sts, hdc2tog. Turn. (49 hdc)
Row 22: Repeat Row 21. (47 hdc)
Row 23: Ch 1, hdc2tog twice, hdc in each st to last 4 sts, hdc2tog twice. Turn. (43 hdc)
Row 24: Repeat Row 23. (39 hdc) Fasten off.
The decreases make the sloped, rounded shoulders on each side of the top edge.
Hanging tab:
Row 25: With RS facing, sk the first 15 sts of Row 24 and join red in the 16th st. Ch 1, hdc in the same st and in each of the next 8 sts. Turn. (9 hdc; 15 sts remain unworked on each side)
Rows 26–36: Ch 1, hdc in each st across. Turn. (9 hdc)
Fasten off and leave a 12 in (30.5 cm) tail for sewing. The tab is 12 rows long, or 5 in (12.7 cm).
Pocket (Make 3)
Each pocket starts with white. Use the color sequences below. They are written in working order. Work each edge dc in the color of the V-st next to it.
With white, ch 34.
Row 1 (RS): V-st in 5th ch from hook (the skipped chs count as an edge dc plus 1 skipped ch), *sk 2 ch, V-st in next ch; repeat from * 8 more times, sk 1 ch, dc in last ch. Turn. (10 V-sts + 2 edge dc)
Color order for Row 1: W, W, R, R, W, W, R, R, W, W.
Row 2 (WS): Ch 3 (counts as edge dc), V-st in the ch-1 sp of each V-st across, dc in the top of the turning ch. Turn. (10 V-sts + 2 edge dc)
Color order for Row 2: W, R, R, W, W, R, R, W, W, R.
Row 3: Work as Row 2. Color order: R, R, W, W, R, R, W, W, R, R.
Row 4: Work as Row 2. Color order: R, W, W, R, R, W, W, R, R, W.
Rows 5–8: Repeat Rows 1–4, using the same color orders.
Rows 9–10: Repeat Rows 1–2. Cut white. (10 rows; 5 in / 12.7 cm)
On every row, each block moves one V-st to the same side when you look at the RS. That is what makes the diagonal candy cane stripes.
Top trim:
Row 11 (RS): With red, ch 1, sc in the first dc, *sc in the next dc, sc in the ch-1 sp, sc in the next dc; repeat from * across all 10 V-sts, sc in the top of the turning ch. Turn. (32 sc = 2 edge sts + 10 V-sts x 3 sc)
Row 12: Ch 1, sc in each st across. (32 sc) Fasten off.
Bottom trim (gathering row): With RS facing and red, work across the opposite side of the foundation chain. Ch 1, sc2tog over each pair of chs across. Fasten off. (34 chs worked as 17 sc2tog = 17 sts)
This row pulls the 7 in (17.8 cm) pocket in to 5 in (12.7 cm) at the base, so the pocket cups out around a roll.
Side trim (each side): With RS facing and red, work along the row ends from Row 1 to Row 12. Work 2 sc in each dc row end (Rows 1–10 = 20 sc) and 1 sc in each sc row end (Rows 11–12 = 2 sc). Fasten off and leave an 18 in (45.7 cm) tail. (22 sc per side)
Pocket counts per side: top 32 sts, bottom 17 sts, each side 22 sts.
Make All Pieces
- Back panel: 1, in red
- Pockets: 3, in red and white
Weave in all ends except the long sewing tails. Lay the back panel RS up and place markers to divide the 51 sts of Row 1 into three equal sections of 17 sts:
Back panel, Row 1 (51 sts)
| Pocket A | Pocket B | Pocket C |
| sts 1–17 | sts 18–34 | sts 35–51 |
Mark the column between sts 17 and 18 and the column between sts 34 and 35, from Row 1 up to Row 14. These are the pocket dividers.
Joining
Method: Whipstitch with red yarn through both layers.
Bottom edges: Place Pocket A RS up on sts 1–17 of the back panel. Whipstitch its 17 bottom sts to the 17 hdc of Row 1, one to one. Join Pocket B to sts 18–34 and Pocket C to sts 35–51 the same way. The bottom count works out exactly: 3 pockets x 17 sts = 51 sts.
Side edges: Each pocket side has 22 sts and runs up 14 back panel rows, which is 5.83 in (14.8 cm). Sew 3 pocket sts to every 2 panel rows for Rows 1–14 (21 sts). Then tack the 22nd stitch, the top corner, firmly in place twice. The outer sides of Pockets A and C sit on the edge columns, st 1 and st 51. The inner sides of neighboring pockets meet on the same marked divider column.
Tension: Pull each whipstitch snug but not tight. The back panel should stay flat while the pocket tops bow forward. Do not sew across the pocket tops.
Size checkpoint: The panel should still measure 15 in (38.1 cm) across Row 1. If it has drawn in, loosen the bottom seam.
Border
Border gauge: 1 sc in each st across the top and bottom edges, and 3 sc per 2 hdc rows along the row ends. Work 2 sc per row on the short shoulder slopes, where the decreases make each row end slightly longer.
Rnd 1: With RS facing, join red in the first foundation ch at the bottom-right corner. Work through the back panel only, never through a pocket.
- Bottom: 3 sc in the first ch, sc in each of the next 49 chs, 3 sc in the last ch (55 sc)
- Left side, Rows 1–20: 3 sc per 2 rows (30 sc)
- Left shoulder, Rows 21–24: 2 sc per row (8 sc)
- Left ledge: sc in each of the 15 unworked sts (15 sc)
- Tab, left side: 3 sc per 2 rows over 12 rows (18 sc)
- Tab top: sc in each of the 9 sts (9 sc)
- Tab, right side: 18 sc
- Right ledge: 15 sc
- Right shoulder: 8 sc
- Right side: 30 sc
Join with a sl st to the first sc. (55 + 38 + 15 + 18 + 9 + 18 + 15 + 38 = 206 sc)
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in each st around, working 3 sc in the center sc of each bottom-corner group. Join. (206 sts worked one per st + 4 extra = 210 sc) Fasten off.
Why the math works: Each hdc row is 5/12 in (1.1 cm) tall. Three sc per two rows gives about 3.6 sc per inch, which is close to the panel’s 3.4 sts per inch across. So the border lies flat without ruffling or cupping. The two 3-sc corners turn the bottom corners cleanly. Two rounds add 0.5 in (1.3 cm) all around, so 15 x 10 in (38.1 x 25.4 cm) becomes 16 x 11 in (40.6 x 27.9 cm).
Ring: Fold the tab from front to back over the wooden ring. Whipstitch the 9 tab-top sts to the back of the panel at the base of the tab. This makes a loop about 2.5 in (6.4 cm) tall.
Final Blocking
- Weave in any remaining ends and hide them in matching colors.
- Pin the holder RS up on a blocking mat at 16 x 11 in (40.6 x 27.9 cm).
- Pin the bottom edge straight and the two sides square.
- Stuff each pocket with a rolled hand towel about 4.5 in (11.4 cm) across, so the pockets dry in shape.
- For cotton, mist with water until damp. For acrylic, hold a steam iron 1 in (2.5 cm) above the work. Never press.
- Let it dry completely, then take out the pins and the towels.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Back panel is 15 in (38.1 cm) across Row 1 before the border
- All 3 pockets have the same stripe direction
- Each pocket bottom is sewn 17 to 17
- Divider seams are straight and end level at Row 14
- Border has 210 sc in Rnd 2, and the corners are square
- Finished size is 16 x 11 in (40.6 x 27.9 cm)
- Tab is sewn securely and the ring turns freely
- No carried strands show on the RS
Troubleshooting
Stripes zigzag instead of slanting: You repeated a color order out of sequence. Check the four rows against the listed orders.
Carried yarn shows through: Work more firmly over the strand, or twist the strands at the back of the work once in the middle of each block.
Pocket too tight for a roll: Your V-st gauge is too firm. Remake it with a 5.5 mm hook.
Border ruffles: Work 1 sc per hdc row on the sides instead, and keep the same counts on the bottom edge and corners.
Panel cups along the bottom: The pocket seams are too tight. Resew them more loosely.
Holder tilts on the hook: The tab is off-center. Count 15 unworked sts on each side.
Care
Hand wash in cool water and lay flat to dry, shaping the pockets as described in Final Blocking. Keep it away from bleach so the white stays bright and the red does not bleed.
Final Notes
The whole holder rests on one measurement chain. A back panel of 51 sts is 15 in (38.1 cm) wide and is shared evenly as 3 x 17 pocket sts. Each pocket is 7 in (17.8 cm) wide, gathered to 5 in (12.7 cm). A border of 2 rounds and 210 sc brings the finished size to 16 x 11 in (40.6 x 27.9 cm). Check each link as you work, and the holder will hang straight and hold three rolls neatly through the holidays.
Happy crocheting!