Part 5 - Cars and Trucks CAL - Mini Race Car #1

by Jenness Fulton July 20, 2020

Introduction

This car is one of a series of vehicles I designed for my children. This pattern is good for using up small amounts of yarn and is quick to work up. When I first designed these cars, I used continuous rounds of single crochet. However, that caused the stitches to drift and the side windows (and rear windscreen) didn’t look right so I experimented with six different ways to make it. This version is made using single crochet, slip stitching at the end of the round and then turning to work in the other direction (as if you are working in rows in the same way as you will have done in Parts 1-4 of this CAL). All variations of this race car are missing a rear windscreen because, in the original version, it looked strange having the rear windscreen so I didn’t add one to any of my variations. You could probably add a couple of stitches of white in round 14 (the 2 sc worked in FLO between the sc2tog) and/or 15 (worked into the 2 FLO from round 14) if you wish to have a rear windscreen.

Social Media

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Notions

3.5 mm hook

Yarn needle

Scissors

Fibrefill or other suitable stuffing material (I used leftover yarn tails in matching colours whenever possible)

DK yarn in your main colour, white, black, grey, plus a small scrap of yellow or white for headlights (optional, you will need less than 30 cm of yarn for these).

I used “4 Seasons Marvel 8 ply” yarn in the following quantities:

Black (colourway 1002) 1 g, 2.8 m, 3.1 yds

White (colourway 1001) 1 g, 2.8 m, 3.1 yds

Light grey (colourway 1022) 1 g, 2.8 m, 3.1 yds

Main colour (green, colourway 1071) 6 g, 17 m, 18.6 yds

Optional: 2 small buttons (~5 mm or less diameter) can be used as headlights instead of embroidering French knots

Size and gauge

Gauge is not important for this pattern.

Approximate finished size using a 3.5 mm hook and DK yarn

Length: 8 cm (3.1”); height: 3 cm (1.2”); width: 3.5 cm (1.4”) (to outer edge of body before adding wheels).

Difficulty Level

Easy

Crochet Abbreviations

US terminology used

BLO Back loop only

ch(s) Chain(s)

FLO Front loop only

hdc Half double crochet

mc Main colour

Rnd Round

sc Single crochet

sc2tog Single crochet two together

st/sts Stitch/stitches

WS Wrong side

General instructions

see CAL introduction

Instructions

Vehicle body

Using yarn in your mc ch 5

Rnd 1 3 Sc in the 2nd ch from hook, sc in the next 2 chs, 5 sc in the last ch. Working round the other side of the ch, sc in the next 2 chs, 2 sc in the last ch. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (14)
Rnd 2 Working in FLO, sc in each st around. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (14)
Rnds 3-6 Sc in each st around. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (14) At the end of Rnd 6 pause work with your mc (you may want to pull up a long loop so it doesn’t unravel or put in a stitch marker). Add headlights to your car (white or yellow French knots or small buttons). The next 2 rows are short rows to add in the front windscreen.
Short Row 6a With a slip knot of white yarn on your hook, working in the same direction as Rnd 6 {ie with WS facing}, sc in the BLO of the 2nd st of Rnd 6 and in the BLO of the next 3 sts. Ch 1 and turn. (4)
Short Row 6b Sc in each st across, fasten off white yarn and resume with mc from where you finished Rnd 6. (4)
Rnd 7 Sc in the first 9 sts to the base of the window. Sc up the side of the window (2 sc) and then sc along the top of the window (4 sc). Sc down the other side of the window (2 sc) and then in the remaining st. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (18)
Rnd 8 Sc in the first 2 sts, working in FLO, sc in the next 6 sts, working in both loops again, sc in the last 10 sts. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (18)
Rnd 9 Sc in the first 9 sts, change to white, sc in the next st, change to mc, sc in the next 6 sts, change to white, sc in the next st, change to mc, sc in the last st. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (18)
Rnd 10 Sc in the first st, change to white, sc in the next 2 sts, change to mc, sc in the next 4 sts, change to white, sc in the next 2 sts, change to mc, sc in the remaining 9 sts. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (18)
Rnd 11 Sc in the first 9 sts, change to white, sc in the next 2 sts, change to mc, sc in the next 4 sts, change to white, sc in the next 2 sts, change to mc, sc in the last st. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (18)
Rnd 12 Sc in the first 2 sts, change to white, sc in the next st, change to mc, sc in the next 4 sts, change to white, sc in the next st, change to mc, sc in the last 10 sts. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. Fasten off white yarn. (18)
Rnd 13 Sc in the first 11 sts, working in BLO, sc in the next 4 sts, working in both loops, sc in the last 3 sts. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (18)
Rnd 14 Sc2tog, working in FLO, sc2tog, sc in the next 2 sts, sc2tog , working in both loops again, sc2tog x 2, sc in the next 4 sts, sc2tog. Join with a sl st, ch 1 and turn. (12)
Rnd 15 Sc in each st around. Join with a sl st. (12)
Stuff
Rnd 16 Fold down, ch 1 and sc the rows together, ch 1 and turn. (6)
Row 17 Working in FLO, 2 hdc in the first st, hdc in the next 4 sts, 2 hdc in the last st. (8)
Fasten off and weave in the ends.

Wheels (make 4)

Wheels are worked in continuous rounds. Do not sl st at the end of Rnd 1. Alternatively, fasten off grey with an invisible join and begin Rnd 2 with a standing sc using black yarn in BLO.

With grey yarn make a magic ring

Rnd 1 Sc 6 into the magic ring, change to black at the end of the last st. (6)

Rnd 2 Working in BLO, sc in each st around, sl st to join. (6)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew onto vehicle (and to add windscreen wipers to the front if you wish).

These wheels do not need to be stuffed. Secure the ends (apart from the long one for sewing onto vehicle) then trim them so a cm or so is left (that is more than sufficient for stuffing) and sew them onto the sides of the car aligning them with the front and rear on each side.

I generally add the rear wheels first as in my original pattern there was not much room to add the rear wheels and I wanted to make sure I didn’t place the front wheel too high. You can see from the photos below where I placed the wheels on one side and how I added in the windscreen wipers to the car.

Congratulations, you have now completed the first little race car. Share your photos in the CAL - Crochet A Long on Facebook or on Instagram using the hashtag #carsandtruckscal2020

You can download a print-friendly pdf of this pattern here

Other parts

Part 1 (concrete mixer - vehicle body)

Part 2 (Concrete mixer - mixer and wheels)

Part 3 (dump truck - vehicle body)

Part 4 (dump truck - tip tray and wheels)

Part 6 (race car #2)

While my Cars and Trucks CAL is running you can purchase my "truck and trailer" and "multifunctional tractor" patterns on special. Read more about the patterns here

Copyright Information

This is a FREE pattern, and by using it, you’re agreeing to the following legally-protected conditions.

You’re welcome to sell what you make with it; for online listings, please link back to my website: nessiesnotions.com

Here are the “do nots”:

Do not resell the pattern, either altered or in its original form.
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