Part 6 - Cars and Trucks CAL - Mini Race Car #2

by Jenness Fulton July 27, 2020

Introduction

This little car is part of a series of vehicles I designed for my children. These race cars are good for using up small amounts of yarn and are 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 uses a mixture of single crochet and the waistcoat stitch (aka the “knit” or “centre-post” stitch) worked in continuous rounds. All variations are missing a rear windscreen because in the original version, the stitches had drifted so much, by the time I got to the rear of the car, 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

Stitch marker or a scrap of yarn that can be used as a running stitch marker

DK yarn in your main colour, white, black, plus a small scrap of yellow or white for headlights (optional, you will need less than 30 cm of yarn for the headlights). I used 4 Seasons Marvel 8 ply in the following quantities:

Main colour (lilac, colourway 1044) 6 g, 17 m, 18.6 yds

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

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

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

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

Stitch marker or scrap of yarn to use as a running stitch marker

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 2 together

st/sts Stitch/stitches

WST Waistcoat stitch

WST2tog Waistcoat stitch 2 together

Special stitches

Waistcoat (WST) stitch (aka “knit” or “centre post” stitch)

Please note that it is important to relax your tension when you do a WST or you will find it very tricky to work into the stitch in the following round. To do a WST insert your hook into the post of the stitch you are working into, pulling through a loop, yarn over and pull through two loops. When working in continuous rounds the post of the stitch will look like a “V” as you can see in the photo below where I have highlighted the V in a couple of rounds. The hook has been inserted into the post to make a stitch. You can see the original photo (without my added V’s) on the right.

WST2tog - Waistcoat stitch two together

Like the WST, you will need to keep your tension relaxed for doing this stitch. This stitch is done like a traditional sc2tog except that you are working into the posts of the stitches. Insert your hook through the post of the first stitch and pull up a loop. Insert your hook through the post of the second stitch and pull up a loop. Yarn over and pull through three loops.

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 around the other side of the ch, sc in the next 2 chs, 2 sc in the last ch. (14)
Rnd 2 Working in BLO, sc {loosely} in each st around. (14)
Rnds 3-6 WST in each st around. (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, sc in the FLO of the 3rd st of Rnd 6 and in the FLO of the next 3 sts. Ch 1 and turn. (4) NB: unlike the rest of the WST in this pattern, in the next row you will be working into the wrong side of the stitches so the posts look like upside down V’s as you can see in the photo to the right. If you can’t figure out where to make your stitches (the placement of the first stitch or last can be tricky to figure out) feel free to substitute sc in place of WST.
Short Row 6b WST {or sc – see note above} in each st across, fasten off with white and resume with mc from where you finished Rnd 6. (4)
Rnd 7 WST in the first 2 sts to the base of the window. Sc {loosely} 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 WST in the remaining 8 sts. (18)
Please check that you have the right stitch count at the end of this round. It is very easy to accidentally put your first WST after the windows into the post of the wrong stitch. The first stitch after going around the windscreen should be the one pictured to the right:
Rnd 8 WST in the first 3 sts, working in BLO, sc in the next 6 sts, working in both loops again, WST in the last 9 sts. (18)
Rnd 9 WST in the first 2 sts, change to white, WST in the next st, change to mc, WST in the next 6 sts, change to white, WST in the next st, change to mc, WST in the last 8 sts. (18)
Rnds 10-11 WST in the first 2 sts, change to white, WST in the next 2 sts, change to mc, WST in the next 4 sts, change to white, WST in the next 2 sts, change to mc, WST in the remaining 8 sts. (18)
Rnd 12 WST in the first 3 sts, change to white, WST in the next st, change to mc, WST in the next 4 sts, change to white, WST in the next st, change to mc, WST in the remaining 9 sts. (18)
Rnd 13 WST in the first 4 sts, working in BLO, sc in the next 4 sts, working in both loops, WST in the remaining 10 sts. (18)
Rnd 14 WST2tog, working in BLO, sc in the next st, sc2tog x 2, sc in the next st, working in both loops again, WST2tog x 2, WST in the next 4 sts, WST2tog. (12)
Rnd 15 WST in each st around. (12)
Stuff
Rnd 16 Fold Rnd 15 in half so that the top and bottom stitches line up, ch 1 and sc the rows together, ch 1 and turn. (6)
Row 17 Working in BLO, 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 the wheels in exactly the same way you did for the first race car and sew them on, in the same way, adding windscreen wipers too if you choose.

Congratulations, you have now completed the final pattern of this CAL. Share your photos in the CAL - Crochet A Long on Facebook or on Instagram using the hashtag #carsandtruckscal2020

Other parts of the CAL

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 5 (race car #1)

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

Don't forget, this is the last week 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.
Do not copy and paste the pattern onto your own Blog, in a Facebook group, or anywhere else. Simply link to my website instead. Anything beyond this is copyright theft, regardless of what your pattern-sharing buddies tell you.
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