Olive Grove Stripe Rectangle Crochet Rug Free Pattern

Olive Grove Stripe Rectangle Crochet Rug

Welcome to your very first rug! This Olive Grove Stripe rug is the perfect project for a complete beginner who wants to make something beautiful, useful, and big enough to actually show off. It is worked in simple single crochet, so you only need to learn one stitch, and the warm white and butter yellow stripes bring a little Mediterranean summer into your home. The finished rug is a flat, firm rectangle measuring 80 cm wide by 120 cm long (31.5 x 47 in), with soft olive-dot clusters and scattered leaf marks made from spike stitches in the contrasting color. It feels smooth and sturdy underfoot, and it looks like a designer piece you bought at a market in Greece. If you can make a chain and a single crochet, you can make this rug.

Materials Needed

• Yarn: Macrame cord, 3 mm thickness (about 3–4 mm), smooth cotton or cotton-blend. Color A = white, approximately 1,100 m. Color B = butter yellow, approximately 1,100 m. Total approximately 2,200 m. Work with ONE strand of cord throughout.
• Hook: 5.0 mm crochet hook (US size H-8).
• Stitch markers: At least 4, to mark corners and the start of rounds.
• Tapestry needle: A large-eye blunt needle for weaving in ends.
• Scissors: Sharp craft scissors for cutting cord.
• Finished size: 80 cm wide x 120 cm long (31.5 x 47 in).

Abbreviations and Beginner Glossary

• ch – chain. Make a slip knot, then wrap the yarn over the hook and pull it through the loop on your hook. That is one chain.
• sc – single crochet. Insert your hook into the next stitch, wrap the yarn over the hook, pull up a loop (you now have 2 loops on the hook), wrap the yarn over again, and pull it through both loops. One single crochet made.
• spike – spike stitch. This is a single crochet worked into a stitch 2 rows below the current row. Insert your hook through the fabric into that lower stitch, pull up a long loop so it reaches the height of your current row, then finish the single crochet normally (yarn over, pull through both loops).
• st(s) – stitch or stitches.
• sk – skip. Do not work into that stitch; leave it empty.
• RS – right side. The side of the rug that will face up.
• sl st – slip stitch. Insert your hook into the stitch, wrap the yarn over, and pull it through both the stitch and the loop on your hook at the same time. Used to join rounds.
• turn – flip your work over so you can work back across the row you just made.
• fasten off – cut the yarn, pull the tail through the last loop, and tighten to secure.

Gauge

12 sc x 14 rows = 10 x 10 cm (4 x 4 in) in single crochet with a 5.0 mm hook and 3 mm macrame cord, worked flat.

Gauge matters because it tells you whether your rug will come out the right size. If your stitches are too big, the rug will be wider and longer than planned and you may run out of cord. If they are too small, the rug will be too small. To make a gauge swatch: chain 18, then work single crochet rows until the piece measures about 12 cm (5 in) tall. Lay it flat, measure 10 cm across the middle and count the stitches, then measure 10 cm up and count the rows. If you have more than 12 stitches in 10 cm, go up one hook size. If you have fewer, go down one hook size. Wash and dry your swatch the way you plan to clean the rug, because cotton can change slightly.

Beginner Tips Before You Start

• Count your chain carefully. The foundation chain of 97 is the whole width of the rug. Count it twice before you start Row 1, because a missed chain makes the whole rug crooked.
• Use stitch markers. Place one in the first stitch of every row and one in each corner during the edging. This stops you from losing your place.
• Do not pull the cord too tight. Macrame cord is stiff. Keep your loops relaxed and even so the rug stays flat and does not curl at the edges.
• Change color on the last stitch of the row. When you make the final single crochet of a row, pull the new color through on the very last yarn-over. This gives a clean stripe edge.
• Carry the unused color loosely up the side. Do not cut the cord at every stripe. Let the unused color travel up the side edge, loose enough that the rug does not pucker.
• Work in good light and take breaks. Rugs are heavy on the wrists. Stop every 20 minutes and stretch your hands.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Math check before you begin: Width 80 cm x 12 sts / 10 cm = 96 sts. Chain 97 (96 sts + 1 turning chain). Length 120 cm x 14 rows / 10 cm = 168 rows total. Stripes are 8 rows each, so 168 / 8 = 21 stripes, alternating A and B.

Set-Up

With color A (white), ch 97.

Row 1 (RS): Sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each ch across. (96 sts) Turn.

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in each st across. (96 sts) Turn.

Stripe Sequence and Spike Stitch Rules

Work 8 rows in A, then 8 rows in B, repeating this alternation. Always change color on the last yarn-over of the last sc of a row, and carry the unused color loosely up the side edge. Spike stitches are always worked in the contrasting color to the current stripe: when you are working an A stripe, work spikes in B; when you are working a B stripe, work spikes in A. Carry the contrast color along the row or fasten off and rejoin as you prefer.

Olive-dot cluster (worked over 3 sts): 3 spike stitches worked into 3 consecutive stitches 2 rows below, each spike in the contrast color, with 1 sc in the current row between them in the main stripe color. This makes a small group of 3 olive dots.

Leaf mark (worked over 5 sts): 1 spike in the contrast color at st 1, sk 1 st, 1 spike at st 3, sk 1 st, 1 spike at st 5, all worked into stitches 2 rows below. The skipped stitches create the open leaf shape.

Body (Rows 1–168)

Rows 1–8 (A): Work even in sc. On Row 8, place olive-dot clusters as follows: *sc 11, work 1 olive-dot cluster over the next 3 sts (spike in B, sc in A, spike in B, sc in A, spike in B), sc 11; repeat from * across, ending with sc 11. (96 sts; 8 clusters)

Rows 9–16 (B): Work even in sc. On Row 16, place leaf marks as follows: *sc 15, work 1 leaf mark over the next 5 sts (spike in A at st 1, sk 1, spike in A at st 3, sk 1, spike in A at st 5), sc 15; repeat from * across. (96 sts; 4 leaf marks)

Rows 17–24 (A): Work even in sc. On Row 24, place olive-dot clusters offset by 6 sts from Row 8: sc 5, *work 1 cluster over the next 3 sts, sc 11; repeat from * to the last 6 sts, sc 6. (96 sts)

Rows 25–32 (B): Work even in sc. On Row 32, place leaf marks offset by 8 sts from Row 16: sc 7, *work 1 leaf mark, sc 15; repeat from * to the last 8 sts, sc 8. (96 sts)

Repeat Rows 1–32 four more times (that is 5 repeats of the 32-row pattern in total, 160 rows), then work Rows 1–8 of the pattern one final time to reach 168 rows, ending with a B stripe (Rows 161–168). (96 sts)

Edging

Round 1: With A, work 1 round of sc evenly around the entire perimeter: 96 sc along each long edge and 80 sc along each short edge, working 3 sc in each corner to turn neatly. Join with a sl st to the first sc.

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc around, working 3 sc in each corner. Join with a sl st. Fasten off.

Assembly and Finishing

Weaving in ends: Thread each tail onto the tapestry needle. Turn the rug to the wrong side and weave the tail through the backs of several stitches, going in one direction, then back the other way for a few stitches so it cannot work loose. Trim the end close to the fabric.

Blocking: Lightly mist the rug with water until it is damp but not soaking. Lay it flat on a clean floor or blocking mats and pin it to exactly 80 x 120 cm, using the stitch markers to hold the corners square. Let it dry completely flat. Do not iron directly; if you need to press it, use a pressing cloth on low heat.

Pro Tips and Variations

• Change the colors: Swap butter yellow for sage green or terracotta to match your room. Keep one light and one deeper color so the spike motifs stand out.
• Adjust the size: For a narrower runner, chain fewer stitches in multiples of 12 plus 1. For a longer rug, add extra 8-row stripes; each stripe adds about 5.7 cm (2.25 in) of length.
• Substitute yarn: A thick cotton or t-shirt yarn works well. Always make a new gauge swatch, because a different cord changes the finished size.
• Make it reversible: Carry the contrast color neatly along the back so the rug looks tidy from both sides, or work the spike motifs in the same color for a subtle textured look.