How to Crochet a Monstera Leaf Entryway Rug: A Complete Guide to the CAL Series (Part 3 — Starting to Crochet)

If you’ve been following along with the Monstera Leaf Crochet-Along series, you already know how satisfying this project is shaping up to be. Part 3 is where things really start moving — this is the episode where the hook finally meets the yarn and the iconic tropical leaf shape begins to take form. Whether you’re a dedicated follower of the original Japanese YouTube tutorial or you’ve just stumbled onto this project and want a detailed written companion guide, this post will walk you through everything you need to know to start crocheting your own Monstera small rug.

Let’s dig into the technique, the tips, the common pitfalls, and the joy of watching a stunning botanical crochet piece grow from your hands, row by row.

What Is a Crochet-Along (CAL) and Why This One Is Special

A Crochet-Along, often abbreviated as CAL, is a community event where crocheters around the world follow the same pattern at the same time, sharing progress and encouraging each other. They’ve become enormously popular on social media and YouTube, bringing together makers who might never meet in real life but who share the same creative language.

This particular CAL centers on a Monstera leaf design worked up as a small rug or mat, intended for entryway or hallway use. The Monstera deliciosa — the tropical plant with its famously fenestrated, split leaves — has become one of the most beloved motifs in modern craft. It appears on everything from throw pillows to wallpaper, but recreating its distinctive silhouette in crochet, at rug scale, with the characteristic holes and curved lobes reproduced in actual stitch work, is a genuinely ambitious and rewarding undertaking.

The creator behind the original YouTube series (tagged with 編み始めます, meaning “we begin crocheting” in Japanese) has broken the project into digestible parts, and Part 3 is the pivotal moment: we begin.

Materials You’ll Need Before You Start

Before you cast on a single chain stitch, make sure you have everything ready. Running out of yarn mid-leaf or discovering your hook is the wrong size after several hours of work is the kind of frustration that doesn’t need to happen.

Yarn: For a durable entryway mat, you want a thick, sturdy cotton or cotton-blend yarn. Cotton is ideal because it holds its shape, lies flat, doesn’t trap dust the way synthetic fibers can, and is easy to wash. A weight of approximately 4 (medium/worsted) to 5 (bulky) works well for this scale of project. The original tutorial uses a green yarn that leans toward the deep, saturated mid-greens of a real Monstera leaf, though you can absolutely play with color — dusty sage, forest green, even variegated yarns that blend light and dark greens give beautiful results.

Hook: Match your hook to your yarn weight. For worsted to bulky cotton, a 5mm to 6.5mm hook is typical. If you tend to crochet tightly, go up half a size. The goal is a firm but not rigid fabric that will lay flat and not curl at the edges.

Stitch markers: These are non-negotiable for a project with this much shaping. The Monstera’s silhouette involves increases, decreases, and the placement of the characteristic openings (fenestrations), and losing track of a key stitch can throw off the entire symmetry of the leaf.

Scissors and a tapestry needle: For finishing, weaving in ends, and any join work.

A printed or noted copy of the row counts and stitch counts: Even if you’re watching the video tutorial simultaneously, having a quick-reference sheet beside you as you work saves enormous amounts of time.

Understanding the Monstera Leaf Shape in Crochet Terms

Before you make your first stitch, it helps to understand what you’re trying to achieve structurally. A Monstera leaf is not a simple oval or rectangle. It has a defined central midrib (the main vein running from stem to tip), lobes that extend to either side in a roughly symmetrical but organically varied pattern, and those distinctive fenestrations — the oval or teardrop-shaped holes that develop naturally in the leaf as it matures.

In crochet terms, this means you’re working with a combination of:

Shaping rows that increase and decrease to create the curved outer edge of each lobe, worked holes or spaces that replicate the fenestrations, typically achieved by using chain spaces or skipped stitches surrounded by stitches that maintain the structure, and directional changes that let you move from one lobe to the next without creating bulk or gaps at the joins.

The most common base stitch for this kind of flat work is single crochet (sc), which creates a dense, durable fabric perfect for a rug. Some versions of this pattern use half double crochet (hdc) for a slightly loftier texture, and you may see double crochet (dc) used for decorative border rounds. In the original CAL, single crochet dominates the main body of the leaf.

Starting to Crochet: The Foundation and First Rows

In Part 3 of the CAL, 編み始めます — we begin crocheting. This is where the foundation of the leaf is established.

The magic ring or foundation chain: Most versions of this leaf pattern start with either a magic adjustable ring or a short foundation chain, depending on how the stem and base of the leaf are constructed. If you’re working from the stem tip upward, a magic ring allows you to close the base neatly. If the pattern begins at the widest point and works out to the tip, a foundation chain of a specific number of stitches defines the midrib length.

The importance of tension: From your very first stitch, pay attention to your tension. A rug needs to be firm enough to stay in place and not bunch underfoot, but if your tension is too tight, the piece will not lie flat and may cup or dome. If it’s too loose, the rug will stretch and lose its shape. Working a small swatch first — even just ten stitches by ten rows — will tell you a lot about whether you need to adjust your hook size or consciously loosen or tighten your grip.

Building the midrib: The central spine of the leaf is worked first in most Monstera rug patterns. This might be a chain row that you then work back along on both sides, or it might be a series of increases at the beginning and end of rows to create a pointed, elongated oval that defines the central leaf body. Following the video closely at this stage is important because the exact stitch count sets everything else up.

Row by row in Part 3: The tutorial walks you through the first several rows of actual leaf body. You’ll notice that the increases happen at specific intervals — not every row, but in a pattern that creates the gradual broadening of the leaf as you move away from the tip. Keep a tally of your rows. Writing down “row 1: 5 sc, row 2: 7 sc” and so on might feel tedious but it makes troubleshooting infinitely easier if something goes wrong later.

Working the Fenestrations (The Leaf Holes)

The holes in a Monstera leaf are arguably its most distinctive feature, and working them in crochet is genuinely satisfying once you understand the method. In this CAL, the fenestrations are created using a technique that involves working to a designated point, creating a chain space of a specific number of chains, skipping the equivalent number of stitches beneath, and then continuing the row. On the following row, you work the same number of stitches into that chain space as there are chains, effectively closing the top of the hole while leaving it open within the body of the fabric.

The key is placing these holes in the right position relative to the leaf’s overall symmetry. In a real Monstera leaf, the fenestrations don’t appear at the very center — they’re between the central midrib and the outer lobed edge, distributed across the width of the leaf in a pattern that feels both organic and balanced. The CAL pattern replicates this by specifying exactly which rows and which stitch positions get the chain spaces.

If you’re new to working intentional holes into crochet fabric, practice on a swatch first. Chain 5, skip 5, continue — then on the return row, work 5 sc into the chain-5 space. Once you’ve felt how that works in your hands, doing it within the actual leaf feels natural.

Managing the Lobe Shaping

Each lateral lobe of the Monstera leaf requires its own shaping sequence. After the central body is established and the fenestrations are placed, the lobes extend outward from the edge of the central leaf shape. This is typically done by working additional rows that go beyond the main body on alternating sides, decreasing at the tip of each lobe to create that pointed, graceful curve.

One common technique is to leave stitches unworked at the base of each lobe on certain rows, creating a step-down that visually separates one lobe from the next. This is where stitch markers become especially valuable — place one at the base of each lobe as you begin working it so you can count back and check your symmetry.

The right and left lobes of a Monstera leaf aren’t perfectly identical, which is part of the leaf’s organic beauty. However, in crochet, you want them close enough to symmetrical that the rug looks balanced and intentional. Following the stitch counts in the tutorial precisely will get you there.

Tips for Keeping Your Work Flat and Even

A rug that doesn’t lie flat is a safety hazard and an aesthetic disappointment. Here are the most effective ways to ensure your Monstera mat stays beautifully flat throughout the making process.

Check your work every ten rows or so by placing it on a flat surface and stepping back to look at it. Any tendency to curl or dome will be visible early on, and early is the right time to address it. If the edges are curling upward, your tension is probably too tight or you need a larger hook. If the center is doming, you may be increasing too rapidly.

Blocking is your best friend for this kind of project. Cotton responds beautifully to wet blocking — once your rug is finished (or even at the halfway point if you want to check your shaping), wet it thoroughly, gently squeeze out the excess water, and pin it to its correct dimensions on a blocking mat or a carpeted floor covered with a towel. Leave it to dry fully. The transformation can be remarkable.

Working in a consistent environment also helps. Crocheting for an hour in a warm room and then picking the project up in a cold one can subtly change your tension. It sounds minor, but over many rows it can create slight inconsistencies in the fabric.

Color Choices and Variations for Your Monstera Rug

While the original CAL works in a solid green that closely mimics the real plant’s leaf color, there’s enormous room for personalization here. The structure of the pattern supports many different aesthetic directions.

A variegated green yarn — one that transitions through light lime, medium fern, and deep forest tones — can create a beautifully naturalistic effect, as though the leaf has areas of sun and shade. This works especially well if the variegation is gradual (long color repeats) rather than speckled, which can look busy at rug scale.

High-contrast options are also striking. A deep hunter green body with a cream or white used for the fenestration edging (worked as a decorative slip stitch or single crochet border around each hole after the main body is complete) creates a botanical illustration effect that is genuinely elegant.

Completely departing from realistic color — a dusty terracotta Monstera rug, or one worked in deep navy — gives the piece a modern, abstract quality where the leaf shape reads as design rather than representation. These work especially well in contemporary or minimalist interiors.

How to Follow the CAL at Your Own Pace

One of the best things about a YouTube-based Crochet-Along is that you’re not actually bound to work in real time. The videos stay available, the comment sections often contain answers to common questions from other crafters, and you can pause, rewind, and watch a tricky section ten times if needed.

That said, participating in the CAL community — even after the fact — adds a dimension of enjoyment that solo pattern-following doesn’t quite replicate. Looking at other people’s color choices, seeing how their leaf shapes are coming along, asking questions in comments, and sharing your own progress photos all make the project feel like a shared endeavor rather than a solitary task.

If you’re following the Japanese-language tutorial and you don’t read Japanese, the visual nature of crochet content means you can follow along primarily by watching hands and stitches rather than relying on verbal instruction. Stitch counts shown on screen, on-screen diagrams, and the clear demonstration of technique all translate across language barriers better than almost any other craft video format.

What Comes After Part 3

Once you’ve completed the foundational rows introduced in Part 3 of the CAL, you’ll have the beginning of the leaf body established — the central spine worked up, the first fenestrations placed, and the rhythm of increases and decreases beginning to make intuitive sense in your hands. The subsequent parts of the series will take you through completing the full leaf silhouette, finishing the lobes, working any border rounds, and the final finishing steps that turn a piece of crochet fabric into a proper, sturdy entryway rug.

The stem, if included, is typically added last and is one of the most charming details of the finished piece — that thick, slightly curved crochet stem at the base of the leaf grounds the whole design and makes the botanical resemblance unmistakable.

A Few Words on the Joy of This Project

There is something particular about making a rug by hand. It takes longer than almost any other domestic crochet project. It uses more yarn and demands more physical endurance from your hands and wrists. And yet the result — a piece that lives on the floor, that is the first thing people see when they enter your home, that gets walked on and used and touched every single day — has a weight and presence that hanging art or cushion covers don’t quite match.

A handmade Monstera rug says something about the maker: that you had the patience and skill to create something functional and beautiful from scratch, that you thought carefully about the space you were making it for, and that you wanted to bring something of the natural world — that lush, generous tropical leaf — into your everyday life.

Part 3 is where that vision stops being abstract and starts being real. Pick up your hook, find your yarn, and begin.