Tunisian Mosaic Crochet Bookmark – Free Pattern!

It is so much fun to experiment with Tunisian Mosaic crochet! I have tried so many different patterns and I’ve loved each one of them!

The Shabd (which means ‘word(s)’ in Hindi) bookmark is a simple mosaic pattern. It is the perfect beginner project that could be made with a traditional crochet hook since you need to hold only 11 loops on the hook at once.

This has been one of my most used makes since I love reading and I always have a book at my bed side. It is a great gift for all book lovers, teachers and students, and would make a great stocking stuffer too!

Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links – please see my affiliate disclosure for details.

The yarn

I used Woolike yarn by Loops & Threads to make my bookmarks. This yarn is soft and thin and works very well for this pattern.

I have tried this pattern with heavier weight yarn (DK and Worsted). It works up really well but it is unusable as a bookmark because of its thickness. It works up best in yarn that is fingering weight or lighter.

The hooks

I use a hook from my interchangeable Denise hook set to make my bookmarks.

In Tunisian crochet, we usually use a hook that is at least 2 sizes larger than the hook recommended for the yarn. You can read a review of all the hooks I use here.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE DENISE HOOK SET

Dimensions

1.5” x 6.5” (4 cms x 16.5 cms)

Pattern

Scroll down for the free pattern.

A standalone PDF version with the chart (with X’s indicating the front post extended stitches), written instructions, and the repeat pattern chart is available for purchase in my Ravelry, Etsy and LoveCrochet shops.

Click on the links below to purchase the ad-free printable PDF version of this pattern.

If you are new to Tunisian Mosaic crochet, I also offer a beginner friendly course that walks you through all the basics of this technique in detail – A beginner’s guide to Tunisian Mosaic Crochet.

Note: I will share two videos from this course on my ad-supported YouTube channel. You can find them here if you’d like to take a look before you make your purchase.

I would love to see your projects on Instagram! Tag your posts with:
@knitterknotter #knitterknotter #madewithknitterknotter

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What you will need (with clickable affiliate links)

1. Yarn: Fingering weight yarn in 2 colors. I used Woolike yarn by Loops & Threads in the following two colors:
   • Beige (.7 oz / 20 gm / 130 yds / 125 m)
   • Sage / Red / Navy (.4 oz / 12 gm / 78 yds / 70 m)
2. Hook: 3.5 mm (E – 4) Tunisian crochet hook
3. 12″ x 12″ Pillow Form
4. Scissors
5. Tapestry needle to weave in tails

Experience Level

Beginner

Gauge

Gauge is not important in this pattern, you can use any yarn you like with an appropriate hook and the pattern will not change. The size of your bookmark will vary depending on your style of crocheting and tension.

Resources

1. Stitch Tutorials for Tunisian Mosaic Crochet
2. How to change color at the beginning of a Forward Pass 
3. How to make a Foundation Row
4. How to bind off and end a project
5. Tunisian Crochet Hooks
6. How to block a crochet project
7. A beginner’s guide to Tunisian Mosaic Crochet course

Abbreviations

1. ch – chain
2. fs – First Stitch – Skip the first vertical bar of the previous row (the one right under the one on the hook). The loop on the hook will count as the first stitch for every row. 
3. ls – Last Stitch – Pick up the two vertical bars of the last stitch of the previous row, yarn over, pull through both the vertical bars into a loop on the hook.
4. tss – Tunisian Simple Stitch– Insert hook in the vertical bar, yarn over, pull up a loop on the hook.
5. etss – Front Post Extended Tunisian Simple Stitch – Locate the stitch that’s two rows below the next stitch. Pick up the two vertical bars (front and back bars) from above the return pass chain, yarn over, pull through, chain 1.
6. FR – Foundation Row
7. BOR – Bind off Row

The book in the pictures is Atomic Habits by James Clear. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it!

Colors

C1: Beige
C2: Sage / Red / Navy

Pattern Notes

1. This pattern is written in English / US terms.
2. The instructions below are only for the forward pass. The return pass for every row is the same:
   • ch1, (yo, pull through two loops)* until one loop remains on the hook.
3. This pattern comes with stitch tutorials and other support videos. Scroll down for all video tutorials.

Instructions

[C1] Row 1 (FR): This is the Foundation Row.
Chain 11, make the foundation row stitches in the back loops of the chain.
[C2] Row 2: fs, 9 tss, ls.
[C1] Row 3: fs, etss, 7 tss, etss, ls.
[C2] Row 4: fs, tss, etss, 5 tss, etss, tss, ls.
[C1] Row 5: fs, etss, tss, etss, 3 tss, etss, tss, etss, ls.
[C2] Row 6: fs, (tss, etss) x 4, tss, ls.
[C1] Row 7: fs, etss, tss, etss, 3 tss, etss, tss, etss, ls.
[C2] Row 8: fs, tss, etss, 5 tss, etss, tss, ls.
[C1] Row 9: fs, etss, tss, 2 etss, tss, 2 etss, tss, etss, ls.
Rows 10 – 33: Repeat rows 4 to 9 four times.
Rows 34 – 38: Repeat Rows 4 to 8.
BOR: Repeat Row 3.
This will be the bind off row. You will make a slip stitch every time you pick up a loop on

Chart

The black and white squares are not a part of the pattern, they indicate that one color is used for the entire row and that we change color after every row.

The row repeats are separated by blue lines – Rows 10 to 33 are a repeat of Rows 4 to 9.

Row 1 is the Foundation Row, the Bind Off Row is not shown in the chart.

Note that this is a repeating pattern so the chart does NOT show the entire bookmark pattern. Keep an eye on the row and stitch numbers in the chart and cross reference the written instructions if you need help with figuring out the repeats.

There are no X’s to indicate the Front Post Extended Stitches in the chart below. I have a photo tutorial and a video below that explains how to add the X’s to your chart in the ‘Support Videos’ section.

Support Videos

How to add X’s to a Tunisian Mosaic Crochet chart

How to read a Tunisian Mosaic Crochet chart

Pattern

Scroll up for the free pattern.

A standalone PDF version with the chart (with X’s indicating the front post extended stitches), written instructions, and the repeat pattern chart is available for purchase in my Ravelry, Etsy and LoveCrochet shops.

Click on the links below to purchase the ad-free printable PDF version of this pattern.

If you are new to Tunisian Mosaic crochet, I also offer a beginner friendly course that walks you through all the basics of this technique in detail – A beginner’s guide to Tunisian Mosaic Crochet.

Note: I will share two videos from this course on my ad-supported YouTube channel. You can find them here if you’d like to take a look before you make your purchase.

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