Want to crochet a fruit that is a little bit different? How about a tomato? And better yet, how about a tomato and strawberry in the same pattern? That's exactly what you will find in this free pincushion crochet pattern by Karabouts.

This is another crochet food set, this time with a picnic basket. This is a cute one to make to donate to a preschool class. The bunches of grapes are especially adorable.

SkyMagenta is an amigurumi crochet pattern designer who has a large number of food patterns. This pattern is for chocolate fondant but it includes a range of different skewered fruits to "dip" into the play chocolate. This pattern, sold on Etsy, includes crochet bananas, kiwi, strawberries, cherries, apples, peaches, and grapes.

Strawberries are another popular fruit to crochet, perhaps because they are the kind of food that makes everyone happy just to look at. These sweet treats are yummy symbols of summer but they are delicious yarn decor throughout the year. This free crochet pattern is by Jenni Designs.

Apples are one of the most popular foods to crochet. This isn't just because of their popularity for kitchen decor. They're also great for teacher gifts, the beginning of fall, and anything school-themed. And they can be used in educational presentations about healthy eating. This free crochet apple pattern is available as a download through Ravelry by designer Kitty Adventures.

Apples are another great fruit for potholders since so many kitchens incorporate apples as part of a "country chic" style. This free potholder crochet pattern is by Star Wisps.

One of the easiest ways to crochet fruit is to crochet circles in the colors of fruit slices. These circles can become a variety of items, the simplest of which is a coaster. These fruit-inspired crochet coasters designed by Marinke Slump for CraftTuts+ are a great beginner's crochet project. You can vary the colors to get different fruits; for example, use the lemon coaster crochet pattern with green yarn for a lime coaster.

How to Crochet a Lovely Heart

While most of the crochet cactus patterns on this list are amigurumi-style, this one has a different approach. It's a set of crochet coasters, so the cactus is really just a green circle crochet in the round and decorated with white embroidery stitches for thorns. However, you'll then add a tiny three dimensional crochet flower to the top of each coaster. When you stand them up inside of the pot that you crochet, they look three-dimensional as though you've worked with amigurumi. None of the stuffing, all of the design flair.