Tess Young Designs & Makes

Over the weekend I was having a play with a crochet hook and some scraps of yarn and managed to come up with the following:

I was rather pleased with them.

I’m new to crochet and learnt, finally, after many attempts by watching and copying my friends Val and Wynne. You would not believe how many times I had tried and just not been able to get the hang of it. So I am always ridiculously pleased when my attempts come out looking like something.

So pleased was I with these that I decided they warranted further reproduction in one of my favourite ever yarns: Malabrigo Worsted. Not only is it the softest merino with a gorgeously squishy unplied texture, it also comes in the most fabulous range of colours. It’s also becoming much easier to get here in the UK, although it can be difficult to track down some of the colourways.

Anyway, you needn’t just take my word for how wonderful it is, my favouritism towards this yarn is shared by the many Ravelry members who use it. It is the third most popular yarn used in projects on Ravelry – a total of 67240 projects and increasing.

I had bought some to use in a new hat design, which is coming along and had some small scraps left from a couple of previous projects. I’d been hanging on to these scraps as every inch of this gorgeous yarn is precious but was beginning to think it was a bit crazy because what on earth would I be able to do with it?

So here we are:

Those who really know their crochet may want to look away now, or at least brace themselves for the following pattern. Having learnt informally, I’m sure I break all sorts of rules without even realising it.

Materials:

5mm crochet hook (US-H)

4m of yarn for the petals

1.5m of yarn for the centre

Brooch pin – if you want to make this into a corsage

Finished size – 3 inches / 7cm across

Abbreviations:

dc = double crochet (US – single crochet)

dtr = double treble crochet (US-treble crochet)

Instructions:

Leaving a tail of approx 6 inches (15cm), make a 6 chain and join it to make a ring. Then make a single chain, followed by 9dcs into the centre ring giving you a total of 10 stitches.

Then for each petal – 4 chain, 2 dtr into the next stitch at the centre, 3 chain, 1 dc into the next stitch at the centre. Repeat until you have a total of 5 petals.

Sew in the ends towards the centre and using the 6 inch tail you left at the beginning, stitching across the central ring to fill in any remaining hole.

Change to the yarn you’re using for the centre – You don’t want too much because later you will need to pull the yarn through the work.

With the yarn at the back, push the crochet hook from the front through a dc into which you’ve previously worked whilst making the petals, catch the yarn and pull it through to make a loop.

Go into the next dc and pull through another loop and then pull it through the loop already on the hook.

This will create a flat chain stitch on the top of your work. Repeat this around all of the dcs so you have a circle of flat stitches around the centre. You will work into these to make the centre trumpet.

Pull the end of the yarn up through so it’s at the top of your work and has come through the centre of your last stitch.

You will now slide the hook under both parts of the next flat stitch.

Catch the yarn and pull it through to make a single chain.

Chain 2, then work a tr into each of the rest of the flat stitches  around the centre.

Join to your first chain with a slip stitch.

Break off your yarn, sew in the ends and add a pin if you wish. The pin I used was 1 inch/ 2.5cm.

I hope you have fun with these.

Do try them in chunkier yarn with a slightly bigger hook if you prefer, and feel free to make as many as you like for gifts and fundraising. Mine will end up on a fundraising stall at a craft fair just before Christmas.