I wanted to crochet some flowers for my wedding bouquet (yay! I'm getting married!) and, admittedly, I really don't love the look of most crocheted flowers. But then I found a blog post with a gorgeous crocheted bouquet that included THE perfect rose and fell in deep, deep love with the roses she made:
http://www.gantsilyoguru.com/2013/05/they-got-hitched-with-crocheted-bouquet.html?spref=fb
But she wouldn't respond about how she made them/where she found the pattern/if I could buy the pattern from her. So I improvised my own pattern. I've made tons of paper flowers (something I've gotten into since planning my wedding, they're lots of fun!) that have a similar method of construction. So I played around (for weeks) and after incredible disappointment, almost giving up, and renewed determination, this is what I ended up doing:
For EVERY petal: sc in each st around the sides and top to get a nice finished edge.
Small Center petal x 1 (use 3.75mm hook):
Ch 14
1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across
2-5: turn, ch 1, sc in next st and each st across
6-7: turn, ch 1, sc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts, dc in next st, tc in next 3 sts, dc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts sc in last 2 sts
Medium Petal x1 (size 4mm hook)
ch 8
1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across
2: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, 2sc in last st
3: turn, ch 1, sc in same st as ch 1, sc in ea st across
4: repeat row 2
5: repeat row 3
6-10: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across
11: turn, ch 1, sc dec over next 2 sts, sc in each st across
12: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, sc dec over last 2 sts
13-15 : repeat rows 11 and 12
Large Petal x 2 (size 5mm hook) *I've made a correction to rows 17 and 18, so if you were having trouble with those, it should work out now*
ch 8
1: turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across
2: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, 2sc in last st
3: turn, ch 1, sc in same st as ch 1, sc in each st across
4-5: repeat rows 2 and 3
6-16: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across
17: turn, ch 1, sc dec over next 2 sts, sc in each st across
18: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, sc dec over last 2 sts
19-21 : repeat rows 17 and 18
Weave in ends on each petal (except the center petal, leave a bit of a tail to sew it into a cylinder). Next, it's very important to block the petals before sewing them together. I usually avoid blocking; it's just one extra step that takes time and I just really want to finish, BUT it really helps. If the petals aren't blocked, they're a little flimsy and when I sewed them together they just wanted to roll into each other. And I like to have a bit of space between the petals. All I did to block them was lay them on wax paper, spray them with starch, fold the wax paper over top and squish them flat with a book until they dried. You don't want them to be hard, just a little more sturdy.
Here's what this set looks like, after blocking:
Then the hardest part, really; sew them together. I undid my first one twice before I liked the outcome. I don't have any guaranteed way to sew them together. My only advice: before you sew, hold them all together to get the look you want, that way you see how it can turn out and try to remember that look as you go. Then, after you sew each petal, hold the loose ones together with the sewed ones to double check that you like your progress. It's not a very quick way, but it helps with not having to undo the sewing and start over.
The above petals are the result of my third attempt at making this flower and I really love those petals. Below are the patterns for my second version of the petals, which are slightly more rounded than the third and final version. The finished petals (medium and large) aren't symmetrical when laid flat, but they look great once sewed together. I just wanted a slightly flatter top because the perfect rose mentioned at the start of this post seems to have that.
For the blue flower I posted here, I actually used the above patterns plus one large petal from the following and I think it turned out great.
This is the result of just the petals from the following patterns:
Hook: US H/8, 5.0mm
Yarn: I was told it was worsted, but it's definitely lighter. I'll guess it's about a sport weight.
Small Center petal x 1:
Ch 14
1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across
2-5: turn, ch 1, sc in next st and each st across
6-7: turn, ch 1, sc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts, dc in next st, tc in next 3 sts, dc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts sc in last 2 sts
Medium Petal x1
ch 8
1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across
2: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, 2sc in last st
3: turn, ch 1, sc in same st, sc in each st across
4: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, 2sc in last st
5: repeat row 3
6: repeat row 4
5-11: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across
12: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, sc dec over last 2 sts
13: turn, ch 1, sc dec over next 2 sts, sc in each st across
14-17 : repeat rows 12 and 13
Large Petal x 2
ch 8
1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across
2: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, 2sc in last st
3: turn, ch 1, sc in same st, sc in each st across
4: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, 2sc in 2nd last st
5-10: repeat rows 3 and 4
11-14: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across
15: turn, ch 1, sc dec over next 2 sts, sc in each st across
16: turn, ch 1, sc in each st across, sc dec over last 2 sts
17-20 : repeat rows 15 and 16
And I made a slightly smaller center petal at one point that I didn't use with my second and third versions of the flower (show here), but if you want to try it and you like it better, great. So here it is:
Slightly smaller center petal x 1 (use 3.75mm hook):
Ch 10
1: Turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each st across, turn
2-5: Ch 1, sc in next st and each st across, turn
6-7: ch 1, hdc, dc, tc in next 3 sts, dc, hdc, sc
And, finally, I played around a bit more and ended up with this flower:
I think this is my favourite. For this I used the petal patterns listed first in this post (I referred to them as the third version earlier) :
For the center petal, I used the medium petal pattern but with a 3.75mm hook
I did one medium petal as stated in the pattern (4mm hook)
I did one large petal with a 3.75mm hook
And I did 2 large petals as stated in the pattern (5mm hook)
And now that I've rambled on in an attempt to explain things, let me know if you have any questions!
