Crocheted Flowers: "Everything's Coming Up Roses"

Crocheted flowers are one of the signatures of my wearable art. They are a versatile decoration that can be used to adorn many projects. My flowers embellish gloves, scarves, swearers, blankets, and baby cocoons. Crocheted flowers stand alone as a single large rose on a hat or headband. The can also be grouped in an array to enhance a baby cocoon as a photo prop. I often cluster a larger flower, a smaller bud, and leaves. The styles I employ most frequently are:

​a single one layer posy with 5 or 6petals
a multilevel, 3-dimensional rose
a lacy rose made from a long crocheted strip that is coiled and sewn

The single posey is just right for the newborn hat, small accents, and other delicate items. The 2-layered flowers are best for my fingerless gloves. 3-layered roses or coiled Lacey roses are best for more substantial pieces. I use this type of flower when I need a wider, flatter rose. You can also transform a straw hat from the dollar store with one large flower or several flowers, buds, and leaves sewn to the ribbon band an brim. You might even try a crocheted necklace from chains, flowers, and leaves. The photos that follow display some of the ways I experiment with this feature.

Allfreecrochet.com. has been one of my main sources for all types of crocheted flowers. You can also follow me on Pinterest  (Lillian Malkus, Love to Crochet) where I have made a large collection of bloom and patterns from other artists. I tend to crochet a 6 petal flower starting from a magic circle. Hopefully honey.com offers straightforward directions on how to form a rose from a lacey strip. Crochet Flowers For Every Wear includes directions for constructing flowers as well as many was for transforming everyday garments and accessories into "wearable art." For all of the flowers, the weight of your yarn and the size of the hook will determine the size of the flower.

In future postings, I will describe individual projects in more detail. Just writing this post has encouraged me to experiment with more complicated blooms.

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