Medium Flower

Here's another one of the flowers I've been using in my freeform project.

Medium Flower
Rnd 1: Ch 6, sl st in first ch to form ring, ch 1, 12 sc in ring, join with sl st in beg sc, ch 1
Rnd 2: 2 dc in each of next 12 sc, join with sl st into beg sc
Rnd 3: Ch 5, (dc in next sc, ch 1) around, join with sl st in 3rd ch of beg ch-5
Rnd 4: Ch 6, (sk [ch1-dc-ch1], sc in next dc, ch 4) around, join with sl st in 2d chain of beg ch-6
Rnd 5: ([sc, 2 dc, sc] into next ch sp, sl st into next sc) around, join with sl st in first sc, fasten off

Small Flower

When I started this top I searched the Internet far and wide for simple flower patterns. But wherever I went, it seemed like most of the patterns for crochet flowers were for bigger yarn and were often more textural, having multiple layers like Irish crochet roses. I love Irish crochet roses, but I wanted flat things for this garment. When I couldn't find anything I just dove in and started creating my own. After all, I wanted simple, very round, wheel-like flowers, so how hard could it be? Not too hard, it turns out.

Here's one design that I like quite a bit. With size 10 cotton and a 1.65mm hook, it's about 1.5" across when finished.

Small Flower
Rnd 1: Ch 6, sl st in first ch to form ring, ch 1, 12 sc in ring, join with sl st in beg sc, ch 1
Rnd 2: 2 dc in each of next 12 sc, join with sl st into beg sc
Rnd 3: Ch 6, (sk 1 sc, sc in next sc, ch 3) around, join with sl st into 3rd ch of beg ch-6
Rnd 4: (Hdc, dc, hdc in next ch space, sl st into next dc) around, fasten off

The petals tend to curl in on themselves while I work, but since this is cotton I just pull on each petal when I'm done to make them look like the photo. I love that about cotton. It's so "blockable."

Freeform/Irish Crochet Project

I’ve decided to try making a freeform crochet tank/sleeveless top based on Irish crochet techniques, but more in the style of Russian crocheters. The thing is, I don’t know what I’m doing. We’ll see how it goes. It theoretically starts with crochet motifs which are then connected either (a) directly to each other or (b) by crochet webbing. I like the amount of color the Russians use so I'm using color too. I’m using the “direct” method of connection, though if I ever do this again, I might try the webbing technique.

The thread is size 10 crochet cotton and the hook is 1.65mm steel. The colors I had in my stash were mauve/rose, light pink and white, so that’s what I decided to start with. I’m not sure about the look of the white next to the other two color so I may not be using white at all.

Here's what I've got so far.

I think most people must plan out what will go where beforehand, but I’m not that well organized so I’m just sort of using the stick-on-as-you-go method. I make a bunch of motifs, then sew them on to the existing piece wherever they fit. The result so far looks more freeform and less well-planned than most of the things I’ve seen, but I still like it!