I have a little project for you, brought by the Crochet Friday Series, of course. It's a ROSE. Now, there's two reasons why I picked this for today; the first one is that this is a very quick project (20 minutes at most, I'd say, it takes you to crochet this flower), second one is, I'm crocheting myself a collar of white roses that I'm wearing for 8 de Mayo. Yes. Forget about 5 de Mayo, I foresee a 8 de Mayo commemorative day in the future, WHY??? Well, first of all, in Mexico we don't even celebrate 5 de Mayo, that's a US thing. It is of course a holiday in Mexico but it's not a big deal (maybe only for the State of Puebla) and if you really wanna know why, it's because thanks to Mexico kicking the French out during an invasion in the mid 1800s, Napoleon couldn't use MX as a base to help the Confederates win the Civil War. Now, what I would really celebrate for 5 de Mayo is that we're not speaking French here (at least for me that I'm Mexican, and because I live in one of the Southern States in the US) and that we're after all brothers and sisters in this continent called America. That makes more sense than Mexican Heritage to me; this battle was won after 52 years of our Independence from Spain, besides, pride doesn't really make it for me (in a patriotic way). Anyways, there will be an 8 de Mayo happening this 8 de Mayo 2011 (duh) in many cities around the world, wanna find out about it? Click HERE.
Let's continue with our Friday project. I'm using 4 Ply yarn (#4, worsted medium) and a 4.5 mm hook. If you've never read patterns before maybe this is the right time to get familiar with it. You will need to know how to work these basic stitches: Chain Stitch, Slip Stitch, Single Crochet and Double Crochet. Not sure if you can work them? Try these video tutorials in my blog.
I am abbreviating them Ch, SlSt, SC and DC.
Ready? These are the instructions:
Ch17. To the left from your hook, in the 5th Ch work 1DC, 1Ch in between them, 1DC. Now, skip 1 stitch from row below and work again, 1DC, 1Ch, 1DC in the same stitch. Repeat to end.
Ch3, turn your work, 5DC all in the space between DCs in the row below (you guessed right, where you worked 1Ch).
The 3Ch at the beginning were the equivalent to 1DC, that's why we worked 5DC next to it, to make groups of 6DC from now on. Before you go on the next group of 6DC in the spaces, work 1SlSt in that tight space between groups (where I told you not to work any Ch). Finish with 1SC and 1SlSt at the very end.
#1 shows you the chain space where you are supposed to work your 6DC, and #2 shows the SlSt worked in between groups. This cinches the work in between groups and gives them the shape of a petal.
Fasten off. Leave a long strand of yarn, cause with the help of a tapestry needle we have to sew the rose. I like to begin with the side of the work where I started crocheting (the one with the short strand) and I roll it like this (the short strand in the inner side):
Tighten it enough so you can sew through the wholes in the base of the petals to secure it. I always leave a long strand of yarn for future use (to attach it somewhere else).
And that's it! Was that difficult? :)
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