Flower Motif Applique

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite pattern to date. It's quick, fairly simple, & uses a variety of stitches. You also don't have a lot of counting to do on this one, which makes it nice & far less nerve-wracking.

This is a Skill Level 2 pattern. (from the Cozy Crochet Kit)
Stitches and techniques used
Chain stitch, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, triple crochet
Working into ring
Working in the round

Materials
Aurora Yarns/Garnstudio's Muskat (sport weight [note that sport weight is also referred to as Double Knit or DK]; 100% Egyptian cotton; each approx 1 3/4 oz/50 g and 100 yd/100 m), 1 ball Mango #51
Crochet hook, size F/5 (3.75 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge


Gauge
In pattern, after Rnd 1, motif measures approx 1" in diameter

Finished size
Approx 2 1/4" diameter

Pattern
Ch 8. Join with slip st to form ring.

Rnd 1 (RS): Ch 1, 15 sc into ring. Join with slip st to first sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc into same st as last slip st, *ch 3, skip next 2 sc, sc into next sc. Repeat from * around, ending round with ch 3, slip st to first sc.

Rnd 3: Slip st into next ch-3 sp, *(sc, ch 2, dc, 3 tr, dc, ch 2, sc) into ch-3 sp. Repeat from * around, ending rnd with slip st to first sc. Fasten off.

Variation:     

For a more colorful flower, work Rnd 1 in a contrasting color. The samples shown in the photograph use combinations of Butter #30, Orange #47, and Mango #51.

 My first attempt left much to desire in the way of Flower Motif Appliques. I made the mistake of repeating the entire instruction for Rnd 3 instead of just the details between the asterisks. That basically means that each time I started a new petal, I would slip stitch the last petal to the space made by the Ch-3. Then I would proceed with my *sc, ch 2, etc.*

This is possibly why the FMA looks as sad as it does. The petals are not in the least uniform, which makes the entire piece wonky. Then at the end I've got a big jumbled mess of yarn connecting the last petal to the 1st (see: the area about where my hook is still connected to the piece).

After attempting this once, though, I definitely felt more confident in a second attempt. In fact, I even looked forward to it.

My second attempt is ages better. As you can see, the petals are all uniform in size. None of them are squished together or twisting this way and that. What's that? Why are there 6 petals on this FMA when there are clearly only 5 petals on both the pattern photograph and my first attempt?

Well, to be honest, I don't really know. I suppose I could wager a guess in that the top petal there isn't really attached to a ch-3 sp. In fact, that space is only a ch-2. I'm not sure how it got there, but if I had to guess, I'd say that is the spot where I was supposed to slip st the last sc to the first sc. I'm not positive though.

You should also note that I didn't complete this piece to the pattern. I apparently forgot that I was supposed to do 3 tr in the middle of the petals, and instead only did 1. I realized this as I typed the pattern here.

Ahhh, my 3rd attempt. My attempt which was supposed to blow away all other attempts. It's pretty, isn't it? I used my favorite yarn for this one, as I was sure it was going to be perfect and something I would cherish forever.

This yarn is fingering weight (I know it's really thin, that's about it). It also makes a cute little FMA. In fact, it's a bit smaller than it's supposed to be. I'd like to blame that on the yarn (and it definitely contributes to the FMAs small stature), but sadly I repeated my mistake all over again with this one. You'll notice this one only has 5 petals (hooray for lucking into that one), though it's missing those extra tr in the middle of each petal.

I'm starting to think that maybe I should have paid more attention to my counting.

Fourth time's a charm? Using the same fingering weight yarn as before, I managed to get all my tr chains into 5 petals for a most darling result. I'm sure if I used the recommended sport weight (DK), the flower would be a tad larger, though smaller flowers can also be useful. Looking at this FMA, I can imagine using some thread to attach this to just about anything for a cute flowery embellishment. Right now I'm wondering if I can find hair clips that are round and have a hole in the middle. I think this would make the cutest hair accessory. This might also be the perfect little flower to turn the Beary Cute Hat into a Beary Cute Hat for Girls. There seems to be a plethora of opportunity packed into this simple little flower.




Next up: Boyfriend's Hat

A beary cute hat. Take two.

Success!

The new/original yarn definitely tested my patience. It's pretty fuzzy, which makes it difficult to see the loops in the chains. I did find out that this yarn is "worsted weight" and it's also "medium", so that's good. I finally figured it out and managed to whip up this cutey. It did take me a couple hours to make this (and really it should have only taken about an hour), but I'm still a beginner. The fact that I was able to get this done in less than a day is pretty impressive in my book. I did use a larger hook than the pattern called for, but that's because it's what worked best for me. The final piece ended up being 7"x7", so it might be a tad bigger than hoped for. Sadly, I don't have any newborns to try it on.

I attempted to wing the ears with an idea I had for them, but that failed. So I went back to the pattern and followed her directions for the ears. Once those were done, I sewed them on, wove in all my ends, and then sat back and smiled at my beary cute hat!

My previously mentioned friend Julie, told me about this pretty neat site with tons of free patterns. It's called Ravelry and I plan on tackling some of their patterns in the future. I also have the "Cozy Crochet Kit" I purchased when I first decided I wanted to learn to crochet. I've gone through the patterns that came with the kit and I'll be working through them one by one.

Next up: Soft Coaster.

A beary cute hat.

Yes, I am that cheesy.

My friend Julie crocheted the most adorable bear hat I have ever seen. Now, don't get your panties in a wad while you point out that I have not seen that many bear hats in my day. While it may be true, I stand by what I said. I don't know where she got her pattern, but the hat looks like this:

I scoured the internet (for about 1.5 seconds while I consulted Google) for a "crochet bear hat pattern." I was eventually led to a nice lady named Naida and her site here. She has the pattern listed and I didn't even notice her name for it until just now. That is how observant I am.

So I'll be starting this today. I don't have a 4.00 hook, so I'll be using my trusty 3.75. I have no clue what worsted yarn is, but I have some medium yarn I think I'll use. Lastly, I have no idea how to read a pattern, so I'll be referring to the Craft Yarn Council. No clue if I'll be able to figure it out, but you'll be the first to know if I do!

Wish me luck!