Want to know a not-so-secret secret?
My other hobby is crochet! I have loved crocheting for about 10 years now, ever since my college roomies taught me a basic stitch and I learned all of the fun things that I could make. One of my favorite though, is the crocheted rose.
I searched for different patterns, and ended up finding this one, which has worked the best for me. While making roses for Utopya, I had a ton of fun changing the basic pattern. For instance, putting 2 scs in between each shell (I know, I live on the wild side). I also had a lot of success with adding an additional row in a different color by adding a border.
By request of the pattern creator, I am linking you to her pattern instead of posting it on here. I have posted some of my variations below.
To spread out petals, add a second sc in between the shells
Row 1: Follow pattern
Row 2: Row 2: sc in first st, [skip next st, (dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc) in next st, skip next st, sc in next st, sc in next st] 11 times.
To add a border:
Row 3: sc in first sc, (2sc in each ch1 space, sc in next sc) until end.
For the stem, I wrapped the yarn around the pipe-cleaner going from the bottom to the top, threaded it through the bend of the pipe cleaner, then back down (securing the green yarn to the calyx and pipe cleaner). Then I knotted the yarn on the way down, letting the yarn twist around at will. (Sorry the pictures were a little hard to see, my camera/lighting is not the best)
1) Position yarn so it is making a loop to the right of the stem, then move tail under the stem.
2) Pull the tail through the loop on the right
3) Pull until snug, allowing each loop to lie right under the one before, and create the cool spiral effect.
