After I had crocheted the Forever Love Hearts, I really wanted to try my hand at roses. I am really fussy about the look of crocheted roses and couldn’t find an existing pattern that I was satisfied with. I decided to make my own. I knew roughly what I wanted it to look like and knew it had to be done in separate pieces. I started with working in the round and made three circular pieces, as the petals, to start with. Then I tried piecing them together, which was tricky because I wasn’t quick sure how I was going to get them to stay together. I also realised that I was going to need more then just three pieces to make a full rose. I ended up needing seven petals and I was able to sew them together by wrapping each one around the others and overlapping them on the one before.

I crocheted leaves to fit around the base of the rose and sewed them on.

For the stems, I purchased some 6mm metal gardening rods and some green florist tape. I found them all on eBay at very reasonable prices. I put two rods together and pushed them up into the centre of the rose. I then wrapped the yarn ends from each petal around the rods, working my way down until the yarn ran out. After that I used the tape and wrapped it around the rods from top to bottom, and back up again. The flower is now finished.

I was so pleased with my finished product. It turned out exactly how I like a crochet rose to look. I also found that by using less pieces, I could make rose buds that could be used as boutonnieres or as a closed rose on a stem to give to a loved one. They would be great for weddings, Valentine’s Day or just because you love someone.

The pattern is available in both UK and US Terminology and can be purchased from my Ravelry store, Etsy shop or www.lovecrochet.com

I hope this brings you #creativejoyandinspiration. Let’s get yarning!