A recipe for knitted flowers

[caption id="attachment_2628" align="aligncenter" width="459" caption="Flower brooch, copyright Ingrid Murnane"][/caption]

In order to make your own knitted flower, you'll need to knit a long strip of fabric, which is wider on one of the long sides than the other. From this you can form either a single rose-type flower, or a double flower. Even within these parameters there is scope for putting them together in differing ways to make tightly-furled or more blowsy blooms.

Of course, you might need a leaf too, which is a little more complicated so I'll give you a few links at the end for making different types.

Recipe for a flower brooch

The basic recipe for making a flower is as follows, but you can jig it about as you like for different effects, much like a cooking recipe:

1. Cast on 80 to 100 stitches


2. Knit three rows of garter stitch.


3. Next row: P2tog all the way accross


4. Next row: Knit and decrease (by k2tog every 5 or 6 stitches)


5. Work in stocking stitch from here on, and on every second row (which will be a knit row) decrease by k2tog at appropriate intervals to pull in the work until your flower is almost tall enough for a brooch (I aim for about 5-6cm usually).


6. Next row - k2tog right along the row, in order to halve the amount of stitches.


7. Cast off.

Tip: It is up to you how you'd like to decrease. You can do it in a uniform fashion by decreasing first every 7 stitches, then every 6 and so on, or you could decrease by k2tog every 4 in the first decrease row, then by every 2 in the next, but every 5 in the third decrease row.  Of course, your decrease rows don't have to be every second row either. By playing with the decreasing and how often you space it, you will create differently shaped flowers.

[caption id="attachment_2629" align="aligncenter" width="457" caption="Rose brooch, copyright Ingrid Murnane"][/caption]

Putting it all together

Wrap the knitting around on itself to find how it sits best and for the appropriate flower look for you. Sew it into place using the tails of yarn from the knitting.

Of course, you might like to make a leaf to go with your flower. There are some great patterns available online for this. Here is a good pattern from Crafty Galore. This second one from TikkunArts is a pdf.

You can make them into brooches by adding a safety pin to the back, add them to cardigans or bags, or maybe make a garland!

The knitted flower recipe above is copyrighted to Ingrid Murnane. You are welcome to make it, talk about it and link to it, but when you do please attribute Ingrid Murnane. We ask however that you do not reproduce the recipe itself or use the recipe or the finished flowers for commercial purposes. The images are also copyright of Ingrid Murnane. Please contact Ingrid if you wish to use them for any purpose.