If you’ve ever crocheted a project thinking it needed a little something extra consider adding a crocheted appliqué motif. Besides being fun to do, crocheted appliqués (also called motifs) add personality to a piece of otherwise ordinary crocheting fabric such as purses, clothing or blankets. Although they may look intimidating to a new crocheter, they’re actually simple to make.
Supplies Needed
All you need to crochet appliques are a few supplies.
Yarn – To start out use medium weight warn (4-ply) as this is easier to work with than some of the lighter-weighted finer yards (under 4-ply). Have a variety of colors such as left over balls from previous projects.
Crochet fabric – If you don’t want to go to the trouble of crocheting you can always use an inexpensive crocheted blanket or afghan bought for at a thrift store. This would be an excellent choice for practicing before you’re ready to give away your work or sell it. If you do crochet a piece, use a crocheted pattern that makes the finished product tight. In other words, don’t choose loose patterns with holes such as the shell stitch. The afghan stitch, also known as the Tunisian stitch is ideal as it’s made with a tight stitch for sewing on your appliques.
Crochet hook – Use a small to medium-sized hook.
Crochet appliqué pattern – Search web sites for patterns. By searching online you can find various patterns for making crochet appliques, many of which are free. Crochet magazines and books often offer patterns for making appliques and shapes of a variety of flowers. What’s more, once you know the basic concept of creating a shape such as a flower you can design your own patterns.
Crocheting Flowers
Flowers are one of the most common shapes for crocheting appliqués. You can make them singularly to be used by themselves such as made into a refrigerator magnet or add them to crocheted items for decoration. Gather up balls of yarn in colors that are typically made to crochet flowers such as whites, reds, pinks, yellows, browsn and green shades for leaves.
Making a Simple Petal
Most crocheted petals begin the same way by chaining a few stitching. Then you join with a slip stitch, forming a loop. Next, you begin working stitches into that loop. Here’s a basic pattern for making a petal. Although it calls to do four stitches in one single crochet, you can modify it by adding more stitches, making petals taller.
- Chain six stitches for your chain.
- Slip stitch to form a ring
- Make two single crochets in each stitch around the ring, doubling the ring (12 stitches).
- Begin your first petal by making four single crochets in the next stitch in the ring. Make one single crochet into the next stitch in the ring to give the petal definition.
- Repeat step 4, doing four single crochets in the next stitch, forming your next petal. Continue making metals around the ring until you have all petals of your “flower”.
Adding Colors
After you’ve made your first basic flower with petals, make another one. Begin using yellow for the color of the flower. This time, change the color of the yarn to green for more realistic-looking petals.
Once you’re crocheted your first appliqué you’ll probably want to make many more as well as learn more tips and techniques. However, don’t just enjoy this new hobby alone. By taking advantage of the many crochet message boards you can easily find other crocheters who can share ideas with you.
Originally published on Suite 101.
