Difficulty: Intermediate ✦✦✦✦✧
For my second free Mother's Day flower crochet pattern, I have a gardenia for my mother in law. She taught me how to crochet and encouraged me with books and inspiration.
The flowers have about a 3 inch diameter and are 0.75 inches tall when made with fingering weight cotton yarn and a 2mm hook. The leaves are about 3 inches long and 1.5 inches wide.
Special Stitches: Double Treble Crochet (dtc) = Yarn over 3 times and then proceed like a treble crochet with one extra round of loops on the hook.
Gardenia Flower:
Foundation:
Row 1: 6 sc in a magic circle.
Row 2: In the back loops only, 2 sc in each st around. (12 sts)
Row 3: In the back loops only, [2 sc in the next st, sc] repeat 6 times. Turn. (18 sts)
Row 4: Ch 2, dc in the first st, ch 4, skip 2 sts, hdc, [dc in the second skipped st, ch 4, skip 2 sts, hdc] repeat 5 times. The last st should be in the front loop of Row 2.
Note: Here you are crossing the dc behind the hdc and stitching it in the st before the hdc. This way the petals will look like they are overlapping.
Left: Start the 2nd ch-4 loop with a dc in the 2nd skipped st.
Right: Outermost round of ch-4 loops complete.
Row 5: Continue spiraling toward the middle, working in the front loops of Row 2. Dc in the second skipped stitch from the previous petal loop, ch 4, skip 2 sts, hdc, [dc in the skipped st, ch 4, skip 2 sts, hdc] repeat 5 times.
The last st should be in the front loop of Row 1.
Row 6: Continue spiraling toward the middle, working in the front loops of Row 1. Dc in the skipped stitch from the previous petal loop, ch 4, skip 1 st, hdc, [dc to the left of the hdc in the same stitch (Fig. 4), ch 4, hdc in the next st] repeat 5 times.
The last hdc should be in the same st as the previous petal loop.
Left: Middle round of ch-4 loops complete. Middle: Dc to the left of the hdc in the same stitch in the last round of ch-4 loops. Right: Foundation for the petals complete.
You should now have 18 ch-4 petal loops spiraling from the center to the outside.
Continue on to the petals without breaking the string.
Petals:
Row 7: (Sc 2, hdc 2, dc, hdc 2, sc) in the ch-4 loop, sc 2 around the dc, sl st around hdc behind the petal, pull the working loop through the next ch-4 loop to the back, sl st in the top of hdc behind the petal, turn back to the front] repeat 6 times.
Left: Slip stitch around the hdc behind the current petal. Middle: Pull the working loop through the ch-4 loop to the back and sl st in the top of hdc behind the petal.
Right: First round of petals complete.
Row 8: [(Sc, hdc, dc 2, tc, dc 2, hdc) in the ch-4 loop, sc 2 around the dc, sl st around hdc behind the petal, pull the working loop through the next ch-4 loop to the back, sl st in the top of hdc behind the petal, turn back to the front] repeat 6 times.
Row 9: [(Sc, hdc, dc, tc 2, dtc, tc 2, dc, hdc) in the ch-4 loop, sc 2 around the dc, sl st around hdc behind the petal, pull the working loop through the next ch-4 loop to the back, sl st in the top of hdc behind the petal, turn back to the front] repeat 5 times, (sc, hdc, dc, tc 2, dtc, tc 2, dc, hdc) in the ch-4 loop, sc 2 around the ch-2, sl st in the last st of Row 3.
Row 10: Sl st 2, sc, 2 sc in the next st, hdc, (2 hdc, ch 2, 2 hdc) in the dtc, hdc, 2 sc in the next st, sc 2, sl st 2, ch, sc in the same stitch as the dc from Row 4, [sc 4, 2 sc in the next st, hdc, (2 hdc, ch 2, 2 hdc) in the dtc, hdc, 2 sc in the next st, sc 2, sl st, ch, sc in the same stitch as the dc from Row 4] repeat 5 times.
Tie off. Weave ends in.
Left: Sc in the same stitch as the dc from Row 4. Right: Completed Gardenia flower!
Gardenia Leaf:
Row 1: Ch 21.
Row 2: Skip first st, sc 15, sl st.
Leave 4 ch unworked. This forms the stem.
Row 3: Ch 2, dc 2, ch, tc 6, dc 7, (hdc 2, dc, hdc 2) in the last sc.
Row 4: Working the other side of the starting chain, dc 7, tc 6, ch, dc, hdc, sc, sl st 3, ch.
Row 5: Working up the other side of the stem, sl st 2, sc, sc 2 around the ch-2, sc 5 including the ch-space, (sc, hdc) in the next st, 2 hdc in the next st, hdc 5, (hdc, sc) in the next st, sc 5, (sc, hdc, ch 2, hdc, sc) in the next st, sc 6, (sc, hdc) in the next st, hdc 5, 2 hdc in the next st, (hdc, sc) in the next st, sc 3, sl st 2.
Tie off. Weave ends in.
Left: End of row 4, body of the leaf complete. Right: Completed Gardenia leaf!
You now have a beautiful gardenia flower and leaf!
