Difficulty: Intermediate ✦✦✧✧✧
Here is the second free crochet snowflake pattern that I created for my mother-in-law's January curriculum in her preschool classroom.
I used a 3.25mm hook with fingering weight yarn (Loops and Threads "Payette"). After blocking, the snowflake is about 3 inches in diameter.
I looked through a number of microscope images of real snowflakes for inspiration. Here is the snowflake that inspired this pattern.
Row 1: Ch 5, sl st to form a ring. Ch 1, 12 sc in the ring. Sl st to join.
Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as a stitch), dc in the first st, [(dc, ch, tc) in the next st, ch, 2 dc in the next st] repeat 5 times, (dc, ch, tc) in the last st, ch, sl st in the 3rd chain to join.
Row 3: Ch 1, [sc 3, sc in the ch-sp, ch 3, dc in the tc, ch 3, sc in the ch-sp] repeat 6 times, sl st to join.
Row 4: Sl st 3, (sl st, ch, sl st) in the ch-3 sp, ch 3, (dc, picot, ch 2, sc) in the same ch-3 sp, [ch 10, sl st in the 6th ch from the hook, h 7, sl st in the 6th ch from the hook, sl st 1, ch 6, sl st in the 6th ch from the hook, sl st 4, (sc, ch 2, picot, dc 2) in the next ch-2 sp, (dc 2, picot, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp] repeat 5 times, ch 10, sl st in the 6th ch from the hook, h 7, sl st in the 6th ch from the hook, sl st 1, ch 6, sl st in the 6th ch from the hook, sl st 4, (sc, ch 2, picot, dc 2) in the next ch-2 sp, sl st in the 3rd ch to join.
Tie off.
It is really important to block your snowflakes.
I wet-blocked my snowflakes (get the snowflakes thoroughly wet, squeeze out the excess, then stretch out and pin, and allow to dry).
Once fully dry, I steam blocked the snowflakes to ensure they keep their shape (hold your iron 1-2 inches above your work and press the steam release button multiple times while moving over the snowflake). It is necessary to use heat to block acrylic yarns but direct contact with the iron would "kill" and slightly melt the stitches.
You could also use starch or a dilute glue solution to stiffen the snowflakes but I found it wasn't necessary to bring out and keep the shape of my snowflakes.
