Difficulty: Beginner ✦✧✧✧✧
A free crochet pattern for an orchid leaf to go along with your Phaleonopsis orchid flower.
Using fingering-weight cotton yarn and a 2mm hook, the leaf measures 6.5 inches long and 3.75 inches wide.
This pattern goes along with a series of flowers and leaves I have been creating this month to get me out of the gloomy Spring we have been having in Denmark this year.
Special Stitches:
Odd Increase (Odd Inc) = When there are three stitches to increase over, then [dc, 2 dc in the middle stitch, dc].
Even Increase (Even Inc) = When there are four stitches to increase over, then [dc in the first stitch, dc2tog over the 1st and 2nd stitches, dc in the 2nd stitch].
Cluster [stitches] = Crochet the bracketed stitches over the same number of stitches, saving the last loop of each stitch on the hook until the last stitch.
Left: Even and Odd Increases. Right: Cluster of stitches.
Body:Row 1: 2 sc in a magic circle. Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as the first dc hereafter), dc in the same stitch, ch, 2 dc in the next st, turn. Row 3: Ch 3, dc in the second stitch, ch, dc in the ch-space, ch, dc 2, turn. Note: On the last stitch, I usually dc in the front loop of the 3rd ch to make the starting ch look more like a dc.
Row 4: Ch 3, dc in the second st, ch, skip the ch-space, 2 dc in the next st, ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2, turn.
Row 5: Ch 3, dc in the second st, ch, dc in the ch-space, ch, [dc, ch] twice, dc in the ch-space, ch, dc 2, turn.
Row 6: Ch 3, dc in the second st, ch, skip the ch-space, 2 dc in the next st, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc] twice, ch, skip the ch-space, 2 dc in the next st, ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2, turn.
Row 7: Ch 3, dc in the second st, ch, dc in the ch-space, ch, dc 2, ch, [2 dc in the next st, ch] twice, dc 2, ch, dc in the ch-space, ch, dc 2, turn.
Row 8: Ch 3, dc in the second st, ch, skip the ch-space, 2 dc in the next st, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] repeat 4 times, ch, skip the ch-space, 2 dc in the next st, ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2, turn.
Rows 9-13: Ch 3, dc in the second stitch, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] repeat 7 times, turn. Note: Repeat this row as many times as you want to increase the length of the leaf.
Row 14: Ch 3, dc 2, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] repeat 6 times, dc, 2 dc, turn.
Row 15: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc 2, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] repeat 6 times, dc 3, turn.
Row 16: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc 2, ch, skip the ch-space, Even Inc, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] repeat 4 times, Even Inc, dc 3, turn.
Row 17: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc 2, ch, skip the ch-space, dc 3, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] repeat 4 times, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 3] twice, turn.
Row 18: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc 2, ch, skip the ch-space, dc 3, ch, skip the ch-space, Even Inc, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] twice, ch, skip the ch-space, Even Inc, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 3] twice, turn.
Row 19: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc2tog, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 3] twice, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] twice, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 3] twice, dc2tog, dc, turn.
Row 20: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc2tog, dc] twice, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] twice, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc, dc2tog] twice, dc 2, turn.
Row 21: Ch 3, skip the first dc, dc, ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc, cluster [2 dc] next two dc (ignoring the ch-space in between), dc] twice, [ch, skip the ch-space, dc 2] twice, turn.
Row 22: Ch 4 (counts as the first tc hereafter), skip the first dc, cluster [tc, dc] across the next two dc (ignoring the ch-space in between), dc, ch, skip the ch-space, dc2tog, hdc, ch, skip ch-space, hdc, dc2tog, ch, skip ch-space, dc, cluster [dc, tc] across the next two dc (ignoring the ch-space in between), tc, turn.
Row 23: Ch 4, skip the first st, cluster [tc, dc, hdc] across the next 3 stitches (ignoring the ch-space in between), sc, skip the ch-space, sc, cluster [hdc, dc, tc] across the next 3 stitches (ignoring the ch-space in between), tc.
Edging:
Row 24: Continuing in the same direction as Row 21. Ch, skip the next st, sl st 4, ch, 4 sc around the tc, sc 3 around the second tc, alternate sc 2 and sc 3 around the side of each dc to the first row of dc, [hdc, dc] in the first sc, [dc, hdc] in the second sc, continue [sc 2 or sc 3 alternately] in dc around, sc 3 round the first tc, sc 4 around the second tc, sl st 2.
Row 25: Continue without turning. Sl st into the center ch-space of Row 21, [ch, sl st into the next center ch-space, ch] repeat to the end. Tie off. Weave ends in.
Here is the pattern for mature orchid flower and the young orchid flower and bud.
