Crochet flowers have one clear advantage over the real thing: they are still there in February. This lavender stem stands about 9.5 inches tall, and because it is made from a pile of small pieces, it is the ideal thing to carry around and work on in odd moments.
Make three or five and tie them with twine and you have a gift. Full pattern below.
What you need
- 4 ply milk cotton yarn in light purple — 80 g
- 4 ply milk cotton yarn in the lightest green — 30 g
- 2.5 mm crochet hook
- 1 mm wire: 9.5 inches for the main stem, plus 2.8 inches for each of the two leaves
- Scissors and a sewing needle
Finished height: about 9.5 inches.
A note on terms: this pattern is written in US crochet terms. If you are used to UK terms, our US to UK conversion chart will save you a lot of confusion.
Abbreviations
- Rw / Rnd — row / round
- ch — chain
- sc — single crochet
- hdc — half double crochet
- sl st — slip stitch
Big flowers — make 4
Light purple yarn, 2.5 mm hook. Start with a magic ring, then:
(ch 4, and starting from the second chain from the hook: hdc, hdc, sc, sl st into the magic ring) × 5 — that gives you 5 petals.
Small flowers — make 4
Light purple yarn, 2.5 mm hook. Start with a magic ring, then:
(ch 3, and starting from the second chain from the hook: sc, sc, sl st into the magic ring) × 5 — 5 petals.
Small bud — make 1
Light purple yarn, 2.5 mm hook. Start with a magic ring, then:
(ch 3, and starting from the second chain from the hook: sc, sc, sl st into the magic ring) × 2 — 2 petals. This one sits right at the tip of the stem.
Leaves — make 2
Light green yarn, 2.5 mm hook.
- Chain 12.
- Lay a 2.8 inch length of wire along the chain, and starting from the second chain from the hook, work 11 sc, then sl st — working over the wire as you go so it is enclosed.
- Wrap the yarn around the wire to cover any that still shows.
The wire is what lets you bend the leaves into a natural curve rather than having them hang limp. It is worth the fiddle.
Putting it together
Cover the 9.5 inch stem wire with the green yarn, wrapping tightly from top to bottom. Then thread the pieces on from the top down: the small bud at the tip, the four small flowers next, then the four big flowers below them. Working smallest to largest is what gives it the tapered lavender shape rather than a lollipop. Sew each one in place as you go so nothing slides, then attach the two leaves lower down the stem.
If you are making several
- Make all the flowers first, then assemble. Repeating one small piece forty times is much faster than making one whole stem five times.
- Vary the purples slightly between stems. Real lavender is not one flat colour, and a bunch in three close shades looks far better than a bunch in one.
- Odd numbers. Three, five or seven stems in a jar look right. Four does not.
Prefer a printable copy?
The whole pattern is on this page, free, and always will be. If you would rather have a tidy PDF to print or keep on your phone — with the step photos alongside the instructions — you can download it here. It is free too. No account, no waiting.
If you want a whole arrangement, the lily and lavender bouquet builds on this, and there are more in our plants and flowers collection. Everything free is here.