Knitting doesn’t have to be just about warm sweaters and fluffy scarves. The craft is incredibly adaptable, and can be used to make delicate embellishments for clothing, accessories or household items.
The pattern below is for a knitted rose made using embroidery thread. This is available in a wide range of colours. One skein of thread is enough to make one rose, but the pattern can look particularly effective if the centre petal is knitted in a shade slightly darker than the outer petals. This also gives the knitter the opportunity to make more petals and a fuller rose, as illustrated.
The roses, once complete, can be mounted over plastic coated garden wire and formed into a bouquet, or can be sewn onto bags or other items for an attractive design detail.
Materials:
- Embroidery thread.Dark green for leaves/border.
- Choice of colour(s) for the petals.
- 2mm knitting needles.
Instructions:
Note that all petals are worked in stocking (stockinette) stitch throughout; the natural curl of the knitted fabric helps to give the petals their shape. If no instruction is given for a particular row, work odd numbered rows in knit and even numbered rows in purl.
Centre Petal – make 1.
Cast on 7 stitches and work 2 rows.
Row 3 Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row (9 sts)
Work straight until:
Rows 15 and 16 Decrease 1 stitch at each end of the row ( 5 sts at end of row 16)
Row 17 Cast off 2 sts at the beginning of the row (3 sts)
Cast off the remaining 3 stitches.
Outer petals (all worked the same) – make as many as you require (or until your yarn runs out).
Cast on 2 stitches and work one row
Rows 2, 3 and 4 Increase 1 stitch at each end of row(8 sts by end of row 4)
Rows 5, 7, 10, 11, 12 & 14 - work straight keeping the stocking stitch correct
Row 6 Increase 1 stitch at each end of row (10 sts)
Rows 8 and 9 Increase 1 stitch at each end of row (14 sts by end of row 9)
Row 13 Decrease 1 stitch at each end of row (12 sts)
Rows 15 and 16 Cast off 2 sts at the beginning of the row (8 sts by end of row 16)
Row 17 Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the row (7 sts)
Row 18 Cast of 2 sts at the beginning of the row (5 sts)
Cast off.
Leaf – make as many as you’d like.
Cast on 3 stitches and work 2 rows in stocking stitch.
Row 3 K1, yrn, K1, yrn, K1 (5 sts)
Rows 4, 6, 8 and 10 K1, P to last st, K1
Row 5 K2, yrn, K1, yrn, K2 (7 sts)
Row 7 K3, yrn, K1, yrn, K3 (9 sts)
Row 9 K4, yrn, K1, yrn, K4 (11 sts)
Rows 11, 13, 15, 17 Knit
Row 12 K1, P3, sl1 p-wise, P2tog, psso, P3, K1 (9 sts)
Row 14 K1, P2, sl1 p-wise, P2tog, psso, P2, K1 (7 sts)
Row 16 K1, P1, sl1 p-wise, P2tog, psso, P1, K1 (5 sts)
Row 18 K1, sl1 p-wise, P2 tog, psso, K1 (3 sts)
Row 19 Sl1, K2 tog, psso, fasten off the remaining stitch.
Edging for base of flower (in same colour as leaf)
Cast on 14 stitches and Knit 1 row.
Row 2 K1, *yrn, K4, rep from * to last stitch, yrn, K1
Row 3 K1, *yrn, K5, rep from * to last stitch, yrn, K1.
Row 4 Knit
Cast off.
To make up.
Sew in all ends. Folding the centre petal into a tube sew a few “catching” stitches to hold it in place.
Add the other petals to this base in layers and sewing them up to row eight only (just before the final increases).
Once the petals are in place, sew on the leaf/ leaves, up to row seven only.
Finally, sew the border around the bottom of the rose, covering all petal bases as far as possible.
Uses of the pattern
If a bouquet of roses is being put together, take a length of garden wire and twist one end to make a small loop. Thread the other end through the middle of the rose (down the “tube” of the centre petal) and pull through until the loop is secured and hidden by the knitting.
These roses are very pretty, quick to make and make a handsome embellishment for any project, such as bags, knitted jewellery, scarves or household items, such as cushions.
Lesley Arnold-Hopkins - Lesley Arnold-Hopkins is a freelance writer whose work and hobbies have given her areas of expertise in a number of fields. She has an ...
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