Tips to Making a Perfect Crochet Flower
As a beginner, crocheting can seem daunting. Especially after following instructions exactly, and having the result being a lumpy ball instead of what you envisioned it would be. Fear not, as it does not have to be that way. So, what tips can you use when making a crochet flower?
When making a crochet flower, you’ll want to choose the correct hook for your yarn. Ensure that you start with a slipknot and stick to simple flower designs. You’ll also want to maintain tension when crocheting the flower chains. Always ensure that you check your gauge and count your stitches.
Crocheting a flower or several is one of the easiest and simplest crocheting projects you can take on. Flowers always make lovely additions to shirts, blankets, etc. They can even be used as bookmarks! However, how can you go about doing it successfully?
There are many different flowers that you can crochet. However, you need some basic tips to start any kind of design. In this case, the tips refer to a simple flower design. Here are some tips to get you well on your way to crocheting your first flower.
Ensure You Choose The Correct Hook For Your Chosen Yarn
The first tip is to ensure that you use the correct sized hook for the type of yarn you choose to use to crochet your flower. One of the most well-liked yarns is a #4 worsted weight acrylic yarn. This is because you don’t have to worry about splitting while you’re busy crocheting your flower.
Furthermore, although it isn’t soft or silky, it is excellent for feeling your way through crocheting flowers when you are a newbie. Having several sized hooks handy like G/4.00 and J/6.00 to see the results you get will help you choose the one you feel comfortable with.
If you’d like to stick with one but aren’t sure which one to go for, your yarn label should have a recommendation. Basically, the yarn just needs to match the hook that you are using. Depending on your floral design, you will also likely need a darning needle to weave in the ends.
Start With A Slipknot
How you start is essential, as it will set the foundation for all the other crocheting you do. Start with simple patterns and designs; avoid anything complicated. You’ll want to start with a slipknot. To do this, simply place the end of the yarn in your palm across your four fingers, so the end is resting at your pinky finger, excluding the thumb.
Use the thumb to hold the yarn in place on your pointy finger. With your other hand, take the yarn that overlaps over your pointy finger, wrap it under the first two fingers, and make a cross with the yarn at the back of the two fingers.
That would be around your pointy and middle finger. Use your third finger to hold the cross in place. Using the hook, go under the cross’s top part, hook the part underneath, and pull it out. Release the yarn from your fingers, and pull the tail end and main piece of the yarn, so it knots on itself on the hook.
Creating A Chain For Your Flower
The chain is where your flower begins. Try to keep it a little slack, since it will be more challenging if you crochet the first row too tightly. Just get the hang of holding the work you’re doing and wrapping your yarn around your fingers before you worry about maintaining consistent tension.
Base your number of chains on the kind of flower that you want. Doing the first chain requires you to wrap your hook around the main part of the yarn and pull it through the slipknot loop you created. Repeat the motion several times until you have the number of chains you desire.
People frequently wind up with uneven side edges since it might be challenging to determine where to begin a row at first. Ensure you crochet in the first flower stitch or chain from the row before. Rows decrease if this is not done. Don’t include the starting knot when counting chains of stitches. At first, it will be frustrating, but keep going. It is worthwhile.
Maintain Consistent Tension When Crocheting A Flower
The next thing to remember when crocheting a flower is keeping tension. At first, you were focusing on getting a chain right. Once you know how to do one, the goal is to keep the yarn taut when doing the other chains. To do this, you should keep the main part of the yarn slightly taut between your fingers.
You can learn to use several tension techniques to learn how to keep tension. The term crochet tension refers to the degree of looseness or tightness in your crocheting and, consequently, the number of stitches and rows you make. When crocheting a flower, you want the tension to increase, so your rows will be tight but not too tight. This is why your grip on the yarn should be slightly taut.
Check Your Gauge And Count Your Stitches
Remember to check your gauge to ensure that your projects turn out as they should. Count your stitches after each circular row to ensure that you follow the pattern you are working on. Counting will give you an excellent indication of whether your efforts were adequate or even excessive. Do not, however, count the loop you made on your hook.
Have Some Patience When Crocheting A Flower
As mentioned above, the flower may not come out as you expect. It all comes down to having the patience to accomplish a thing to your satisfaction. Crocheting is a peaceful art form, so don’t try to master everything within a week.
There have been plenty of times when I pull the project apart when I wasn’t happy with the way it looked. The beauty of working on a small project like a flower is that you don’t really lose that much work when pulling it apart.
Take your time to get it right!
And Now That You Know…
A flower is one of the first things many people want to do once they start learning how to crochet. This is because once you get it right, you can crochet all kinds of flower designs. The tips mentioned above should help you crochet a simple but beautiful flower.
Here are a few of our favorite crocheted flower patterns. You should be able to use what you learned here to successfully create your first crochet flower!
