Crochet a King Protea Flower -The Pattern xx

I was asked whether I could rustle up one of these flowers, and after I got over the fact that this is actually flower and not a Greek mythical character (ok, I'm not very botanical), I scoured Pinterest (for my board click here) and set about making it work.

This is basically a 3D ball shape to which you attach petals and leaves. It's actually a pretty straight-foward principle, you just need a little practice with working in the round (increases and decreases), and petals. There are some cool tutorials here. 

The only other tricky stitch is a 'long-stitch' (if someone has a proper name for it, please let me know and I'll edit!!). You work a couple of rows, then on the next row, you insert your hook, not into the regular dc below, but one or two rows below into the chain space. You wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through as normal, but the loop will be much longer and cover the previous rows. When you do several of these in a row, it looks like embroidered satin stitch.

So, lets protea...

You will need:

Small amounts (about 25g) of dk yarn or cotton, in white, pale pink, dark pink, light green and dark green.

A tennis ball sized ball of stuffing.

A 4mm hook, stitch marker (or safety pin) and tapestry needle.

Scissors.

In white (working in a spiral):

• Chain 2, work 7dc into the second ch from hook. Place marker.
• (1dc, 2dc in same stitch) for 2 rounds.
• (1dc, 2dc in same stitch) in long-stitches for one round.
• (1dc, 2dc in same stitch) for 1 round.
• (1dc, 2dc in same stitch) in long-stitches for one round.
• (1dc, 2dc in same stitch) for 1 round.
• (1dc, 2dc in same stitch) in long-stitches for one row.
• 2 rounds dc.
• 1dc, 2dctog for three rounds or until there are 5 stitches left (stuffing as you go).
• Fasten off, and thread needle through last stitches and pull to close. 

In pale green:

You are creating a series of loops, 12 ch long around the side of the main body of the plant.

• Join into the side where you see the first dc after the long stitches.
• Ch12, slip stitch into the next dc and repeat around.
• I managed to make 26 loops in total, don't panic if a little more or less as long as it looks pretty even!
• When you get back to the beginning, fasten off and sew in ends. 
• Gently stretch each loop up towards the centre.

Petals:

Make 10 in light pink, and 20 in dark pink (ten per row, three rows stitched on).

• Ch12.
• Up one side of the chain, starting in second chain from the hook, 2dc, 3htr, 2tr, 2htr, 2dc.
• Ch2 (turns the corner).
• Down the other side of the chain 2dc, 2htr, 2tr, 3htr, 2dc, join at top with a slip stitch.
• Fasten off with a long end.
• Leave one end loose for attaching.

Tip: Sew the long end from top to bottom through the base of the stitches in the middle on one side. Gently pull and the petal will curl a little. Then secure. 

Leaves in dark green:

Make 3 (or more if you want).

• Ch16.
• Up one side of the chain, starting in the second chain from the hook, 2dc, 3htr, 5tr, 3htr, 2dc.
• Ch2 (turns the corner).
• Down the other side of the chain 2dc, 3htr, 5tr, 3htr, 2dc. 
• Fasten off with a long end.
• Leave one end loose for attaching. 

Making it up:

• Place the pale pink details first evenly around and attach, sewing on about two centimetres at the base. 
• Place a row of dark pink petals in the petal spaces, slightly further down and attach.
• Place a third row of petals in those gaps and secure.
• Finally, attach the leaves. 

It doesn't matter if you have to bodge a little, as with all my patterns, you are allowed to break the rules a bit and adapt. I would just ask that you share my link if you post this pattern on any media and credit The Other Mrs Beaton accordingly. Happy making! xx