Sundews are cute little rosettes of narrow leaves which have round, sticky ends. Beware, small insects!
I remember geometric print fabrics with wonky asterisk shapes, which had circles on the ends. Nowadays, people call those fabrics “vintage.” Hmmm.
We saw fireworks last night that exploded into a flower shape, and then the end of each petal exploded again into a ball of sparkles.
What do these things have in common? They remind me of “Circles within Circles,” on pages 22-23 of Crochet Bouquet. First you make seven circles of two rounds each. Round 3 forms the spindly petals and joins the seven circles into a flower. Circles within Circles is best for applique because it can’t hold its shape naturally. It is our July 2011 Crochet Bouquet-Along. Here are some hints and photos to supplement the crochet instructions in the book.
With all these separate pieces, you can end with a lot of yarn ends. Better to crochet over the ends whenever possible, like this:
Work Rnd 1 as usual, and weave in the end that comes out of the center. Begin Rnd 2 opposite of where Rnd 1 ended, catching the yarn end from Rnd 1 in the first stitch. Photo A shows the first sts of Rnd 2 covering the yellow yarn end. Continue Rnd 2, crocheting over the yarn end.
When you have crocheted half of Rnd 2, bring the yarn end from Rnd 2 around the edge of the circle, and catch it under the next stitch, as I did the orange yarn end in Photo B. Crochet over the yarn for the rest of Rnd 2.
Trim the ends of the covered yarns.
Round 3 starts with a chain ring and a sc in the ring. To make a petal, chain 7, then pick up one of the circles and start crocheting around it. I like to start very close to the end of Rnd 2, so I can catch its yarn end under the sts of Rnd 3 as soon as possible as in Photo C.
Once you have crocheted around the circle, work back across the chain to complete the petal. (Photo D)
In Photo E, all the petals are finished, and I’m about to needle join. As soon as the last sc was done, I cut the yarn and pulled the yarn end up out of the last stitch. Then I threaded it into a tapestry needle.
The first stitch of Rnd 3 is a sc in the ring. The needle join follows the direction of the yarn on top of that first sc. Photo F shows the needle following the top thread of the first sc under the top of the next st.
Tighten the yarn so it looks like part of the first st. Now insert the needle into the last stitch, where the yarn in your tapestry needle originates. Tighten the yarn again. I like to weave in the end on the back, in the direction of the crochet (in this case, up the back of the first petal). (Photo G)
A needle join is like making a duplicate stitch over the top of the first st of the round. When you’re finished, it takes a very good eye to find the beginning/end of the round.