You can crochet this and many other carnations with just a few crochet stitches and some fake foliage stem ware. I made this one for a sample for here, but have also made roses for wedding and anniversary boutonnieres.
This is a nice way to fill a vase with some spring flowers or give as gifts. You can put a little cotton ball of essential oils in the center before you gather the bottoms together and they will smell nice, too.
Approximate Time: 60-90 minutes
So, if you are using double thread, chain 14, then chain another 7, using that for your first treble crochet and chain 2.
For those not familiar with crochet lingo, you are going to work using treble crochets with two chains in between. A treble crochet is when you yarn over twice, then when you are yarning over you are going to pull that yarn through three sets of two loops.
So, you have 21 chains on your hook. Now, make your first treble crochet in the 8th chain from the hook, chain 2, and make a chain 2 and repeat the two trebles and chain two in each of the next 13 stitches.
Your work will ruffle like crazy and that is exactly what it is suppose to do. Now, there is something to keep in mind when you are working. When you put two trebles in each stitch, that stitch gets pretty crowded, and it might be easy to miss the next one. To keep from skipping the next chain, pull the new one you just made to the right a bit and you can get to the next stitch easier.
Once you get to the end, your hook and yarn will be at the top of the work. Chain 4 and turn. Now, you can make a double crochet in that same stitch. (Your chain 3 is the same length as a double crochet so that acts as the first one, plus the chain 1 in between is your chain 4).
Chain one and make two double crochets with a chain one between in each stitch on the base row. When you are done, break off your yarn leaving about 6 inches and thread through to hide down below.
Now, if you are using a pipe cleaner then thread it back and forth between the base of the flower. Once the pipe cleaner is woven then fold over the end and kind of twirl it around so the flower "gathers" then twist it closed tight.
If you are using a fake stem, simply heat up the glue gun and when it's warm, wrap the center of the flower and the tail around the stem and glue as you go. You can then put the leaf sections on the bottom and if you do that fast, you can catch some of the heat from the glue and keep those glued too. If not, you can place them where you want and glue them once they are in place.
They look really nice in a vase with baby's breath or little white flowers like I used here.
N-JOY!
By Sandi/Poor But Proud
