Flowers For Alexander

This year I have been asked to help raise money for a local charity,

  Alexander Devine Hospice Trust,

an amazing organisation who are raising funds to build the first children's hospice in the Berkshire area. Flushed with the amazing success of our Poppies for  the British Legion for who we recently raised nearly £8,000, I suggested that we make flower brooches in the colours of the charity. There are literally hundreds of free patterns out there in Blogland (Lucy on Attic 24 has a few fab ones) and Ravelry but I will include a pattern of mine own below too. If you would like to make some flowers please feel free to use any yarn in shades of blue or yellow and any blue or yellow buttons, in any combination! The idea is to keep the charity topped up with brooches so that they can sell them at all of their fundraising events throughout the year. Please contact me if you wish to send any on to the charity as I can pass them on.

The Barkham Hooker Simple Flower Brooch 

I have used a SIZE 4mm hook with DK but you can use any yarn with a suitable hook. All instructions are in UK terms. 

Abbreviations: ch - chain    dc - double crochet   htr - half treble     tr - treble crochet    

  dbtr - double treble   slst-  slip stitch      ch-sp -  chain space

1) Ch4, slip stitch to join to form a ring. Now Ch2 (=1 half treble), then do 14 more htr in the ring (15 htr in total) Slip st to join. (Try to crochet the tail end under as you go so you have one less end to weave in at the end!)

2) Ch 5, miss 2 stitches, slip stitch in the next st, repeat from * all the way round, forming 5 sets of 5-chain space loops. Slip stitch to bottom of first ch5. 

3) Now, working IN the 5-ch sp loops, do 1dc, 2 htr, 3tr, 2 htr, 1dc IN EVERY CH-SP. No need to chain in between. This gives you 5 petals.

4) Slip stitch to join AROUND THE BACK of the post between the last and first petals  where you joined the last round, so that the yarn is now at the back of the flower.

Now, * Ch7, slip stitch around the post between the next petals and repeat from all the way to form 5 sets of 7-ch-spaces which sit behind the first set of petals.

This shows the flower from the back with the 5 sets of 7ch-sps

 5) Now with the flower facing right side towards you, working in these ch-7 spaces, work 1dc, 1htr, 2tr, 3dbtr, 2tr, 1 htr,1dc IN EVERY CH-SP to form the second set of petals. Slip stitch to the bottom of the fist dc and fasten off, leaving a long end (needed to sew on the button and brooch pin).

Sew on a button and a brooch pin using the tail end then fasten off and weave in all ends.