Silk Flowers

I love flowers.  Most girls do as far as I’m aware.  Unfortunately they don’t last long, and having two dogs and three cats doesn’t help.  Vases get swished off tables and knocked off windowsills.  Enter silk flowers…

I have several different types of the traditional type of silk flowers in various places around the cottage.  The are much better at surviving a swipe from a paw or a waft of the tail.

Recently however I came across a very simple way to knit flower shapes.  So I dug out some dk silk that had left over from Elle the Elephant and also a ‘pet skein’ I was given by the same vendor at Ally Pally.

They really are very simple to make.  Firstly decide how big you want your flowers.  The number of stitches should be a multiple of 6.  So far I’ve made two small ones (starting at 36) and two large ones (starting at 66)

You then need to knit in stocking stich a few rows.  For the small ones I did 6 rows and the large 10.  You should end with a purl row.

On the next row knit 6 and then rotate one of your needles through 360 degrees to form a twist.  Repeat this to the end of the row.  Next row purl.

Then knit 1, knit 2 together to the end of the row.  If you started with 36 you should now have 24 stitches.  Purl back.

Next row knit 2 together to the end and then purl back (12 st).  Repeat these two rows (6 st).

Then break your yarn and using a needle thread the tail through the remaining stitches.  You can then twist your flower round and use the tails to stitch it in place.

Your flower is now ready to either be sewn onto something or attached to a clasp to create a broach.