I wanted to show you my latest afghan accomplishment. I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out. I think my newly 16 year old niece will like it too. :)
I struggled trying to make another afghan with squares, but the motifs were flat and lifeless and I just couldn't do it. I really wanted to make a flower style afghan, and I kind of knew I wanted to do something like an African Flower motif. I didn't want a raised- poofy flower. I felt like that might be too much material, if you understand what I mean. She is also in that transition between little girl and woman, so I wanted something that could grow with her.
It took me forever to find an African Flower motif pattern. I don't know why I was so "challenged". lol When I finally located an English version of an African Flower, it made almost no sense if I didn't have a picture sitting right there. So, I am going to share the simple pattern with you in laymen's terms.
Easy pattern instructions: I used worsted weight (RHSS) yarn and a J hook.
R1: ch5, join to make a circle, ch3 (counts as a dc), dc in the circle, ch1, (2dc, ch1) in the circle 5 more times, sl st to first dc to join. (6 ch1 sp, 12 dc) cut color.
R2: join with next color in a ch1 sp, ch3, (dc, ch1, 2dc) in same ch1 sp, (2dc, ch1, 2dc) in each ch1 sp around skipping everything else in between them, join with a sl st to the first dc. (6 ch1 sp, 24 dc) do not cut color.
R3: sl st over to the next ch1 sp, ch3 (cts as dc), put 6 more dc in the same ch1 sp, put 7 dc in the remaining ch1 spaces skipping everything in between, join with sl st to first dc. (6 "petals) cut color.
R4: Using the first color, join with a sl st to the first dc of a petal, ch1, sc in join sp and next 6dc, in the space between petals make a long dc around the "bridges" created by the skips in rows 2 and 3, repeat this pattern around. (42 sc, 6 long dc) cut color.
R5: With a border color, join with a sl st to the center sc on a petal, ch3, 2dc in the same space, (dc in 7, 3 dc in next) repeat until you reach the last 7 stitches, dc in the last 7, join with a sl st to the first dc. cut color.
I usually leave a long end for whipstitching my pieces together.
The next pictures just show my afghan progress until I finished. I chose not to make half motifs, but left the edges open. I did finish with a simple border.
The colors I used were Red Heart Super Saver in Dark Orchid, Medium Purple, Purple Tones, and Melonberry. The Melonberry is what made the whole thing pop.
I've used Melonberry before and you are right it really does pop. I love the afghan. It is a nice transition from girl to young woman.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Excellent work and thanks for sharing with us!♥
ReplyDeleteHow much of each color did you end up needing?
ReplyDeleteHow much of each color did you end up needing for this project?
ReplyDelete