Strawberry Appliqué

I love the word appliqué - just saying it out loud is somehow inspiring! In case you're not sure what applique actually means, here is an official dictionary definition for you ::

appliqué (pronounced ap-lee-kay)

noun

 1. ornamental needlework in which pieces of fabric are sewn or stuck on to a larger piece to form a picture or pattern.

1. "appliqué table linen"

verb

 1. decorate (a garment or larger piece of fabric) with pieces of fabric to form pictures or patterns.

1. "the coat is appliquéd with exotic-looking cloth"

    

In crochet terms, if you search online for "crochet appliqué" you will find a whole load of  two dimensional decorative motifs that can be stitched (applied) onto another fabric or piece of crochet. It's a useful term if you want to find flat patterns as opposed to three dimensional amigurumi type patterns.

This cute little strawberry appliqué can be added to anything that's in need of a pretty, summery bit of decoration. Stitch it to bags, cushions, a pocket of your favourite cardy, or use it to embellish a crochet heart or mandala.

YARN and HOOK

I've used oddments of DK cotton yarn (Stylecraft Classique Cotton DK in colours Poppy, Leaf, Sunflower and White). 

Hook size - 4 mm, or whatever hook suits the yarn you are using.

These are quite small decorations - the strawberry measures around 4 cm, and the micro flowers are really teensy, measuring just 2 cm across.

PATTERN

Before we begin, a little summary of the basic stitches. I'm writing using UK crochet terms ::

sl st [slip stitch] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook.

dc [double crochet] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc stitch)

tr [treble] :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops (note :: this is equivalent to the US dc stitch)

dc dec [double crochet decrease] :: insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), insert hook into next stitch, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc dec)

STRAWBERRY

Using Red yarn, ch 2.

Row 1 : Work 2 dc in 2nd chain from hook. Ch 1 and turn. [2 sts]

Row 2 : 2 dc in first stitch; 1 dc in the next stitch. Ch 1 and turn. [3 sts]

Row 3 : 2 dc in first stitch; 1 dc in each of the next 2 stitches. Ch 1 and turn. [4 sts]

Row 4 : 2 dc in first stitch; 1 dc in each of the next 3 stitches. Ch 1 and turn. [5 sts]

Row 5 : 2 dc in first stitch; 1 dc in each of the next 4 stitches. Ch 1 and turn. [6 sts]

 

Row 6 : dc dec across first 2 stitches (as shown above); 

1 dc in each of the next 2 stitches; dc dec across last 2 stitches. Ch 1 and turn. [4 sts]

Row 7 : dc dec across first 2 stitches; dc dec across last 2 stitches. Ch 1. Do not turn or fasten off. [2 sts]

EDGING : With right side of strawberry facing, work neat dc stitches around the outer edge of the shape. When you get to the bottom point, work 3 dc to create a neat rounded end (as shown above), then continue up the other side until you get back to where you started.....

....this edging transforms the shape - it should now be round and smooth and......well, strawberryish!

Fasten off, leaving a long tail end if you wish to stitch the strawberry onto something.

STRAWBERRY CALYX (the green stalk bit!)

Using Green yarn, ch 5; slip stitch into the very first chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop.

NOTE : The very first chain will become the centre of the calyx - all slip stitches go in here!

Ch 4; slip stitch into the very first centre chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop (this is the second chain loop)

Ch 4; slip stitch into the very first centre chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop (this is the third chain loop)

Ch 4; work 1 dc in 2nd ch from hook; 1 dc in next ch; slip stitch into the very first centre chain to close (this is the stalk!). Fasten off.

Turn the calyx over and darn the tail end in, putting your needle under the stitches around the centre hole. Pull the tail end tight to close the hole.

Stitch the calyx to the top of your strawberry, making sure the stalk is pointing upwards and the three chain loops are neatly arranged and evenly spaced.

Using yellow (or white) yarn, embroider small straight stitches over the surface of the strawberry to represent the seeds....

....don't make the stitches too regimented - they look better if they aren't all lined up :)

Now we're going to make these teensy little micro flowers. Strawberry flowers are of course white, but for the tutorial I'm using pink yarn so you can see the stitches more clearly.

Using WHITE yarn, ch 5; slip stitch into the very first chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop. This is the first petal.

NOTE : The very first chain will become the centre of the flower - all slip stitches go in here!

Ch 4; slip stitch into the very first centre chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop. This is the second petal.

Ch 4; slip stitch into the very first centre chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop. This is the third petal.

Ch 4; slip stitch into the very first centre chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop. This is the fourth petal.

Ch 4; slip stitch into the very first centre chain (shown by my needle in the above picture) to make a chain loop. This is the fifth petal. Fasten off.

Turn the flower over and darn the tail end in, putting your needle under the stitches around the centre hole. Pull the tail end tight to close the hole.

And that's your itsy bitsy little micro flower made......just a little bit of extra stitching needed now......

....using yellow yarn, bring your needle up through the centre point and make straight stitches which go out into the centre of each of the five petals. 

And that's it....

.....remember that your strawberry flowers should be white with a yellow centre. Make as many as you need!

TRIPLE LEAF

Using Green yarn, ch 4. Begin in 2nd ch from hook (shown by my needle in the above picture).

1 dc in 2nd ch from hook; 2 tr in next stitch; 1 dc in next st. That's the first leaf made.

Ch 4; 1 dc in 2nd ch from hook; 2 tr in next stitch; 1 dc in next st. That's the second leaf made.

Slip stitch into the turning chain at the start of the first leaf (shown by my needle in the above picture)

Ch 4; 1 dc in 2nd ch from hook; 2 tr in next stitch; 1 dc in next st. That's the third leaf made.

Slip stitch into the turning chain at the start of the first leaf (shown by my needle in the above picture)

Fasten off, and use your tail end to darn under the stitches on the reverse, closing up the hole in the centre to create a neat finish.

Now that you've made your strawberry, leaves and flowers, have a play with them an arrange them as you like....

....you might want more than one strawberry, and maybe a few extra flowers and leaves. I chose to leave my tail ends attached so that I could use them to stitch the flowers and leaves in place (I forgot to do that with the strawberry, but I did mean to leave the red tail end attached!)

So pretty.....a sweet little reminder of summertime!

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ps about the Micro flowers - these are very useful little flowers to add to all sorts of projects, you might remember me first making them years ago for my May Rose Wreath.

❤

 

 

Comments

[Gwen]

Soo cute! Would love to see a video of it being made (beginner over here)

[mimi]

Hello from Australia - just found out my mower man has new baby daughter.
They named her Strawberry, OK - guess it will be a
baby blanket with ? you guessed it.

[Titti]

GRAZIE !!!!! LUCY
CIAO
TITTI

[Estella]

Hello Lucy. The strawberry is really cute and will put it on my to do list. Thank you for all the great details you put into your work. Lucky us! I tried a chicklet and it turned out great so I made two more. I'd like to see you come out with a large crochet kitty. I bet he would turn out adorable!
Just ordered the kit for the Sprintime weekend bag. I can hardly wait to get it as this will be for my granddaughter.

[Kathryn Ashe]

This will be a great pattern to try today. Our part of the country is having an intense heat wave, we can't really go outside this week.

[Titti]

Hello from Italy :)
Can you please post the heart pattern too?
Thank you very much
Titti