Two round pieces of fabric with a 47cm (181⁄2in) diameter
Yarn
Chiri Alpaca from Rauma Ullvarefabrikk (alpaca/silk)
150g (51⁄2oz) light pink no. CH 401
4.5mm (size 7) crochet hooks
The flowers are made in two separate steps. First you will make the base and then the spiral that forms the petals. In total you will need 22 roses.
Base:
Crochet 5 ch and make a ring with one sl st.
Round 1: Crochet 2 ch and continue with dc around the ring, total 12 dc.
Use a stitch holder to help you see where the rounds start and end. Continue crocheting dc with a thread you pick up from the backside of the work, so that the st from the last round are in the front of the work as a round of sl st. Continue in the same direction the whole time.
Round 2: Crochet 1 sc, then 1 dc.
Continue with 2 dc in each st, total 24 sts.
Round 3: In the next round, crochet *2 dc in first st and 1 dc in the next st*.
Repeat from * to * until the end of the round.
Round 4: Continue with *1 dc in each st 2 times, then 2 dc in the next st*.
Repeat from * to * until the end of the round.
End with 1 sc and then 1 sl st.
Rose spiral:
Crochet 14 ch, turn, crochet first dc into the third st. Continue with dc back. You should have 13 dc. Then yo and crochet 1 dc in the first st in the centre of the base. Continue with 2 dc in each st for 4 rounds. Then you should have one ring with dc left at the outermost round. Finish with 1 sc and 1 sl st.
Assembly:
Sew the loose string of dc in the middle of the flower as a natural extension of the rose spiral. Secure all loose threads.
Place one rose in the middle and sew seven roses to it in a circle. Make another ring outside of the 14 remaining roses. Secure all loose threads well.
When you have sewn all of the 22 roses together, the distance between the inner rose and outermost roses is relatively large. The work will distort a little. Therefore, attach the outer spiral of the innermost rose to the spiral of the roses on the outside.
Overstitch around the two pieces of fabric.
Place the roses on top of one of the fabric pieces and sew along the edge of each rose using backstitch. Secure all loose ends well.
Then place the front and back pieces right sides together. Pin all the way around and sew using a machine until there is about 25cm (10cm) left. Attach the thread well. Set the machine to a longer stitch length and continue sewing until you meet the other seam.
Press (iron) the seams apart. Undo the stitches with the longer stitch length, reverse the work, pin on the zip and sew. Alternatively, stitch up the opening with backstitch.
If you want to hide the background fabric so that only the roses are visible, sew a small tuck of about 1cm (3⁄8in) between each flower in the seam.