Skill Level: Advanced

Size: Finished cowl circumference approx. 39” x approx. 9” at ends x approx. 13” at longer section

Finished Blossoms (measured from point of petal to opposite petal point, not including join)

Daisy – 3½”; Tuni Blossom #1 – 6½”; Tuni Blossom #2 – 4”; Big Blossom – 7”; Popcorn Blossom – 4½”

Gauge: Daisy = 3½” from point of petal across to opposite petal point

Materials

Yarn:

 Lion Brand, LB Collection Baby Alpaca (100% Alpaca; 146 yards [134 meters]/50 grams): Natural, 4 balls

Hook: US size G/6 (4 mm)

Notions: Tapestry needle

Special Stitches

Double treble st (dtr)

Yo 3 times, insert hook in next st, yo, draw up lp, (yo, draw through 2 lps) 4 times.

Triple treble st (ttr)

Yo 4 times, insert hook in next st, yo, draw up lp, (yo, draw through 2 lps) 5 times.

Pattern Notes

Four of these five flowers share a construction similar to crocodile stitch: the petals are built by working multiple stitches along the posts of tall stitches. The tall stitches come in pairs and the petals are worked down one post of a pair and then up the other, sometimes with stitches worked between the posts. While each flower is a bit different in details, the basic technique is used for all 4. Work the flowers in the order below as each will help build your technique for the following one.

Picots: All picots consist of ch 3 followed by sl st to close the picot.

When connecting picots, work the picot as follows: ch 1, sl st to picot on other motif, ch 1, sl st to close picot.

Closing picots: Make the sl st closing the picot in the st just below the picot, inserting hook in front loop and 1 nearby strand from the post to make a neat picot. The exception is when a picot is made atop chain stitches, spelled out below.

Flowers are assembled as shown in diagram. The effect is meant to be random rather than obvious rows of motifs. After the first flower, connect each flower in last round. You can connect at 2 or 3 or 4 picots, as in model, building the cowl organically. When you have finished making all 19 flowers, connect 2 flowers as shown (x on drawing) at one picot.

Feel free to make more flowers and rearrange them in any way you choose. Because of the space between flowers, the cowl need not lie flat but will mold nicely around neck and shoulders.

Pattern

Daisy (make 5)

Make an adjustable loop.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 12 sc in ring – 12 sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 3, tr in same sc (counts as tr2tog), *sk next sc, ch 5, tr2tog next sc; rep from * around, sl st to top of first tr – 6 tr2tog, 6 ch-5 sps.

Rnd 3: Ch 6, sl st to 4th ch from hook (counts as ch 3 and picot), *working from top to bottom around 2nd post of pair work 7 dc, sk ch-5 sp, working from bottom to top around first post of next pair work 7 dc, inserting hook between this post and next post work 1 dc, picot; rep from * connecting to other flowers on 2nd ch of picot as necessary – 6 petals.

Fasten off.

Tuni Blossom #1 (make 4)

The way petals are made in this flower has a strong resemblance to Tunisian crochet.

Partial dc: Yo, insert hook from right under post, yo and draw up loop, yo, draw through 2 loops, leave one loop on hook.

Make an adjustable loop.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, work 12 sc in ring – 12 sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 4 (counts as tr), tr in same sc, *ch 5, sk next sc, 2 tr in next sc; rep from *around, ch 5, sl st to top of starting ch – 12 tr, 6 ch-5 sps.

Rnd 3: *Working around first post of pair, work 10 partial dc, with 11 lps on hook, yo, draw through 1 lp, (yo, draw through 2 loops) 6 times, with 5 lps on hook, yo and draw through all lps (1/2 petal made), move 1/2 petal just made to right, working around 2nd post work 13 partial dc, yo draw through 1 lp, (yo, draw through 2 lps) 8 times, with 6 lps on hook, yo, draw through all lps, in next ch-5 sp work (dc, ch 1, tr, ch 1, dtr, ch 1, ttr, picot, ttr, ch 1, dtr, ch 1, tr, ch 1, dc); rep from * around – 6 petals and 6 leaves.

Fasten off.

Tuni Blossom #2 (make 2)

Work Rnds 1-2 of Tuni Blossom #1.

Rnd 3: *Working around first post of pair, work 10 partial dc, with 11 loops on hook, yo, draw through 1 lp, (yo, draw through 2 loops) 6 times, with 5 lps on hook, yo, draw through all lps (1/2 petal made), move 1/2 petal just made to right, working around 2nd post work 13 partial dc, yo, draw through 1 lp, (yo, draw through 2 lps) 8 times, with 6 lps on hook, yo, draw thru all lps, in next ch-5 sp work (2 dc, tr, picot, tr, 2 dc); rep from * around – 6 petals and 6 leaves.

Fasten off.

Big Blossom (make 4)

Note: Connecting 2 petals, each petal consists of 25 tr, worked around the posts and in between the pairs of tr. To connect after completing a petal, find the first tr of petal just completed and the last tr of the previous petal, from RS insert hook between these 2 sts and work sl st. Since Rnd 3 begins in the middle of a petal, the connection is done differently, as spelled out below.

In Rnd 5, the back loop sc are worked around the center 7 tr of the petal. They can be easily identified on the WS by finding the 3 tr at center.

Make an adjustable loop.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 12 sc in ring – 12 sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 5 (counts as dtr), dtr in same sc, ch 7, sk next sc, 2 dtr in next sc; rep from * around, ch 7, sl st to top of ch 5 – 12 dtr, 6 ch-7 sps.

Rnd 3: Ch 4 (counts as tr), 2 tr in between posts of first and second dtr, 11 tr working from top to bottom around post of 2nd dtr, *sk ch-7 sp, working from bottom to top 11 tr around post of first dtr in next pair, inserting hook between 2 dtr work 3 tr, working from top to bottom around post of 2nd dtr of pair work 11 tr, connect 2 petals with sl st (see note above); rep from * around to last unworked dtr post, tr at bottom of post, sl st between the last tr of this petal and first tr of following petal, 10 tr around same post, sl st to top of starting ch-4 – 6 petals.

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in same st, back loop sc in next 5 tr, *ch 3, 3 sc in ch-7 sp of Row 2, ch 3, sk 9 tr**, back loop sc in next 7 tr; rep from * around, ending last rep at ** back loop sc in next tr, sl st to first sc.

Rnd 5: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next sc, *2 tr in next sc, picot, tr in same sc, dc in next 3 sc, (hdc, 2 sc) in ch-3 sp, sk next sc, sc in next sc, sk next sc, (2 sc, hdc) in next ch-3 sp**, dc in next 3 sc; rep from * around, ending last rep at **, dc in last sc, sl st to top of starting ch-3.

Fasten off.

Popcorn Blossom (make 4)

Popcorn: Work 5 dc sts, remove hook from work, insert hook in first dc of group and draw working loop through. For the first popcorn of a round, starting ch-3 counts as first dc of popcorn.

Make an adjustable loop.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 6 sc in ring – 6 sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 3 (counts as first dc of popcorn), popcorn, *ch 3, popcorn in next sc; rep from * around, ch 3, sl st to top of starting ch – 6 popcorns and 5 ch-3 sps.

Rnd 3: Sl st to ch-3 sp, *(popcorn, ch 3, popcorn) in ch-3 sp, ch 3; rep from * around, ch 3, sl st to loop behind popcorn – 12 popcorns, 12 ch-3 sps.

Rnd 4: *(Sc, hdc, dc, tr, picot) in next ch-3 sp, (tr, dc, hdc, sc) in next ch-3 sp; rep from * around, sl st to starting sc – 6 leaves.

Fasten off.

Finishing

Attach flowers as shown in Assembly diagram.