In today’s Granny Square Month post, I’m sharing a review of a crochet flower motif project book, sharing an excerpted pattern from that book, and including a giveaway for your chance to win the book, so read on for details!

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation (at no added cost to you) if you make a purchase using these links. A free review copy of Granny Square Flowers by May Corfield  was provided to me by Search Press North America. Although I accept free products for review, I do not accept additional compensation, nor do I guarantee a positive review. My reviews are based entirely on my honest opinions.

Book Review

Granny Square Flowers by May Corfield  is a crochet flower motif project booklet in the Search Press Twenty to Make series. The booklet is the size of a piece of letter paper folded in half, and it’s slender enough to fit in your project bag. It’s also available in a taller, slimmer size as part of the 20 on the Go Patterns (50¢ a Pattern) series. Granny Square Flowers opens with May’s biography and includes a dedication to her parents. A list of pattern abbreviations (with both US and UK terminology) is also included on the same page. In May’s  introduction, she shares her love of gardening as the inspiration for this book.

The booklet includes a Crochet Know-How section, which shares tips for choosing yarn and hooks, getting proper tension (gauge), and blocking. May used DMC Petra No. 3 crochet cotton and a 2.5 mm crochet hook for all of the included patterns, but you can use your favorite weight of yarn with an appropriate size hook instead.

The booklet then moves into the patterns. Each pattern includes a list of materials and tools, the yardage required, the approximate finished sizes, tips for creating a project using the motifs, and at least two pictures of the motif (typically the motif alone and one included in a larger project). The instructions are clearly written and consistent. The patterns are written with US abbreviations with UK abbreviations in parentheses. The booklet closes with acknowledgements.

Granny Square Flowers is a fun and portable collection of floral crochet motifs. My favorites are the Clematis, the Sunflower (available here), and the Rose, which is included as a pattern excerpt below. This is a pattern booklet that assumes you already know the basic crochet stitches and have a command of working in the round and reading patterns. If you like to make motifs and are looking for a collection of patterns you can bring with you during your journeys, Granny Square Flowers could be just what you’re looking for.

Rose

Crochet Pattern by May Corfield

Published in Granny Square Flowers.

Pattern © 2016 May Corfield and Search Press Ltd. Photographs by Fiona Murray and © Search Press Ltd. Shared with permission from Search Press North America.

Note from Underground Crafter: This pattern uses standard US crochet pattern abbreviations (with UK stitch names in parenthesis). You can find a master list of abbreviations here.

Materials:

• Small amounts of crochet cotton in red (A) and dark green (B)

Tools:

• US size B/1 or C/2 (2.5mm) crochet hook
• Tapestry needle

Yardage:

• 100g ball of DMC Petra no. 3: 306yd (280m)

Finished size:

• Approximately 11cm (4.5in) from corner to opposite corner

Instructions:

• Using yarn A, ch 70, sc (UKdc) in second ch from hook and in each st to end (69 sts).
• Round 1: 1 ch, [sl st in next st, 5 tr (UKdtr) in next st, sl st in next st] six times, [sl st in next st, 5 dc (UKtr) in next st, sl st in next st] six times, [sl st in next st, 5 hdc (UKhtr) in next st, sl st in next st] eleven times. Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail. Thread the long yarn tail onto a tapestry needle and begin to wind the small petals round in a circle. With the bottom straight edge of the crochet uppermost, make small stitches to secure the petals in place as you curl them round. Check that the rose is forming to your satisfaction as you go. Keep winding the petals round, securing them with small stitches on the reverse.
• Round 2: Using yarn B, join to centre back of the rose about ½in (1cm) away from the middle. Identify three more points that will form a square, equidistant from the centre of the rose back, 3 ch, sl st to second point, 3 ch, sl st to third point, 3 ch, sl st to fourth point, 3 ch, sl st back to fi rst point (four 3-ch loops forming a square).
• Round 3: sl st to fi rst loop, work [3 ch, 2 dc (UKtr), 1 ch, 3 dc (UKtr), 2 ch] in same loop, *in next loop work [3 dc (UKtr), 1 ch, 3 dc (UKtr), 2 ch] rep from * twice, sl st to third ch of initial 3-ch.
• Round 4: sl st to next 1-ch sp, work [3 ch, 2 dc (UKtr), 1 ch] in same sp; *in corner sp work [3 dc (UKtr), 2 ch, 3 dc (UKtr), 1 ch], in next space work [3 dc (UKtr), 1 ch], rep from * twice, in next sp work [3 dc (UKtr), 2 ch, 3 dc (UKtr), 1 ch], sl st to third ch of initial 3-ch.
• Round 5: sl st to next 1-ch sp, work [3 ch, 2 dc (UKtr), 1 ch], in same sp; in each corner sp work [3 dc (UKtr), 2 ch, 3 dc (UKtr), 1 ch]; in each 1-ch sp along straight edges work [3 dc (UKtr), 1 ch], sl st to third ch of initial 3-ch.

Making up:

• Fasten off and weave in all loose ends.
• Block the edging to achieve a good square shape, but not the rose.

Giveaway

Now that you’ve read my review and sampled a pattern, are you ready to win your own copy of Granny Square Flowers?

This giveaway is open to readers with mailing addresses in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, or other parts of Europe, except where prohibited by law. Enter by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, June 18, 2018. One winner will be chosen at random from the entries submitted via the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will receive 1 copy of Granny Square Flowers by May Corfield, courtesy of Search Press North America. Good luck!

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