Flowers for a Friend
aka Balloons for a Buddy
by Polly Plum
Crochet Terms: US
Skill Level: Intermediate
Finished Size: 9 inches square
Gauge: First 3 rounds about 3.5″
Yarn: Worsted weight
Crochet Hook Size: I/5.5mm
Finished Stitch Count per Side: 30
This pattern is free for personal use only. Please see my Copyright page for more details on what that means.
Designer’s Notes
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While all of the stitches in this pattern are all rather simple ones, I’ve marked this as an intermediate pattern because it involves a lot of stitching back and forth between more than one round at a time. It can get a little confusing. To keep things simple, try not to worry too much about which stitches you skip because I left most of them out of the written pattern. It would have been too much to list every skipped stitch. Instead, keep your focus simply on where the next stitch goes and try not to overthink it.
If you crochet on the loose side, consider switching to a 5mm hook. My samples were trying to push over nine inches and my tension tends to be right in the middle – not tight or loose. If you’re a tight crocheter you should be fine with the called for 5.5mm. Check your gauge after round 3 to see where you’re at.
This block is constructed to give the illusion of bouquets of flowers standing on their own. While I’m sure this could have been successfully accomplished with some tapestry crochet techniques, that’s not exactly my forte. If it’s not yours either, then you should love that I’ve simply used slip stitches and chains worked behind other stitches to create the illusion. While it does add a bit of bulk to the final product, it’s so easy and quick to do that I say it’s a fair trade.
If you’re familiar with working into the third loop only, you may want to consider using it instead of the back loop only wherever I tell you to use the back loop. That way, any stitches that would be made into the front loop only can instead be made into both loops, which only helps add to the illusion. If you find this confusing, just skip it. It’s not really important and completely optional.
Please see the copyright section of my website to find out how this pattern can and cannot be used.
Abbreviations
blo – back loop only
ch – chain
dc – double crochet
flo – front loop only
hdc – half double crochet
r(#) – round number
sc – single crochet
sk – skip
slst – slip stitch
sp – space
st- stitch
tr – treble crochet
yo – yarn over
Special Stitches
htr – yo two times, insert hook into indicated st or sp, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook, yo and pull through all 3 remaining loops on hook
Popcorn – 5dc in indicated sp, remove hook from loop and insert into top of first dc, put loop back on hook and draw through top of first dc, ch1 to close (the ch 1 closes the popcorn and that is the part of the stitch you should work into when told to work into a popcorn)
Standing popcorn – (standing dc, 4dc) into indicated sp, remove hook from loop and insert into top of first dc, put loop back on hook and draw through top of first dc, ch1 to close
Spike st (aka long sc) – insert your hook into indicated st or sp and pull up a loop, pull that loop up to the height of your work, yo and pull through both loops on hook (Note: A spike stitch should not pull your work down so make sure you pull the loop up tall enough that there is no buckling. Additional Note: for the purposes of this pattern, a spike st will always align/be worked over a dc and you should count that dc as being worked, not skipped and should not look for instructions to work into or skip it.)
Standing sc – to start a round, with slip knot on hook, insert hook into indicated stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through two loops on hook
Standing dc – to start a round, with slip knot on hook, hold slip knot in place with thumb or finger, yo and hold that in place too, insert hook in indicated stitch, yo and pull up a loop, carefully yo and draw yarn through two loops on hook twice
Commence Pattern
Begin with magic circle.
Round 1: Ch3 {counts as first dc here and throughout}. 11 more dc into magic circle. Close magic circle. Slst to first dc to join.
12 dc
Round 2: Ch3 [Color change option: standing dc in any dc]. Dc again in same st. 2dc in next dc. [Ch2, (2dc in next dc) 3 times] 4 times, omitting last 4 dc on final repeat. Slst to first dc join.
24 dc, 4 ch2 sp (32 st around)
Round 3: Ch3 [Color change option: standing dc in third dc after any ch2 sp]. Dc in next 3 dc. [(Dc, ch1, dc, ch1, dc) in ch2 sp, dc in next 6 dc] 4 times, omitting last 4 dc on final repeat. Slst to first dc to join.
36 dc, 8 ch1 sp (44 st around)
Round 4: Ch3 [Color change option: standing dc in fourth dc after any group of two ch1 sp]. Dc in next 4 dc. [Ch1, dc in next ch1 sp, ch1, dc in next dc, ch1, dc in next ch1 sp, ch1, dc in next 8 dc] 4 times, omitting last 5 dc on final repeat. Slst to first dc to join. Fasten off.
44 dc, 16 ch1 sp (60 st around)
Note: in round 5 remember that a spike stitch worked over a dc counts that dc as having been worked into. The first stem (spike) of each group is worked over the last dc before the group of ch1 sps. The last stem of each group is worked over the first dc after the group of ch1 sps. The other stems are worked over the dcs that are between ch1 sps.
Round 5 (stems): Standing sc in fourth dc after any group of four ch1 sps. Sc in next 3 dc. [Spike st in to r2 ch2 sp, (sc in next ch1 sp, spike st into same ch2 sp as last spike) 4 times, sc in next 6 dc] 4 times, omitting last 4 sc on final repeat. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
20 spike st, 40 sc (60 st around)
Note: Your work is probably already starting to get pretty ruffled. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Hang in there, it will flatten out.
Round 6 (first row of flowers): Standing popcorn in first spike of any 5 spike group. *(Ch2, sk next sc, popcorn in next spike) 4 times, ch3, sk next sc, slst in blo of next sc, ch2, sk next 2 sc, slst in blo of next sc, ch3, sk next sc, popcorn in next spike.* Repeat from * to * 3 times, omitting last popcorn on final repeat. Slst to first popcorn to join. Fasten off.
20 popcorn, 8 slst, 20 ch2 sp, 8 ch3 sp (92 st around)
Round 7: When working into r5 sc that already contain a slst in the blo, work into the flo. Standing dc in the second r5 sc after any 5 popcorn group {the sc will be the one with the r6 slst in it}. *^Dc in next 3 r5 sc keeping sts in front of r6 ch2 sp, (ch3 and slst to top of next popcorn) 5 times, ch3,^ dc in the second r5 sc after the last popcorn.* Repeat from * to * twice and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to flo or first dc to join. Do not fasten off after joining and you can continue with the same yarn in round 9, if you do this, make sure you keep your round 8 stitches behind your r9 working yarn.
16 dc, 20 slst, 24 ch3 sp (108 st around)
Round 8 (second row of flowers): Standing popcorn in the r6 ch2 space between the first and second popcorns of any 5 popcorn group keeping st in front of r7 ch3 sp. *(Ch2, popcorn in next r6 ch2 sp between popcorns) 3 times, ch3, dc in next r6 ch3 sp {the one right after the 5th popcorn} keeping st behind r7 ch3 sp, ch2, slst to blo of next r7 dc, ch2, sk next 2 r7 dc, slst to next r7 dc {the 4th dc}, ch2, dc in r6 ch3 sp {the one right before the next popcorn} keeping st behind r7 ch3 sp, ch3,^ popcorn in next r6 ch2 sp between popcorns keep st in front of r7 ch3 sp.* Repeat from * to * twice and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first popcorn to join. Fasten off.
16 popcorn, 8 dc, 8 slst, 8 ch3 sp, 24 ch2 sp (104 st around)
Round 9: Except when working into popcorns, keep all r9 work in front of r8 stitches and ch spaces. When working into r7 dc that already contain a slst in the blo, work into the flo. Continuing with r7 yarn ch3 [Color change option: standing dc in the first r7 dc of any side]. Dc in next 3 r7 dc. *^2dc in next r7 ch3 sp, (ch3, slst to next r8 popcorn) 4 times, ch3, 2dc into r7 ch3 sp {the one that comes immediately before the next r7 dc},^ dc in next 4 r7 dc.* Repeat from * to * twice and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first dc to join. Do not fasten off after joining and you can continue with the same yarn in round 11, if you do this, make sure you keep your round 10 stitches behind your r11 working yarn.
32 dc, 16 slst, 20 ch3 sp (108 st around)
Note: You should be noticing that your square is flattening out now. It should be good and flat after then next couple rounds.
Round 10 (third row of flowers): Standing popcorn in the r8 ch2 space between the first and second popcorns of any 4 popcorn group keeping st in front of r9 ch3 sp. *^(Ch2, popcorn in next r6 ch2 sp between popcorns) twice, ch3, dc in r8 ch3 sp {the one between the popcorn and the dc} keep st behind r9 ch3 sp, ch2, slst in blo of next r9 dc, ch2, sk next 2 r9 dc, (slst in next r9 dc) twice, ch2, sk next 2 r9 dc, slst in next r9 dc {the last one on this side}, ch2, dc in r8 ch3 sp {the one right before the next popcorn} keeping st behind r9, ch3,^ popcorn in next r6 ch2 sp between popcorns.* Repeat from * to * twice and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first popcorn to join. Fasten off.
12 popcorn, 8 dc, 16 slst, 8 ch3 sp, 24 ch2 sp (108 st around)
Round 11: Except when working into ch spaces between popcorns, keep all r11 work in front of r10 stitches and ch spaces. When working into r9 dc that already contain a slst in the blo, work into the flo. Continuing with r9 yarn ch3 [Color change option: standing dc in the third r9 dc of any side]. Dc in next 5 r9 dc. *2dc in next r9 ch3 sp, 3dc in r10 ch3 sp {the one right before the next popcorn}, sk the popcorn, (2dc, 2htr) in next r10 ch2 sp {the one between popcorns}, (tr, ch2, tr) in next popcorn, (2htr, 2dc) in next r10 ch2 sp, 3dc in next r10 ch3 sp, 2dc in r9 ch3 sp {the one that comes immediately before the next r9 dc},^ dc in next 8 r9 dc, dc in next 2 r9 dc.* Repeat from * to * twice, and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first dc to join.
8 tr, 16 htr, 88 dc, 4 ch2 sp (28 st per side, not counting ch2 corners)
Round 12: Ch1 and sc in same st [Color change option: standing sc in joining st]. [Sc in each st across to corner, (sc, ch2, sc) in corner ch2 sp] 4 times. Sc in each remaining st to first st. Slst to first sc to join. Fasten off.
120 sc, 4 ch2 sp (30 st per side, not counting ch2 corners)
Weave in all ends and block.
Thanks for your interest in this afghan square! If you liked this one, please check out my other afghan block patterns.
Hook on!
