Medallion Flower Tutorial

As Islay Lass has flattered my ego and has asked to see my Medallion Flower pattern here it is. Please visit her blog, she doesn't live on Islay anymore but a slightly warmer island slightly further south, a lovely read.

I wanted a simpler decoration to finish my Tropical Bag so I came up with these medallions.

I am supposed to be painting our only wooden windows, outside on the kitchen and conservatory but obviously 2 dry days was more than our allocated quota. I'm just so relieved I didn’t start on the painting! Hark, I hear thunder, I think the golfing husband may be home early, the common is rather exposed when you have a metal stick in hand.

Just a minute, I need to go and get my mug of tea…

Medallion Flower

OK here we go, a walk through with photos then an easy to copy and paste regular pattern at the end. I haven’t done this before so please tell me if its gobbledegook. It’s dead easy to crochet, and based on the circle principle from the base of Lucy’s crochet bag pattern. I use UK terminology.

I’m using 2 colours of Rico Creative Cotton that is a light Aran weight and a 4mm hook to make it firm. I’d go down to a 3.5mm if making in double knit. 1 wooden button 3cm and a darning needle thick enough for the yarn. Any button you like with holes and 2-3 cm in diameter would be fine. The finished medallion is 9cm diameter made with trebles or 8cm in half trebles, as I did for the ones on my bag. The tutorial flower is pictured with trebles.

Leaving a good long tail to sew your medallion onto whatever you are using it for later, start with a chain of 4 and slip stitch into a circle.

Round 1 Chain 3 (always counts as 1st treble of the round)

Now make 11 trebles into the circle, holding the tail and crocheting over it. 12 trebles in total counting the 3 chains.
Slip stitch into the 3rd chain to complete the ring.

Pull the tail to close the circle.
Round 2 Chain 3 and 1 treble into 1st treble, and then 2 trebles into every stitch. Slip stitch to 3rd chain again to finish round. 24 trebles.

Round 3 Chain 3 again and 1 treble into same stitch as before. Now 1 treble into next stitch, then 2 trebles into the stitch after that, repeat until you are all the way round, you will finish with one treble and again close the circle with a slip stitch into 3rd chain. You should have 36 stitches.

Round 4 Chain 3 again and 1 treble into same stitch as before. This time you repeat round 2 by making 2 trebles into every stitch again to make a slightly wavy edge. It doesn’t look very wavy now but fear not, it’s more of a ripple effect when sewn on. 72 stitches. Fasten off.

Round 5 (Contrast) Flip your circle, what was the right side is now your wrong side. You should be able to see 3 circles that look like running stitches at intervals.

You now want to work onto the middle round picking up one thread as shown. (They are the outer edge of Round 2) It can be a bit fiddly so no getting cross! Starting anywhere, loop the contrasting colour and work 3 chains and 1 treble into 1 stitch.

Continue working 2 trebles into the next loop all the way round.

I found it easier to hold the rest of the main medallion out of the way. You will finish with 48 trebles, but it’s not critical. Slip stitch to 3rd chain to close and finish off.

That was easy!  Weave in the 3 ends (not the 4th centre one) securely and snip.

I used a 3cm wooden button with decent sized holes to finish and my darning needle allowed me to sew the button on to the centre before sewing onto my bag. The medallion squishes up nicely once sewn on, it looks worryingly flat and boring on a flat surface before the button is attached, fear not. Finish off very thoroughly!

I like my medallion, a bit more contemporary in a appearance than a ruffly flower, you could make the circle bigger and have several inner ruffles, just always make sure the last round is 2 trebles into every stitch. I made 4 different combos for my bag.

Medallion Flower Pattern

ch=chain
sl-st= slip stitch
tr=treble (dc in US)

4 ch and sl st to circle leaving a generous tail.

Round 1 - 3ch (always counts as 1st tr) 11tr into ring, catching tail as you go. Sl-st to 3rd chain to close. 12 st. Pull tail to close ring, do not cut off.

Round 2 - 3ch 1tr into 1st st, *2 tr into each subsequent st. Repeat from * to end. sl-st to 3rd chain to close. 24 st

Round 3 - 3ch 1tr into 1st st, *1 tr into next st, 2 tr into next st * Repeat from * to * to last stitch 1tr then sl st to 3rd chain to close. 36 st

Round 4 - 3ch 1tr into 1st st, *2 tr into each subsequent st. Repeat from * to end. sl-st to 3rd chain to close. 72 st. Fasten off.

Round 5 (Contrast Round)
Using 2nd colour flip your medallion over and work into the single loop of the middle round of stitches showing (they look like running stitches, and are the outer st of round 2)3ch 1 tr into first loop. * 2 tr into next loop. Repeat from * to end. sl-st to 3rd chain to close. 48st

Fasten off. Sew in outer 2 ends. Using starting tail, sew on your button and sew onto bag, hat or whatever!

I made the medallions for my bag using half trebles, it's slightly smaller just substitute for all trebles if desired. The photo tutorial is using trebles.

©KnitKnatKnotUK A link back to this post would be appreciated if you use and/or like my flower medallion, thank you!

I am really sad that the Olympics finishes today, the closing ceremony should be amazing I would award a medallion flower to every competitor! I reckon they are digging out the Spice Girls.

Is the rain stopping? Can I go and paint? Will it be dry for the next 16 hours? Is the Pope Catholic?!

Tropical Summer Bag

Tropical Lucy Bag

Back in June I had to spend the day in Bristol waiting about for a few hours whilst my 16 yo S had a college trial day, this was not a hardship. I had no desire to go shopping and as I was out in the Brislington area anyway I pre-arranged to go and spend a few hours crocheting at the wonderful Get Knitted. I was working on my Rainbow Ripple blanket! What a lovely yarn shop with friendly and knowledgable staff, I had a squashy sofa to myself, lots of yarny magazines to read, free tea and of course yarn to browse and great company/customer service. Fortunately Get Knitted stock Rico Design Creative Cotton that I had been lusting after, a 100% cotton yarn in Aran weight, perfect for an Attic 24 Lucy Bag. I spent most of the five hours agonising over colour choices, but I plumped for 2 balls each of six colours in the end. My bag will be tropical; Sky Blue, Pistachio, Light Yellow, Orange, Light Pistachio and Fuchsia (more red than pink) I was good and waited until my ripple blanket was finished before embarking on this project, although I only rippled a few rows that day!

Rico Designs Creative Cotton; Orange, Lt Pistachio, Pistachio, Sky Blue, Fuchsia, Light Yellow

As ever Lucy’s instructions are fabulous, this is the first time I have crocheted circles and it’s so easy. I changed colours every round, and started in a different place each time so the join didn’t become noticeable, but I did find I got a lump at each join from tying off which was hard to work round as the cotton is solid, I got better at disguising as I worked up the bag (you can see some gaps). The outermost olive is the last of the 14 rounds increasing for the base, after that you just keep working round and round.

Not happy with the new yarn joins!

Easy to disguise mistakes with clever photography lol

I have always just looped in a new colour in the past, but on the ripple I knotted at the start of each colour as that is what everyone seems to do nowadays, and I wish I hadn’t. I have gone back to no knots at all and weaving in ends very thoroughly with a needle. On the bag I did crochet over the ends but you still have to thread a needle to run back in another direction anyway so it’s best just to leave the ends I think, and do them properly, with a needle for peace of mind.

Is it a hat?

Do you like my model, should he give up the day job?

I enjoyed making my bag, but working with cotton is harder work, you have to be so careful with each stitch to avoid yarn splitting (where a little partial loop of the previous stitch still remains on the hook) It’s not as stiff finished as I hoped it would be, but I still love it.

In your face stripes, subtle or what!

Bag Straps, just finishing off the last row

I thought it would stand up a little on its own. I probably will line in the future but the bright stripy curtain material I thought I had buried in a trunk seems to have been used for something at some point by a daughter! A good tip I saw was to find a plastic place mat to place in the bottom of the bag, the cork one I put in for photographing won’t be robust enough to use in anger!

Finished Bag

Yarn Bag, don't look at the very carefully woven in ends that are escaping already!

I couldn't find the pattern for the flower Lucy uses on her bag to cover the strap joins, which I machined on. I did eventually find it on another page of her blog, but after I had invented my own substitute. I am pretty chuffed with them and will write out the pattern as a tutorial over the weekend if anyone is interested. I call it a Medallion Flower and it turned out like this, with a wooden button sewn in the middle to finish:

Medallion Flower

Medallion Flowers finished off with a wooden button

TROPICAL BAG finished 5th August 2012, it took me about two weeks but that was working on another project at the same time!

FINISHED SIZE: Top of handle to base 60cm, not sagging! Diameter of base 30cm (14 rounds) Height of bag to scallop 30cm, 40 rounds in total including base and 1 round scallop to finish. Strap end to end 65cm for 100 chains

YARN:  2 Balls each Rico Creative Cotton (a light aran weight yarn) I had ½-3/4 ball left of each so if you bought 1 ball in 10 different colours there wouldn’t be much over.
Sky Blue 37
Pistachio 41
Light Yellow 63
Orange 74
Light Pistachio 44
Fuchsia 13

Yarn is available in about 38 very bright and zingy shades, great colours, 85m per ball.

HOOK: 4mm to keep the stitch tight

PATTERNS:
Lucy Attic 24 Bag
Flower Medallion is my own pattern that I have written up as a tutorial.

HOOKY HAPPY INDEX: 8/10

I think she (S age 16) gets her modelling skills from her father, not! Sums up their attitude to my crocheting!!

My finished Tropical Bright "In Your Face" Crochet Bag!