Flower Basket Appliqué

A few weeks ago I bought a stack of vintage knit and crochet pattern leaflets at a local antique mall.  It has been fun looking through them.  I saw this pattern in a 1950 leaflet, intended to be  a guest towel appliqué.  Not really interested in embellishing guest towels, however I do have tons of crochet thread at hand and thought this might make for an interesting decorative pillow.  After locating  the crochet thread, this was pulled together rather quickly.  It was quite easy.  All that is left is pillow assembly, that will be later today or tomorrow.  Perhaps not Victorian, but certainly vintage looking. The fabric is a remnant from a project so old I don’t remember it anymore, so my cost was pretty much zero.

The pattern has been slightly modified.  And with fair use in mind, the pattern is after the jump.

Flower Basket Appliqué

MATERIALS:
Cotton Thread, Green, or color of your choice (for basket), small amounts of various colors for the flowers, yellow for the center of the flowers.
Steel Crochet Hook No. 7. (I used a size 8 steel hook)
Fabric of choice to appliqué basket and flowers.

GAUGE — I think gauge is not critical here.  With a size 8 steel crochet hook, my flowers measure approximately 1.75 inches in diameter. Entire appliqué, as seen, measures 9.25 inches wide by 12 inches tall. height can easily be adjusted by making a shorter handle for the basket, width may be adjusted by changing flower placement. Using a smaller hook will produce a smaller appliqué overall.

BASKET—Starting at bottom with Green, ch 28. 1st row: Dc in 4th ch from hook, * ch 2, skip 2 ch, dc in next 2 ch. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn. 2nd row: Sc in first 2 dc, * 2 sc in next sp, sc in next 2 dc. Repeat from * across, ending with sc in top of turning chain. Ch 3, turn. 3rd row: Skip first sc, dc in next sc, * ch 2, skip 2 sc, dc in next 2 sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn. 4th and 5th rows: Repeat 2nd and 3rd rows. 6th row: Repeat 2nd row. 7th row: Skip first sc, dc in next sc, * ch 3, skip 2 sc, dc in next 2 sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn. 8th row: Sc in first 2 dc, * 3 sc in next sp, sc in next 2 dc. Repeat from * across, ending with sc in top of turning chain. Ch 3, turn. 9th row: Skip first sc, dc in next sc, ch 4, skip 3 sc, dc in next 2 sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn. 10th row: Sc in first 2 dc, * 4 sc in next sp, sc in next 2 dc. Repeat from * across. Ch 3, turn. 11th to 20th rows incl: Work in pattern, always having dc’s fall above dc’s of previous dc row, and having 1 ch more between dc’s on each dc row and 1 sc more between dc’s on each sc row. Ch 5, turn, at end of 20nd row.  21st row: Skip first sc, dc in next sc, ch 9, skip 9 sc, dc in next sc, ch 2, dc in next sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 3, turn. 22nd row: 6 dc in first sp, * 7 sc in next sp, 7 dc in next ch-2 sp. Repeat from * across. Break off.

BASE —1st row: attach Green to opposite side of starting chain and sc in each st across. Ch 4, turn. 2nd row: Skip first sc, tr in next sc, * ch 4, skip 2 sc, tr in next 2 sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn. 3rd row: * Sc between next 2 tr, 5 sc in next sp. Repeat from * across, ending with sc between last tr and turning chain. Ch 4, turn. 4th row: 6 tr in first sc, * skip 2 sc, sc in next sc, skip 2 sc, 7 tr in next sc. Repeat from * across. Break off.

HANDLE —Starting at narrow edge with Green, ch 4. 1st row: In 4th ch from hook make 2 dc, ch 2 and 2 dc. Ch 5, turn. 2nd row: In ch-2 sp make 2 dc, ch 2 and 2 dc. Ch 5, turn. Repeat 2nd row until piece measures 15 inches (or your desired length). Break off.

FLOWER —Starting at center with Pink (or color of your choice), ch 6. Join with sl st to form ring. 1st rnd: Ch 3, 20 dc in ring. Join with sl st to top of ch-3. 2nd rnd: * Ch 4, holding back on hook the last loop of each tr make tr in next 2 dc, thread over and draw through all loops on hook (cluster made); ch 4, sl st in next dc. Repeat from * around. Join. 3rd rnd: * 4 sc over next ch-4, in tip of cluster make sc, ch 3 and sc; 4 sc over next ch-4. Repeat from * around. Join.

FLOWER CENTER —Starting at center with Yellow, ch 4, 14 dc in 4th ch from hook. Join and break off. Sew center to flower.
Make more flowers  — I made 16 total, all centers in yellow  — though you could certainly mix it up.

Sew handle  and front of basket to fabric.  Using an embroidery hoop makes this easier.  Sew flowers to basket and fabric.

Original Source: Quick Tricks in Crochet, Book No. 267, The Spool Cotton Company, 1950.