A Bouquet of Irish Crochet Roses

Classic Irish crocheted lace was made of individual motifs, often worked over a heavy padding cord for a dramatic sculptural effect. Those motifs were basted to a sheer silk ground fabric (later cut away) and joined together by a network of chain stitches with picots. The motifs were typically worked in a very fine crochet thread—measuring perhaps 10,000 yards per pound—and a network thread twice as fine.

This small project focuses on a single motif to give you a taste of how such work was done and the beautiful results you can achieve with Irish crochet. If you are familiar with the fundamental stitches, each rose will take less than an hour to complete, making this a great quick weeknight or weekend project (depending on how many roses you wish to include).

Materials and Tools

• DMC Pearl Cotton, size 12, 131 yd per ball, 1 ball of Ecru and 1 ball of Very Light Shell Pink (color #224)
• Steel crochet hook, US size 6 (1.6 mm)
• Needle for sewing in ends and for hand sewing
• 10" square of fabric (trimmed to a circle), or size to fit your embroidery hoop
• Sewing thread to match
• Embroidery hoop 4" (10.2 cm) round for finishing (hoop by Frank Edmunds)

Finished size: 4" (10.2 cm) diameter