How to Crochet a Tulip Flower

Once you master crocheting a simple flower, kick things up a notch. This tulip is realistic, gorgeous and the perfect foundation for an entire yarn bouquet.

Crochet Tulip

Level: Easy

What You Need

Abbreviations

Instructions

1. Crochet Tulip Petals

Start with a magic ring so that your petal is nice and tight with no gaps or holes.

Round 1: Make 12 dc into the loop. Pull the central yarn tight, close with a slip stitch.

Round 2: [2hdc into each stitch of round 1] x 4

[Hdc, dc], 2dc, [dc, hdc] into the next four stitches

[2hdc into each stitch of round 1] x 4

Round 3: sc, 2sc, four times. You will now be at the point of your first hdc in round 2

At this point you need to shape the top of the petal so that it becomes heart-shaped.

1hdc, 1dc into the next stitch, followed by 1dc into the following stitch. Then work 1dc and 1hdc AND a slip stitch into the stitch after.

To finish round 3: [1sc, 2sc] x 4.

Fasten off, weave in the yarn end and then make a second petal in exactly the same way. But don’t fasten off after the second petal; you continue with the yarn to join the petals together.

To join, press the petals together with their wrong sides inside. Make sure that the slip stitch in the center of the top of the hearts line up exactly. Then slip stitch to join. You need to put your hook through both loops of the stitches in both petals:

Start at the base of the petal, using the yarn from the second petal you made. Work slowly and carefully until you reach the first hdc of round 3. At this point, continue slip stitching just on the petal nearest to you – do not join the top of the petal. When you reach the central slip stitch, slip stitch down into it to maintain the heart shape.

When you reach the last hdc in round 3, resume joining the petals.

At the end of the round you should end up with something that looks like this:

Yay – a tulip flower! Fasten off and weave in the end inside the flower.

2. Make the Inner Disc

This simple disc helps support the tulip, giving it a more realistic shape. It also helps to attach the stem. We chose to use a mustard yellow for this flower.

Start with a magic loop and make 12 hdc into the ring and join with a slip stitch. In round 2 make 2hdc into each stitch of round 1 then join with a slip stitch. Fasten off and weave in the ends.

3. Stitch the Stem

Take a length of craft wire twice as long as you want your stem. I cut mine at 18 inches. Fold in half and nip the bend with your pliers to make it like a hairpin. Crochet a stem cover by making a chain the same length as your folded wire. Make 1hdc into each stitch of the chain. The strip of crochet will then be about an inch longer than your folded wire. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

4. Crochet the Leaf

This part of the pattern is a guide because it’s good to vary the chain length to make leaves of different sizes so that your tulip display looks more realistic.

This is the leaf we made for this flower:

Start with 32 chains.

Round 1: Make an sc into each chain until you reach one chain from the end. Make slip stitches around the point, then continue down the other side of the chain, making an sc into each stitch.

Round 2: Six sc, 1hdc, 22dc, 1hdc, 1sc, 1 slip stitch. Make 3 chains and slip stitch into the first chain to make a picot point at the top of the leaf. Then continue down the other side with 1sc, 1hdc, 22dc, six sc. Join with a slip stitch. Weave in the tail end that you started with and then cut off your working yarn to leave a tail for sewing – about 8 inches will be fine for sewing on the leaf.

Note: if you find your leaf is a bit floppy you can add a round 3 and slip stitch all around both sides, returning to the base of the leaf before fastening off.

5. Assemble

Take the wire and push it through the inner disc so that it goes through the centre, with the ends about quarter of an inch apart.

Then push the ends of the wire through the base of the tulip head

As you pull the wire through completely, the top of the wire and the inner disc will go to the base of the inside of the petals:

6. Cover the Stem

You can now use the long tail of green yarn to sew the stem cover over the stem. Make sure that you twist your wire together slightly and turn over the ends to avoid sharp wires sticking out of your flower stem.

Continue down the stem, sewing backward and forward through both loops of the stitches on either side of the stem cover.

When you reach the bottom you should have a little spare to cover the wire ends. Loop this up and attach, making it look like a tiny leaf.

7. Attach the Leaf

Attach about halfway down, sewing together the edges of the leaf as you did for the stem. This will help the leaf to curl like a real tulip leaf.

Now take the time to admire your hard work, because you’re done!

And then you can make a whole bunch in whatever colors you like!