What to do with a large Irish Rose??

I got this absolutely beautiful silk & mohair blend yarn, and decided to make another rose.  I wanted to make a larger one this time which is why I chose this yarn.  I used Rowan Silk Twist.

The photographs don't really capture how luxurious this yarn is.



So as you can see the flower worked out at around 7" across, so quite large really. Now I am struggling for what to do with it.


Typically I make these as embellishments for bags or as brooches. But this one is a bit large for a brooch and it’s just too nice to be an embellishment.

My thought was perhaps to make a long headband and attach this? What do you think?

The Pattern for my Crochet Irish Rose

I mentioned before that although I love making Irish Roses and they feature not only on many of my handmade items but also in my shop banner & on my avatar I have never got round to actually creating a pattern for it.

Well I have now.  After getting an email asking if I had a pattern for sale I thought I really need to write this down.

When I make them, no two are the same.  I usually have another idea of making frilly edges or adding beading.  Even the number and densitiy of the petals can change.

I love to mix colours, use multi-coloured yarns or even use different yarn weights & textures when making them.  I think, like in nature, my roses should be individual.

Have a look in Walnut Baby to see some of my little rosy creations and the pattern is there for you too

I love the rose I created for this pattern

I made it using DMC multi-coloured embroidery thread.  The silkiness of the thread gives this particular rose a lovely sheen and the feel is so soft.

Irish Crochet Necklace - Old Rose & passion flower

Walnut Baby shop

I started by creating the passion flowers, really I wanted the challenge of creating the roll (or Bullion) stitches & the clones knots that are required for the center & the pistils.

They are quite tricky stitches and more so when using fine thread.  This particular necklace is created with No 30 crochet cotton, so not the finest my any means - but fine enough !

I decided to create an Old rose this time rather than the more traditional Irish rose

It love the lacy petals, I think it creates a beautiful and delicate centre for this piece.

I finished off with a sprig of open work leaves & joined the flowers with little double leaf motifs.

The chain of the necklace is quite plain, but given the complexity of the motifs I thought that this was best. 

This necklace has a tie closure so that the wearer can adjust the length to fit.  When using a tie closer I like to add little crochet covered washers to the end of the chains - this adds a little weight to make the ends hang nicely, otherwise they are prone to curling up.

Irish Crochet Necklace - Irish rose design

Walnut Baby shop

This is one of my favorite necklaces that I have made so far.  It is created with 3 Irish roses, one large and 2 smaller.  Then 2 Irish Crochet rose leaves are added.

In crocheting the necklace "chain" I added in some gutterman beads in groups of 3 along each chain.

I have added some covered crochet covered washers to the ends of the chain to add weight and make them hang nicely when tied. 

There is no specific closure, the chains are tied to close - in that way the necklace lenght can be altered to neck size and also to neckline.

I used no30 multi-coloured crochet thread.  I really like the effect that the multi-coloured thread creates.

Christmas Irish Rose Brooch

Walnut Baby shop

This is created using No 20 Crochet cotton for the main body of the rose. To make this brooch a Christmas Irish rose I added in DMC Metalic embroidery thread in Gold.

Initially I started creating a standard Irish rose and when I reached the fifth layer of petals I then added in the Gold thread. Then again on the sixth layer of petals I added a final row of Gold.

To finish off the rose I created a center in gold thread as well.

This particular thread is quite difficult to crochet. It tends to split into the individual strands and takes quite a bit of patients to keep the work neat and avoid stray loops.

The thread itself is quite course to work with and it can bite into your fingers when working with it. Fortunately in this particular piece the amount of working with this thread was limited so I managed to avoid too much damage!

I think the effort was worth it in the end, the gold thread catches the light beautifully. I think that it turned out to be a really pretty festive brooch.

Irish Rose crochet brooch

Walnut Baby shop

I made this using DMC pearl cotton embroidery thread & Gutermann rocailles 9/o beads (colour 9901).

The thread has a lovely sheen that makes it both a pleasure to work with an creates really pretty work. I like the effect of that the multi coloured thread makes.

Although the beads could have been worked in as I crochet, I forgot to thread them before I started !! So as a result I hand sewed them on afterwards.

To finish of the brooch I crochet a center "bead" to cover the spokes that form the center of a traditional Irish rose.

Irish Crochet Necklace

I created this necklace using No70 crochet thread, it is reasonably fine thread and creates a quite delicate look.

Walnut Baby shop

This Irish rose has an additional layer of petals compared to the "Traditional" 6 petal design, I think it gives it a very soft look.

I have also covered the centre of the rose with a little "dome".  The centre can be left open showing the cartwheel of spokes making up the flower or covered like this.  I think that either look very pretty.

In this necklace tried out creating a vine leaf design, which is the leaf on the left side below and then added the Rose leaf on the right.

The cord is simply a row of crochet on the padding cord and fastened with a little iridescent flower button.

Irish Crochet

Irish crochet is my latest adventure.  It is made with very fine thread, not much thicker than standard sewing cotton & creates such delicate, intricate work.  I have to admire the ladies who created Irish crochet back in the days before electric lighting, it can be quite a strain on the eyes even with the best of light.

Walnut Baby

This is one of my creations, its made with No 30 crochet thread - so not the finest by any means.  This is the classic Irish rose with rose leaves, its one of the most popular Irish crochet motifs. 

A typical & traditional use of  Irish crochet is to create garments and garment fragments such as colars or cuffs.  Looking through some of the old pattern books I confess that I wouldn't have the patients to create some of the work that they show ... but the detail & workmanship is amazing.

This image is from Priscilla Irish Crochet Book No1, originally published in 1912.  I cannot imagine the patients required to create something like this - that's why I stick to smaller pieces like jewellery & motifs.

I am always fearful that I would ruin a well made motif by trying to incorporate it into a larger item ... perhaps as I get more confident with creating Irish crochet I may become more adventurous.