I’m hunkered down through yet another day of downpour and thunder, which I don’t mind at all because it’s generally preferable to a drought and rain helps everything stay nice and green. Such as leaves.
And speaking of leaves (as if I didn’t purposefully steer the first paragraph to this subject), I’ve been tinkering with versions of crochet leaf motifs around the internet in search of something simple and fuss-free that would also let me crochet said motifs into long chains.
What I eventually came up with was this slightly off-kilter little leaf which combines double crochet and half doubles with a picot working into a single chain. I like it because a) it’s quick and dirty and b) it has potential as more than just a leaf – but more on that later.
UPDATE 12/2020: There’s now a video tutorial for this little motif on my YouTube channel!
Here’s how to work it, with any yarn and hook combo you prefer:
1.Ch 5 or more – the last 2 ch sts count as the beg chain. 4 dc into the 3rd ch from the hook.
2. Work a ch-2 picot. 3 hdc into the same ch st as the first 4 dc.
3. Rotate your leaf. You will now work the remaining stitches into the same ch stitch, but on the other side of the beginning stitches.
4. 2 hdc into the space indicated.
5. Sl st into the 2nd ch of beg ch-2.
6. Sl st into the 2nd ch st from the motif on your original chain, anchoring the back of your leaf.
6. Repeat! You can make these little guys as close together or far apart as you like, as long as you have a minimum of 5 ch sts on which to work them.
I like how they lean a little, a bit like a paisley. The first time I worked these it was on a leafy halter top:
But soon I realized they also had potential to be little raindrops, which is entirely appropriate for a rainy day like today:
Or how about a nice free hat pattern using these little guys?
-MF