Crochet Pattern for Calla Lily Bouquet

Toward the end of July my sister told us that she was getting married!  We were so excited since they had been together over five years and are great together.  Then, she quickly followed that by telling us that the wedding would be in just over a month, and over 1,000 miles away.

We have a family friend in Houston who is the priest that she wanted to marry them.  One of the dates he offered as a wedding date was just over a month away so she took it.  And so the wedding details started to get underway.

My sister wanted a small and simple wedding, but she also wanted a traditional wedding in a church with a wedding gown.  As we were shopping with our mom the topic of flowers came up.  She kind of shrugged that she really hadn’t thought about them.  We all agreed she should at least have a bouquet to carry.  Since we all were flying in the day before from Detroit to Houston we thought about just purchasing a bouquet at a florist the day of the wedding.

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Somewhere sometime I must have seen or heard about a crochet bouquet, so I mentioned to her that I could make her one.  This way she would be able to keep it as a happy memory, and it wouldn’t turn into a sad and crumbling bouquet of  dead roses like mine had become over the years.

After several texts back and forth of pictures of real flower bouquets, she decided on a small calla lily bouquet of a mixed white and red calla lilies.  Red is her color, and I thought that calla lilies were a perfect flower for her wedding (and looked easier to make than some other flowers).

I searched online for the anatomy of a calla lily.  I kept seeing some that were long and slender with longer tongue like points.  Others were larger and rounded on the face.  I didn’t realize there were so many varieties of calla lilies like there are roses.   I enjoyed looking at all the varieties, but could not figure out the measurements or details in the pictures.

I went to Joann Fabric and Crafts with both of our daughters to get supplies.  First up was to find a plastic calla lily to be a guide to the pattern.  Luckily we found a few white ones tucked up on the top row behind other flowers.  Then to the yarn aisle for the yarn cotton thread for the calla lilies along with the girls picking out their favorite yarn to be made into doll outfits.  And, then all over the store to find the stem necessities.

Coming up with the pattern took several tries to get it to look right and be easy enough to make multiples of.  The first had ridges on the petal where I had to use slip stitches to narrow the edge, and was complicated with the number of stitches and increases.  When it was done I didn’t like the appearance of it and knew that one was not an option.

The next one was where I made the increases at the edge.  The flower looked more pixilated and geometric than a soft, flowing and graceful calla lily.  So, that one was out.

Finally I came up with the basis of what is the pattern below.  After several adjustments to get it to taper at the right angle and where it should taper at the pattern was written.  Now, to make a total 12 of them for the bouquet in time for the wedding.

I made each one of them in stages, and would do several before moving to the next stage.  This way I would get 4 completed at once and I enjoyed seeing the number of flowers completed become closer to a bouquet with each group finished.

I made a total of 6 white with red centers, and 6 red with burgundy centers.  The last flower I made I did from start to finish so that I could time it.  It took me just under two and a half hours to complete all the crochet, ends woven in, and it on a stem.  This did not include the final finishing portion of the bouquet.

To make the flowers hold their shape and not distort when the flowers next to each other touched; I knew I needed to stiffen them.  I really wanted a firm hold so that they would be able to handle being packed and flown to Houston for the wedding.

I used a combination of water and Elmer’s Glue in a 50/50 ratio.  Dipping each flower in, shaping, and letting air dry did the trick.  The flowers held their shape, the colors didn’t bleed, and you could not see a difference in the appearance of the flowers with the glue on them.

I finished the flowers well in time for the wedding.  They held their shape being packed and flown.  My sister loved them just as much as I did.  People even thought they were real calla lilies until they were up close, which I took as a great compliment.

The wedding was absolutely perfect.  My sister and now husband looked beautiful and happy on their wedding day – the most important thing.  I’m happy that I could make something for my sister that she could keep as a lasting memento of this wonderful event.

Get the printable PDF version of the pattern (without ads) HERE

Calla Lily Bouquet Crochet Pattern

By City Farmhouse Studio
Get the printable PDF version of the pattern (without ads) HERE

Flower face measures:  4” x  2 ¾”

To make a bouquet of 12 flowers – 6 white with red centers and 6 red with burgundy centers:

Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread Classic 10 – White – 1 ball (find all 4 colors here)

Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread Classic 10 – Burgundy – 1 ball

Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread Classic 10 – Victory Red – 1 ball

Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread Classic 10 – Metallic Gold – 1 ball

DMC Pearl Cotton Size 5 – Dk Pistachio Green 367 – 2 skeins (find it here)

5/8 satin ribbon – 21ft – white (find it here)

12 gauge floral wire – green – 12 ft (find it here)

6mm chenille stems – moss – 24 stems (find it here)

Yarn needle

Wire cutters

Elmer’s white glue

Crochet Hook:  steel size 1

Stitch Guide:

Sk1sc = Skip 1 single crochet stitch in previous row, leaving it unworked.

Sk2sc = Skip 2 single crochet stitches in previous row, leaving both unworked.

Sc2tog= Single Crochet 2 Together.  Insert hook into stitch.  Draw up loop.  Insert hook into next stitch and draw up loop.  Draw a new loop through all three loops on hook.

Sc3tog= Single Crochet 3 Together.  Insert hook into stitch.  Draw up loop.  Insert hook into next stitch and draw up loop.  Insert hook into the next stitch and draw up a loop.  Draw a new loop through all four loops on hook.

Note: the number at the end of each row in the parenthesis is the number of stitches made in that row not including the chain one.  The -# that follows is the number of stitches in the previous row that are not worked.

With first color (white or victory red) Ch 85.

Row 1:  In 2^nd ch from hook sc 41.  Sc2tog. Sc 41.  (83)

Row 2:  Ch 1.  Sc 14.  (Sc2tog, sc 7) repeat from (to) once.  Sc2tog, sc 6, sc3tog, sc6.  (Sc2tog, sc 7) repeat from ( to ) two more times. Sc 4.  (72) -3

Row 3:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 65. -5

Row 4:  Ch 1. Sk2sc, sc 18, sc2tog, sc 21, sc2tog, sc 18.  (59) -2

Row 5:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 27, sc2tog, sc 24.  (52) -4

Row 6:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 21, sc2tog twice, sc 22.  (45) -3

Row 7:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 3, sc2tog, sc 14, sc2tog, sc 14, sc2tog, sc 3.  (37) -3

Row 8:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 15, sc2tog, sc 15.  (31) -3

Row 9:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 4, sc2tog, sc 6, sc2tog twice, sc 5, sc2tog, sc 3.  (22) -3

Row 10:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc 2, sc2tog, sc 3, sc2tog, sc 4, sc2tog, sc 3.  (15) -2

Row 11:  Ch 1.  Sk2sc, sc2, sc2tog, sc2, sc2tog twice, sc 2.  (9) -1

Row 12: Ch 1.  Sk1sc. Sc 6.  (6) -2

Bind off.

Attach same color on side with 2 rows of sc (opposite of starting knot).  Sc 56 evenly around.  Bind off.

With second color (victory red if you were using  white, and burgundy if you were using victory red) attach where you bound off previous row:

Row 1: Sc 12, sc2tog, sc 6, sc2tog, sc4, sc2tog twice, sc 4, sc2tog, sc 6, sc2tog, sc12.  (50)

Row 2:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 15, sc2tog, sc 15, sc2tog, sc 15.  47)

Row 3:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 22, sc2tog, sc 22.  (45)

Row 4:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 14, sc2tog, sc 13, sc2tog, sc 13.  (42)

Row 5:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 20, sc2tog, sc 19.  (40)

Row 6:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 19, sc2tog, sc 18.  (38)

Row 7:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 18, sc2tog, sc 17.  (36)

Row 8:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc.  (Sc 10, sc2tog) repeat from ( to ) once.  Sc 11.  (33)

Row 9:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc.  (Sc 9, sc2tog) repeat from ( to ) once.  Sc 10.  (30)

Row 10:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 29.

Row 11:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 13, sc2tog, sc 13.  (27)

Row 12:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 12, sc2tog, sc 12.  (25)

Row 13:  Ch 1.  Sk1sc, sc 24.  (24)

Row 14:  Ch 1.  Sc 24.

Bind off

Spadix:  with metallic gold :

Round 1:  Ch 12.  Sc in first ch to form loop.  Sc 11.

Round 2-6:  Sc 12 around in spiral.

Round 7:  Sc2tog, sc 10.

Round 8-10:  Sc 11 around.

Round 11:  Sc 5, sc2tog, sc 4.

Round 12:  Sc 10 around.

Round 13:  Sc2tog, sc 8.

Round 14:  Sc 4, sc2tog, sc 3.  Bind off.  Sew small end close with tail.

Sew spadix to inside edge of petal bottom, overlapping petal as needed.  Tack petal edge as needed to form desired flower shape.

With Green:

Round 1:  Evenly SC 20 around bottom of petal.

Round 2:  Sc in first st of previous row.  (sc 4, sc2tog) x 3.  Sc 1.  (17)

Round 3:  (Sc 3, sc2tog) repeat from (to) two more times.  Sc 2.  (14)

Round 4:  (Sc 2, sc2tog) repeat from (to) two more times.  Sc 2.  (11)

Round 5:  (Sc 1, Sc2tog) repeat from (to) two more times.  Sc 2.  (8)

Round 6-9:  Sc 8 in spiraling pattern.  Bind off.

Finishing:

Weave in all loose ends.  Take 2 chenille stems and twist them around the floral wire.   Trim the floral wire where the chenille stems end.  Insert into the opening of the green opening, pulling the flower onto the stem until the spadix is filled with the stem.

When all flowers are made mix ¼ cup water with ¼ cup Elmer’s glue.  Dip one flower into mixture and squeeze out excess.  Place stem into a cup or flower vase to hold upright.  Shape flower into desired shape.  Repeat with each of the remaining flowers.

When flowers are fully dry arrange them in bouquet.  Wrap the stems with ribbon to fully cover the stems.  Begin wrapping by laying the ribbon in line with the stems and wrapping over the bottom to cover it.  Just above the bottom fold the ribbon at an angle and begin wrapping in a neat and overlapping manner moving upwards toward the flowers.  Continue to the top.  Repeat back down and then up to under the flowers to create a smooth wrapping for the bouquet stems.  When satisfied with your wrapping cut the ribbon.  Fold over ¼” of the end.  Using Elmer’s glue secure the overlapped edge to itself and the end of the ribbon down.  Use an old bread twist tie to secure while the glue dries.