This charming crochet project creates a structured, decorative basket filled with a bouquet of handmade flowers, perfect for spring celebrations or as a centerpiece.
- The Basket: Crafted using heavy rug yarn (worked with two strands held together for stability), the body of the basket features a “basketweave” texture created by using Treble Front Post stitches. It is finished with a delicate shell-stitch rim.
- The Interior: A green “base” is worked directly onto the basket and stuffed to create a grassy mound, providing a foundation for the floral arrangement.
- The Flowers: The pattern includes instructions for 12 purple flowers. These are designed with a unique texture, using soft baby yarn for the main petals and fine “Knit-Cro-Sheen” thread for a shaded, ruffled edge. Each flower is finished with a yellow center.
- The Foliage: A mix of “Leaf Stems” (clusters of leaves) and “Single Leaves” are crocheted with picot tips to fill out the bouquet.
- The Handle: The handle is reinforced with plastic canvas and chenille stems (pipe cleaners) to hold its shape, then woven with ribbon for a polished finish.
MATERIALS: 4-ply rug yarn—7 ozs. brown, 1 oz. each green and yellow; 2 ozs. purple baby yarn; 225 yds. shaded purple Knit-Cro-Sheen; 5″ round plastic lid; two 1/4″ x 25″ strips plastic canvas; two 12″ chenille stems; 1 1/2 yds. of 5/8″ ribbon; tapestry needle; B, F, G and H hooks or sizes needed to obtain gauge.
GAUGE: Rug yarn and G hook, 4 tr = 1″; 6 tr rows = 5″; 5 tr fp rows = 3″.
FINISHED SIZE: Flowers are 2 1/2″ in diameter.
NOTE: Entire pattern is worked with 2 strands held tog.
BASKET
Rnd 1: With G hook and brown, ch 6, sl st in first ch to form ring, ch 4, 19 tr in ring, join with sl st in top of ch 4 (20).
Rnd 2: Ch 4, tr in same st, 2 tr in each st around, join as before (40).
Rnd 3: Ch 4, tr in same st, tr in next st, (2 tr in next st, tr in next st) around, join (60).
Rnd 4: Working this rnd in back lps (see Stitch Guide), ch 3, dc in each st around, join with sl st in top of ch 3.
NOTE: For treble front post (tr fp, see ill.), yo 2 times, insert hook from right to left around back of st on previous row, complete as tr.
Rnd 5: Ch 3, tr fp in same st; tr fp in each st around, join with sl st in top of ch 3 (61).
Rnds 6-7: Ch 3, tr fp in each st around, join as before.
Rnd 8: Ch 3, tr fp in each st around, skip starting ch, join with sl st in first tr fp, turn.
Rnd 9: Working this rnd in back lps, ch 1, skip ch 3, 2 sc in each st around, join with sl st in first sc (120).
Rnd 10: Ch 1, sc in first st, ch 6, skip next 4 sts, (sc in next st, ch 6, skip next 4 sts) around, join as before (24 ch sps).
Rnd 11: Sl st in next ch sp; for beginning shell (beg shell), (ch 3, dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in same sp; for shell, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in each sp around, join with sl st in top of ch 3 (24 shells).
Rnd 12: Sl st in next st, sl st in next ch sp, beg shell in same sp, shell in each shell around, join.
Rnd 13: Sl st in next st, sl st in next ch sp, beg shell in same sp, ch 1, (shell in next shell, ch 1) around, join (24 shells, 24 ch-1 sps).
Rnd 14: Sl st in next st, sl st in next ch sp, (ch 3, dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in same sp, ch 2, sc in next ch-1 sp, ch 2, *(2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next shell, ch 2, sc in next ch sp, ch 2; repeat from * around, join. Fasten off.
Place plastic lid in bottom of basket.
HANDLE
Row 1: With G hook and brown, ch 93, dc in 6th ch from hook, (ch 2, skip each of next 2 sts, dc in next st) across (30 ch sps).
Rnd 2: Now working in rnds, with F hook, ch 1, *(sc, ch 1, 2 dc, ch 1, sc) in end of handle, (sc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, sc) in same sp and in each ch sp across; repeat from *, join with sl st in first sc. Fasten off.
Twist 1″ end on each chenille stem tog; with chenille stems between plastic canvas strips, weave through sts of handle. Cut ribbon in half. Weave each piece ribbon through same sts as plastic strips, covering plastic canvas completely. Sew to secure.
BASE
Rnd 1: With H hook and green, working in front lps of rnd 9 on basket, join with sl st in any st, ch 3, dc in each st around, join with sl st in top of ch 3 (60).
Rnds 2-3: Ch 3, dc in each st around, join as before.
Rnd 4: Ch 3, dc in next st, skip next st, (dc in each of next 2 sts, skip next st) around, join (40).
Rnds 5-6: Ch 2, dc in next st, (dc next 2 sts tog) around, join with sl st in top of first dc leaving ch 2 unworked (20, 10). Stuff.
Rnd 7: Ch 1, (sc next 2 sts tog) around, join with sl st in first sc (5). Fasten off. Sew opening closed.
FLOWER (make 12)
Petals
Rnd 1: With B hook and baby yarn, ch 6, sl st in first ch to form ring, ch 3, 21 dc in ring, join with sl st in top of ch 3 (22).
Rnd 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, join as before (44).
Rnd 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in same st, 3 dc in each st around, join (132). Fasten off.
Rnd 4: Join Knit-Cro-Sheen with sc in any st of rnd 3, ch 3, sc in same st, (sc, ch 3, sc) in each st around, join with sl st in first sc. Fasten off.
Center
With G hook and yellow, ch 3, 2 dc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in next ch. Leaving 6″ for sewing, fasten off. Sew centers into flowers.
LEAF STEM (make 8)
With F hook and green, ch 9, *(tr, dtr; for picot, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook; dtr, tr, ch 3, sl st) in 5th ch from hook*, ch 10; repeat between first *, sl st in next 4 ch, ch 5; repeat between first *, sl st in each ch across. Leaving 4″ for sewing, fasten off.
SINGLE LEAF (make 7)
With F hook and green, ch 7; repeat between first * on 3-leaf stem, sl st in each of next 2 ch. Leaving 4″ for sewing, fasten off.
ASSEMBLY
Arrange flowers and leaves on base as desired, sew in place. Sew ends of handle to rnd 7 on each side of basket.
Abbreviations & Stitch Guide
This pattern uses Standard US Crochet Terminology.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
| beg | Beginning |
| ch | Chain |
| ch sp(s) | Chain Space(s) |
| dc | Double Crochet |
| dtr | Double Treble Crochet |
| lps | Loops |
| ozs. | Ounces |
| rnd(s) | Round(s) |
| sc | Single Crochet |
| sl st | Slip Stitch |
| st(s) | Stitch(es) |
| tog | Together (decrease) |
| tr | Treble Crochet |
| tr fp | Treble Front Post (See Special Stitches) |
| yo | Yarn Over |
| yds. | Yards |
| “ | Inches |
| * | Repeat instructions following the asterisk as directed |
| ( ) | Work instructions within parentheses in the same stitch or space |
Special Stitches & Techniques
- Back lps (Back Loops Only): Insert hook only into the back loop of the stitch from the previous row.
- Front lps (Front Loops Only): Insert hook only into the front loop of the stitch from the previous row.
- Tr fp (Treble Front Post): Yo 2 times, insert hook from right to left around the back of the post of the stitch on the previous row (pushing the post forward), yo and pull loop through, [yo and pull through 2 loops] 3 times.
- Picot: Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook.
- Beg Shell (Beginning Shell): (Ch 3, dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in same space.
- Shell: (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in same space.