Hyacinth Cuff

Hi, my lovely readers,

I've got a mid-week day off!  What a treat...  After working a lot of overtime lately I've got some time back.  I feel quite odd, and a little bit naughty, as if I really should be somewhere else.   And JOY of JOYS, the sun is shining!!!  So a meander into town was in order, and I was delighted to find the hyacinths back in the supermarket.

I just adore hyacinths.  One of my earliest memories of primary school was of a large, fragrant bowl of hyacinths in the classroom; the smell takes me back there now...  I get them every year, but I've never obtained a pretty planter to put them in.  Wherever I've bought my hyacinths, they are always in the same shaped plantpot; wide enough to take 3 bulbs, but just a tad squat!  And I've never seen a planter to suit (not that I've done much looking!).

So with a gorgeous, bright, work-free day, perfect for taking photographs, in front of me I thought I'd prettify my latest pot and share my pattern with you guys.

I thought a plant cuff would be quite a good idea; made in cotton it can just sit around the outside of the pot, leaving the bottom bare for watering mishaps!  And being washable I can bring it out year after year.  AND being quite natural and plain it lends itself perfectly to being made-over every year with a different coloured ribbon, or applique, or buttons, or crocheted flowers.........  I could go on and on!  So, if you are interested, read on...............

Hyacinth Cuff

This is made with Craft Cotton (dk weight) and a 4.5 mm hook.  The pattern is written with US crochet terms, and uses standard crochet abbreviations.

Ch 50, and being careful not to twist the chain make a circle by joining to the 1st chain.

Row 1 - sc 50.

Now instead of joining the end of the row to the 1st sc with a slip stitch carry on by just working into the top of the 1st sc of row 1 (if you have done amigurumi you will be familiar with working in the round like this - the advantage being you don't  end up with  a join that shows up the back of your work).  Make sure to mark the 1st sc on each round with a stitch marker.  So work 9 more rounds of 50 sc each in this way.  (10 rows of sc in total).

Row 11: Increase round - sc 24, work 2 sc in next st, sc 24, work 2 sc in next st. (52 sts)

Row 12: Increase round - *sc 12, work 2 sc in next st; rep from * 3 times more. (56 sts)

AT THIS POINT WE WILL STOP WORKING IN CONTINUOUS ROUNDS, SO JOIN TO THE NEXT ST WITH A SL ST.

Row 13: This row will make holes in order to thread a ribbon around your cuff (if you don't want to do this, just do an extra row of sc at this point).  Ch 3 (counts as 1hdc & 1 ch, *miss st, hdc 1, ch 1; rep from * around.  Join to the 2nd ch of ch 3 with a sl st.

We'll now work a shell stitch to finish the top of the cuff.

Row 14: Ch 1, 1 sc in 1st stitch, *miss chain space, 4 dc in next sc, miss chain space, 1 sc in next sc; rep from * around.  Join into 1st sc with a sl st.

Row 15: Sl st into middle of next 4 dc shell -

*4 dc in next sc, 1 sc into middle of next 4 dc shell; rep from * around.  Join and fasten off.

My cuff just reaches the lip of the plant pot, but you could repeat row 15 again if you wished to make the cuff higher.

I then decorated mine with some natural raffia tied into a bow and some colourful red ribbon, but there's so many ways this could be jazzed up.  A festive touch would be some crocheted holly leaves and berries!

These would make a very special, but very inexpensive gift; I think I may just be making some more!

Happy crocheting everyone!

Karen
xx