Creative Knitting – Beyond Knit and Purl

As I mulled over the elements I wanted for my Morpho Butterfly arrangement (butterfly, Baby’s Breath, Maiden Hair fern, stems and grasses), I found I was lacking 1 essential item- a flower that my butterfly could land on.  So, I did a little research and found out that since  this butterfly comes from Central America region, then one of the flowers from the same region is what I needed.  My choice- red Hibiscus.  Not only is it gorgeous, but red is one of the background colors of the room where it will be displayed.

Here it is in all it’s glory!

Now to examine my subject.  I noticed that the “vein’s” of the petals run vertically, just as they do in my butterfly veins.  So with that in mind, and using size 40 thread and a .09 hook, I made a sample.

Once I had played around with this, I decided to write up the process, hoping to encourage some of you to do the same.

To start with, the paper template you see in the last photo was my guide.

Hibiscus Petal Illustration

The green lines and directional arrows, are the wires (size 32g, red).  Those wires are divided as shown in the illustration.  A and B will be used to secure the petal to the main stem.  The center 6 wires will establish the center pistols and stamen, which are at least the length of one petal plus some.  One wire from each petal with be the top of the 5 pistols and have a red bead to finish them off.  The other wires will be pealed off one at a time, trimmed to length and finish with a #11 yellow seed bead.  You can see those wires in the last photo.

By using the wires in the manner I did, I am able to flute the edge.  I add even more detail in the solid red areas, as I enclose the wire turn.  Here I can sc, hdc, etc, defining the edge as I like.  I can do the same with the 2 veins that do NOT have the wire turn.  *On the sample I did not add all the scallops.

The solid blue section of this illustration will be worked as one vein.

This may seem complicated to some, but for me it is fun.  Keep in mind that this is a guide, and I am always open to changing things as needed.  Another thing is that nature is not perfect, so any slight variation in the petals is more perfect than you think.

I can not wait for my red wire to arrive so I can get started on the Hibiscus.

I will keep you updated on the progress.