Snowflake Monday

Last week I shared here that I had rediscovered inspiration in my stash of hand-dyed threads. This week, I'm showing off some of the fun I had playing with a few of them.

St. Patrick's Day is coming, and I'm a huge fan of rainbows. I've created several rainbow-themed snowflake projects over the years, and they reflect my love of color. In the past two weeks I've rediscovered during neighborhood walks with Lizard following heavy snowstorms just how many flakes glisten in rainbow hues when the sun pokes through the clouds. Today's snowflake doesn't look like any of the real flakes I've seen or photographed, but I really like the little wisp of Irish flowing through my crochet thread.

Because St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to do a green version of the flake, too. I realize not many crocheters have this many shades of green, but I think a beautiful flake could still be created with two or three greens. Greens could even be alternated with white or gold, in my opinion. The center of this snowflake also could be made in white, and a shamrock button or crocheted motif could be added to the center after stiffening.

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 5 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread in 1 to 8 colors, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

NOTE: When I created the prototype of today's snowflake, I took great care to place my increases each round not directly above the increases of the previous round. After creating the second flake, I decided to see what it would look like if I deliberately placed my increases directly above the previous round's increases. I honestly don't see much difference. Do you?

Also, each of the first 7 rounds in each of my three samples are bound off at the end, with a new color on each new round. I used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink for my rainbow. Feel free to mix up the colors as desired or two use your own palette. For simplicity's sake, I did not include the bind-offs in the instructions. The eighth round begins the white if you are making a colorful center.

Spectrum Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sc in ring. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around for a total of 12 sc.

Rounds 3-7: 1 sc in each sc around, evenly spacing 6 inc as you go for a total of 18, 24, 30, 36 and 42 sc. If working flake in 1 color, sl st in next sc. If working flake in multiple colors, bind off and weave in ends.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 8: If working flake in one color, ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc in same sc as sl st. If working Round 8 in new color, 3 dc in any sc. [Sk next 2 sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, sk next 2 sc, in next sc work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)] 6 times, omitting last 2 ch and last 3 dc of final repeat; 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 or starting dc to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 9: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of dc directly below, [3 dc in each of next 2 sc, in next ch 3 tip work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)] 6 times, omitting last 2 ch and last 3 dc of final repeat; 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 10: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 3), sk next 5 dc, 1 tr in next dc, ch 3, 1 tr in next dc, ch 3, sk next 5 dc, in next ch 3 tip work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc)] 6 times, omitting last dc of final repeat); sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 5.

Round 11: [3 sc in next ch 3 sp, 5 sc in next ch 3 sp, 3 sc in next ch 3 sp, in next ch 3 tip work (3 sc, ch 2, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc)] 6 times; sl st in starting sc; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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