Strawberry Pattern

Strawberry Pattern

The last fruit for my Carmen Miranda hat is the strawberry.  I decided to make the strawberries in purl so the surface would resemble seeds on a strawberry.  The pattern also helps to hold the strawberry shape since purl stitches don’t like to curl around.

The leaves for my strawberries are tatted.  I chose this method to make stiff leaves that would jiggle when the hat was worn.  Normal strawberry leaves lie flat on the top, so if I wanted to be more realistic I would have sewn them down. 

The strawberries are all different sizes.  This pattern gives you a general how to.  Adjust as you need.

Materials:

1 skein yarn in red.  I used  Red Heart Super Saver acrylic yarn.

1 ball of crochet cotton in green. 

Double-pointed needles in size 6.

Batting (optional)  Weight is an issue for my strawberries, so I didn’t use any stuffing.  The result is slim, rather carrot-looking strawberries.

Yarn needle

Tatting shuttle

Instructions:

Use cable cast on for three stitches, leaving a long string. You will need this later to hold the top of the strawberry in place.  Divide stitches evenly around needles, careful not to twist the yarn. 

Row 1: Knit front and back to increase stitch count to 6.  Ensure the string stays on the purl side.

Row 2: Knit front and back to increase stitch count to 12. 

Knit one or two rounds, then Knit front and back to increase the stitch count to 24.  You will see that the yarn forms a tube with the purl stitches in the inside of the needles and the knit on the outside. 

Knit several rounds until you feel you have the top of your strawberry complete and are ready to decrease.  Push the end of the tube up through the needles, so this end doesn’t get caught in the decrease rows.

Next row: Knit 2 stitches together (K2tog) to decrease the stitch count to 12.  If this decrease seems too abrupt for you, K2tog every other stitch, or whatever looks right to you.

Stuffing:  If you’re going to use stuffing, Wad enough batting to stuff the strawberry shape and place in the middle of your stitches.  Ensure the purl side shows as the right side.

Next row: : K2tog to decrease stitch count to 6.

Last row: K2tog to decrease stitch count to 3.  Draw the end of your yarn through the last three stitches pull together.  Knot.

Using a yarn needle, pull the yarn from the beginning of your strawberry through the middle and out the bottom.  Give enough tension that the top of the strawberry is flat or a little concave, whichever you prefer.  The flatter the top of the strawberry, the flatter the leaves will lie. 

Leaves:

Tat 5 rounds with about 1/3 to 1/2 inch (I used the width of a fingertip) space in between.  Each round consists of 10ds+10ds.  Take another strand of cotton and tie the between spaces together.  Using this thread and both end threads, attach the leaves to the strawberry.