Hey friends!!
Back in 2017 I had a wonderful time creating projects and patterns for JOANN Stores and their blog, The Creative Spark! Today I am sharing a fun project I designed last year for them! We all love green babies, but sometimes they're a bit too "high maintenance" to remain green.. ;)
Get started on your very own Crochet Cactus that will stay bright and bloomed all year long! Let's go!
This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Jessica Carey, designer of The Hook Nook. This post was sponsored by JOANN Stores but all ideas and opinions are my own.
I decided to try for a more modern-styled cactus to match our current home decor. I love including bits and pieces of gold as accents so I knew I needed to incorporate that into my project. I found these super cute gold buttons that I thought would be perfect for the center of the cactus flower. I also found small gold beads in the jewelry-making section. I wasn’t sure at the time how to include them at the time, but I’m so happy I picked them up! You’ll see why!
-psssst! Get 20% off your purchase when you order from JOANN Stores here!
As I was walking to the checkout, I passed an end cap with this cute fringe ribbon in different colors. I thought it would be a fun way to “dress up” the plain glass base I found in the floral section. I was so excited about the ribbon that the base was the first thing I did for this project! I couldn’t wait to see how it would look after I attached it!
To attach the fringe ribbon, I simply plugged in my hot glue gun and once it was warm enough, I put a small dollop of hot glue on the widest part of the base. Before it cooled too much, I placed the end of the fringe ribbon onto the glue and waited for it to set, which only took a few seconds. I repeated this three more times around for a total of four glue spots, evenly spaced around the widest part of the base.
Once I was ready to glue the last spot, I lined up where the ribbon met the beginning end and used my scissors to cut off the excess. After putting the last glue dollop in place, I attached the end of the fringe ribbon to complete my decoration. I love the extra detail it offers! So fun!
After I had completed the base, I gathered up my yarn (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn in Tavern Green) and hook (I personally love my Susan Bates Bamboo Handled hooks!) to begin the cactus.
As I began, I found that I had so much fun with the repetition and pattern of the increase rounds, replacing the stitch marker each round and just the cleanliness of the stitches. Remember, it’s been awhile since I’ve played with these small yarns. As my piece grew, it gave me more motivation to continue and see how much I could progress each day.
Now it was time to create the cactus’s arm! Whenever you think of a cactus, you may think of one with those cute little-bent arms (at least I did!). To achieve this effect, I used an extra piece of yarn along with my yarn needle and reached two fingers inside the completed arm (see patterns below) and while holding it next to the cactus; I determined where I wanted it to curve. When I was happy with it, I weaved my yarn needle up through the connecting part to hold it in place and tied a knot to secure it.
Before closing up the cactus, I stuffed it nearly full with Poly-Fil. Right as I was closing it, I filled up the remainder just full enough to give it shape, but not too full to over-stuff and “stretch” out the shape or make it look bumpy. Next, it was time to tie it all together! After deciding where I wanted to place the arm, I used my yarn needle and the long tail from the arm to seam it in place, tied a knot and hid the tails inside the cactus arm.
I wanted to give my cactus some extra “interest” since it was so large and I didn’t feel the flower would make it feel complete. Remember those small gold beads? This is where they come into play. I had my little sewing kit on hand and created little groups of beads. I strung 5-6 beads onto the needle and thread and then tied them together. I made about 20 little groups of beads to hot glue onto the cactus. (I triple-knotted each little group to be extra sure they didn’t come undone!)
Every sweet little cactus needs a flower, right?! I wanted to mix up my materials and use different textures. I had never made a felt flower before and have always wanted to try, so I found a great tutorial online (see it here!) and used my gold beads for the center instead of other felt pieces, like the one in the tutorial I used. I’m pretty happy with my first attempt! I then put some hot glue on the top of a hair clip I had also found and placed it on the bottom of my new felt flower. I chose to attach the flower to a clip so it could be removable! Once dried, I found just the right spot on the cactus and placed my flower.
This was such a fun project! My coffee table now has a super cute decor piece and now that I know how to make felt flowers, I can make much more to match with the seasons and holidays so it can stay out all year long!
Now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to post your photos to social media and use #thehooknookers so you can share your creations with all of us! Happy crafting!
xo,
Key:
St: Stitch
sts: Stitches
CH: Chain
Sl St: Slip Stitch
SC: Single Crochet
SCDEC: Single Crochet Decrease
SCINC: Single Crochet Increase
BLO: Back Loop Only
Cactus Body Pattern:
CH 2.
1. SC six times in second CH from hook. Place stitch marker in last St. **Remember to place a stitch marker in last St of every round. (6)
2. SCINC in each St around. (12)
3. (SCINC, SC) Repeat () around. (18)
4. (SCINC, 2SC) Repeat () around. (24)
5. (SCINC, 3SC) Repeat () around. (30)
6. (SCINC, 4SC) Repeat () around. (36)
7. (SCINC, 5SC) Repeat () around. (42)
8. (SCINC, 6SC) Repeat () around. (48)
9. (SCINC, 7SC) Repeat () around. (54)
10. SC in each St around. (54)
11-19. Repeat Round 10.
20. (SC in next 8 sts. SCDEC in next two sts) Repeat () four more times. SC in last four sts. (49)
21. SC in each St around. (49)
22-26. Repeat Round 21.
27. (SC in next 10 sts. SCDEC in next two sts) Repeat () three more times. SC in last St. (45)
28. SC in each St around. (45)
29-32. Repeat Round 28.
33. (SC in next 13 sts. SCDEC in next two sts) Repeat () two more times (42)
34. SC in each St around. (42)
35-49. Repeat Round 34. (Stuff cactus during these rows, not too full)
50. Working in BLO, (SCDEC, 5SC) Repeat () around. (36)
51. (SCDEC, 4SC) Repeat () around. (30)
52. (SCDEC, 3SC) Repeat () around. (24)
53. Stuff rest of cactus.
54. (SCDEC, 2SC) Repeat () around. (18)
55. (SCDEC, SC) Repeat () around. (12)
56. (SCDEC) Repeat () around. Finish off, weave in end.
Cactus Arm Pattern:
CH 2.
1. SC six times in second CH from hook. Place stitch marker in last St. **Remember to place a stitch marker in last St of every round. (6)
2. SCINC in each St around. (12)
3. (SCINC, SC) Repeat () around. (18)
4. (SCINC, 2SC) Repeat () around. (24)
5. SCINC, 3SC) Repeat () around. (30)
6. SC in each St around. (30)
7-26. Repeat Round 6.
27. Finish off and leave a long tail (approx 12-15”). Stuff arm with poly-fil. (Arm should be open/exposed on one end, this will be the end to attach to Cactus Body)
Don't forget to share your progress online and use hashtags #handmadewithjoann and #thehooknookers so share with our communities! Be sure to follow along with me on Instagram to see more fun inspiration and stay in the loop with whats to come! Also follow along with our Featured Maker page on Instagram, @thn.life, to continue your support of other Makers in the community! Thank you to my friends at JOANN Stores for helping me create such a fun project!
Want to check out more beautiful, modern crochet and knit patterns? Check out ALL of our blog posts featuring patterns, projects and more designed and shared by some of the community's best designers and dreamers here on THNLife Blog!
