Bring the sunshine to your crochet projects with this quick to make crochet sunflower motif. I like to make crochet flowers using 100% cotton yarn because it gives a ‘clean and crisp’ finish to this elegant flower. But I’ve also made this sunflower in acrylic and it looks equally as beautiful!

The great thing about this pattern is you don’t need a lot of yarn – just dive into your stash and pick out a brown and a yellow. This effective sunflower crochet pattern is perfect for any embellishment project. It could be also be used as an appliqué for a hat or any accessory that requires a large flower. The finished size is approximately 11cm using the suggested yarn and hook size so it may differ according to your choice of yarn and hook.

Make this crochet sunflower with some pumpkins for an autumn vibe but made with summer flowers gives you a beautiful late summer feel to your project. It’s such a versatile flower!

Skill Level

Intermediate– some experience of making 3D motifs would be beneficial but it is not essential as there are step by step instructions. This would also be a good project for an advanced beginner looking for a challenge!

Materials Needed

This flower requires very small amounts of yarn so perfect for using up your stash. I recommend:
Any 100% cotton DK in these colours:
Col. A Brown
Col. B Yellow
3.5mm (US E/4) hook
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stainless steel dressmaking or blocking pins
Spray starch (optional)

Tension

Not applicable for this project.

Finished Size

Approximately 11cm (4.25in) across using the advised hook size and yarn but this size will change using different yarn weights and hook sizes.

Abbreviations – UK Terminology

beg – beginning
bl – back loop
ch – chain
dc – double crochet (US sc – single crochet)
FO – fasten off
hk – hook
htr – half treble crochet (US cdc – half double crochet)
MR – magic ring
picot – ch2, ss into 2nd ch from hk
rep
RS
ss
st(s)
tr
Some yarn, crochet hooks and stitch markers to the left on a blue background with some text offering a free terms and notions UK / US abbreviations cheat sheet

Instructions

With Col. A make a MR.
Round 1. (RS) Ch3 (counts as 1st tr), 11tr into MR, ss into 1st tr. [12 sts]
Round 2. Ch1 (does not count as a st throughout), dc into same st, 2dc into each st around, ss into 1st dc. [24 sts]
Round 3. Ch1, dc into same st, dc into each st around, ss into 1st dc. FO
Round 4. With Col. B, ss into any st, *ch8, starting in the 2nd ch from hk: 2dc, 3htr, 2dc, sk the next st, ss into next st, repeat from * another eleven times, ss into base of the 1st petal. [12 half petals]
Round 5. Working up the other side of each petal in the bl: 2dc, 3htr, 2dc, picot, ss into next 7 sts of the half petal, ss into ss, repeat from another eleven times. [12 whole petals]


At this stage, you should have 12 sunflower petals so you could fasten off and sew in ends but if you want 2 rows of petals for a ‘fuller’ sunflower, continue to Round 6.

Crochet sunflower  and leaf
Crochet sunflower up to Round 5 with one layer of petals

Round 6. Ch1, bend your petals forward and you’re going to work in the skipped sts from Round 3, insert your hk into the skipped st just below where you made your last ss at the end of Round 5, make a ss, rep from * in Round 4 twelve times, ss into the base of first petal. [12 half petals]
Round 7. Rep Round 5. [12 whole petals]
Fasten off and weave in ends. Block your sunflower and lightly spray with starch for a stiffer finish or alternatively spray with water and allow to dry (as per below images).

3 different crochet sunflowers placed on a white table
Crochet sunflower with a crochet hoot, scissors and 2 balls of yarn in yellow and brown which are the same colours used to make the sunflower
Crochet sunflower and crochet leaf