Crochet Rose

Hi Steemit. My name is Sammy, I'm from Wakefield, UK, and this is my first post!   

I really like to crochet as wool is a versatile medium and there's no need for a pattern, so there's lots of room to be creative. I also find that the act of crochet gives me something to focus on while I collect my thoughts; it's very therapeutic.      

Roses are one of my favourite flowers to make as they turn out differently every time. I generally don't like to follow patterns. For this reason, the instructions aren't very precise, but will hopefully give you a lovely, unique rose every time. You can use any wool you like, I like to use a finer wool as you can see the stitches.     

Please note: all terminology is in English, which is a little different to the US version (e.g. UK treble crochet = US double crochet).     

The Rose   

First, I begin by making a chain that's between 40 and 60 loops, depending on the size of the rose I want. I then turn and work a single crochet (sc) into each loop. Turn and chain 1, then work a sc into the next 10 or so loops. Next, I chain 1 and use a slip stitch (ss) to join it to the same loop that the last sc was in. I then chain 1 and in the next loop, add 2 half treble (htr) stitches. I do 2 htr in the next 4 loops, chain 1 and use a ss to join it to the same loop as the last htr. You should start to see a petal shape forming:   

I then repeat the last step to create another petal, but I like to vary the number of stitches to make the petals different sizes. I also gradually make the petals bigger- 2 htr petals, then 2 double crochet (dc) petals, 2 treble crochet (tr) petals and 2 double treble crochet (dtr) petals:   

At the end, I like to taper off to give a softer shape, so I do 2 dtr, then 2 tr, 2 dc, 2 htr, 2 sc and 2 ss:   

When this is done, I tie it off, roll up the rose and use the spare thread at the ends to stitch it together at the back:   

The leaf     

For the leaf, I chain 10, then work 1 ss into each loop. Turn and do 1 stitch into each loop in the following order: sc, htr, dc, tr, tr, dc, htr, sc sc, ss. To make the end of the leaf point, I do a picot stitch- chain 3 and use a ss to join the 3rd loop to the 1st loop.     

I then work back down the other side, one stitch into each loop in the following order: ss, sc, sc, htr, dc, tr, tr, dc, htr, sc.     

I finish by tying off the thread and stitching the leaf to the back of the rose with a wool needle.     

Thank you for reading my post, I welcome any comments and ideas!