Jacinta Flower Pattern

This pattern has a story attached about a little stillborn baby named Jacinta and a mother who named a crochet flower pattern after her.

If you are interested, you can find more detailed version of Jacinta's story here.

If there are any mistakes or confusing directions please let me know so that I can make the corrections or clarifications.

If you are a beginner you can find a more detailed tutorial with more pictures here.

You can find a pattern using UK terms here.

Click here for the PDF

Click here for the PDF pattern in UK terms

OK, let's get started on this Jacinta Flower!

Chain 6, join with slip st to form a ring.

RND 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 15 dc in ring; join with slip st to first dc. (16 dc totals)

RND 2: Ch 1, sc in same st, ch 3, skip next dc, *sc in next dc, ch 3, skip next dc; repeat from* 6 more times; end with slip st in first sc. (8 ch-3 spaces).

RND 3: Ch 1, sc in same st, (2 sc, ch 3, 2 sc) in next ch-3 space, *sc in next sc (2 sc, ch 3, 2 sc) in next ch-3 sp * repeat from * 6 more times; end with slip st in first sc. (8 ch-3 spaces)

RND 4: Ch 1, sc in same sc, dc in next ch-3 space, (ch 1, dc in same sp) 4 times, skip next 2 sc, *sc in next sc, dc in next ch-3 sp, (ch 1, dc in same sp) 4 times, skip next 2 sc* repeat from * 6 more times; end with slip st in first sc. (8 flower petals)

RND 5: Slip st into next dc, slip st in next 1-ch space, ch 1, sc in same ch-1 space, ch 3, sc in next ch-1 sp, (ch 3, sc in next 1-ch sp) 2 times *skip next (dc, sc, dc), sc in next 1-ch space, (ch 3, sc in next 1-ch sp) 3 times* repeat from * 6 more times; slip st in first sc. (24 ch-3 spaces)

 Finish off! You're done. 

Well, hello there, Jacinta Flower!

 No wait! Sew in those ends, there is no time like the present.

 When weaving in ends, change direction prevent those little rascals  from coming out. 

 Now your done!

Depending on what you are doing with the flowers you might want to block them. Trixie demonstrates how to do this below. She is a little heavy with the pins.

Now go forth and make tons of them. . . 

in various colors . . . 

in various sizes. . . .

using various yarns. . .

and then pose those bad boys and take pictures

and maybe even pose with them.

Later you can make them into squares and spend time dreaming of all the things you can make with them.

Most of all share them with people, hopefully they will bring someone a bit of joy.

So there you have it, the Jacinta flower. And here is Jacinta, the sweet little girl that inspired it.

Jacinta Maria Owusu-Tyo

January 3, 2011

Day Three: Jacinta

Today's square is different. It is made out of thin tatting thread with a size 13 needle. I made it using the pattern Butterfly Garden by Chris Simon and it doesn't match the other 6 inch squares I plan on making every day this year.   But this one has a back story.

When I was about 12 weeks pregnant with our third child we found out she had an extra 18th chromosome.  Not good.  We were given two options, terminate or carry her.  They told us we could lose her at any time. They told us she probably wouldn't make it through labor.

 I really thought I knew what I would do.  I remember asking how quickly we could schedule the termination even before we got the results back. But when they called and told us that we were having a girl and that she had trisomy 18 my certainty dissipated. Even though I had left the Catholic church many years before Jacinta I still prayed to Mary for a sign. I begged her, mother to mother, to show me a definitive path, to tell me what to do.  Then I started seeing butterflies. In retrospect I guess seeing butterflies in spring is not that unusual, but to me, at that time, it felt like those butterflies existed only for me. I started counting them, promising myself that if I counted 18 butterflies in one sitting it would be a sign from God, the universe and everything else that I should carry Jacinta to term.

The most I ever counted were 14 but I wanted her, and I loved her, so we continued on with the pregnancy. When I saw this butterfly pattern I thought to myself, now you can get your 18 butterflies. Thank you, Chris Simon and your sweet little butterfly pattern.