Crochet Memorial Rose – Free pattern

Make a layered rose stem with this free crochet memorial rose pattern. The project includes a full bloom with 12 petals, a smaller rosebud and five wired leaves. Use warm yellow and cream, as shown, or choose colours that suit your arrangement.

Follow the written instructions below for the petals, sepals, bud, leaves and assembly. For more stems to combine, explore our free crochet flower patterns. Prefer a separate botanical project you can save and follow offline? Browse our flower and botanical PDF patterns.

Colour and Bouquet Ideas

Use a deeper shade for the small inner petals and a lighter shade for the middle and outer petals. Keep the yarn weights consistent so the layers fit together. A single stem works well in a narrow vase; several stems can form a fuller handmade arrangement.

Combine this rose with other flower shapes and foliage. Try these related tutorials:

• Crochet 3D Rose
• Crochet Thai Rose
• Crochet Small Rose
• Crochet Cappuccino Rose

Materials

• Yarn: yellow, light yellow or cream, and green.
• Crochet hook: 2.0 mm as a starting point; adjust to suit your yarn.
• Flower rods: two rods, each approximately 40 cm long × 2 mm diameter, bound together to support the main bloom.
• Craft wire: 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm. As suggested starting choices, use the thinner wire for leaves and the thicker wire for the bud branch. Check that each bends and supports your chosen yarn.
• Stitch markers, tapestry needle and scissors.
• Pliers and suitable wire cutters.
• Hot-melt glue for securing the assembled pieces and stem wrapping.

Each leaf needs enough wire to follow its perimeter, with extra length at the base for attachment. Allow enough wire for the bud’s folded support, branch and attachment to the main stem. No fixed yarn quantities or finished dimensions are specified.

Pieces to Make

• 4 small petals, 3 middle petals and 5 large petals.
• 1 six-point sepal for the full bloom.
• 1 rosebud and 1 four-point sepal for the bud.
• 5 leaves: three for a leaf group on the main stem and two for the bud branch.

Difficulty and Gauge

Intermediate: this project uses joined rounds, increases, decreases, several stitch heights, decorative edging and wired assembly.

No fixed gauge is required. Yarn, hook size and tension affect the finished size and firmness. Make one petal and one leaf first, checking that the fabric holds its shape and the wire is covered.

Stitches and Abbreviations

This pattern uses US crochet terminology.

• ch: chain.
• sc: single crochet.
• hdc: half double crochet.
• dc: double crochet.
• tr: treble crochet.
• ss: slip stitch.
• sk: skip.
• st / sts: stitch / stitches.
• inc: 2 sc in the next stitch.
• sc2tog: single crochet two stitches together.
• R: round.
• [number]: crochet stitch count, excluding starting chains, joining slip stitches and decorative chains.

Single Crochet Decrease — sc2tog

Insert the hook into the next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop. Insert into the following stitch, yarn over and pull up another loop. Yarn over and pull through all three loops. Two stitches become one.

Two-Chain Picot

Ch 2, then ss into the first of those two chains. This creates a small decorative loop without using another stitch from the previous round.

Multiple Stitches in One Stitch

When instructed to work 2 or 3 stitches in the same stitch, insert the hook into that same base stitch for every stitch in the group.

Pattern Notes

• Work petals and sepal cups in joined rounds without turning.
• Starting chains do not count as stitches. Join each round to its first crochet stitch, not to the starting chain.
• Work into the stitches of the previous round, excluding its joining ss and starting chains.
• Mark the first stitch of each round. Check counts before continuing.
• Leaves are worked around both sides of a foundation chain. Rotate at the tip rather than turning the leaf over.
• Leave sewing or wrapping tails where needed.

Step-by-Step Crochet Memorial Rose Pattern

Small Petals — Make 4

With yellow yarn, make a magic ring.

• R1: ch 3, work 8 dc into the ring, tighten the ring and ss to the first dc. [8]
• R2: ch 1, inc seven times, then 1 sc in the last stitch. Ss to the first sc. [15]
• R3: ch 1, 2 sc, (1 sc in the next stitch, ch 1) eleven times, then 2 sc. Ss to the first sc. [15 sc and 11 ch-1 spaces]

Ch 1, fasten off and leave a sewing tail.

Middle Petals — Make 3

With light yellow or cream yarn, make a magic ring.

• R1: ch 3, work 15 dc into the ring, tighten and ss to the first dc. [15]
• R2: ch 1, (1 sc in each of the next two stitches, inc in the next stitch) five times. Ss to the first sc. [20]
• R3: ch 1, 6 sc, (1 sc in the next stitch, ch 1) nine times, then 5 sc. Ss to the first sc. [20 sc and 9 ch-1 spaces]

Ch 1, fasten off and leave a sewing tail.

Large Petals — Make 5

With light yellow or cream yarn, make a magic ring.

• R1: ch 3, work 15 dc into the ring, tighten and ss to the first dc. [15]
• R2: ch 3; work 2 dc in each of the next six stitches. In the next stitch, work (1 dc, ch 1, 1 sc). In the following stitch, work (1 sc, ch 1, 1 dc). Work 2 dc in each of the remaining seven stitches. Ss to the first dc. [28 dc, 2 sc and 2 ch-1 spaces]

Ch 1, fasten off and leave a sewing tail. Each central group occupies one base stitch; the round uses 6 + 1 + 1 + 7 = 15 base stitches. This is the adapted grouping described above.

Full Bloom Sepal — Make 1

With green yarn, make a magic ring. Keep its centre large enough to accommodate the two bound flower rods during assembly.

• R1: ch 1, 6 sc into the ring. Ss to the first sc. [6]
• R2: ch 1, inc six times. Ss to the first sc. [12]
• R3: ch 1, (1 sc, inc) six times. Ss to the first sc. [18]
• R4: ch 1, 18 sc. Ss to the first sc. [18]
• R5: (ch 9; starting in the second chain from the hook, work 2 ss, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc and 1 tr along the chain; sk the next two stitches of Round 4 and ss into the following stitch) six times. [6 sepal points]

The last anchoring ss returns to the start. Ch 1, fasten off and weave in the end. Leave the centre opening accessible.

Rosebud — Make 1

With yellow yarn, make a magic ring.

• R1: ch 1, 5 sc into the ring. Tighten and ss to the first sc. [5]
• R2: ch 1, inc five times. Ss to the first sc. [10]
• R3–R7: ch 1, 10 sc, ss to the first sc in each round. Work five rounds in total. [10 per round]

Insert the bud support before closing: fold a piece of wire in half to form a small rounded loop at the fold, leaving two long tails. Cover the folded section with matching yarn and tie a small yarn knot around it. Place the covered fold inside the bud, with both wire tails extending through the opening. Stitch the yarn-covered fold to the inside fabric so the bud cannot slide along the wire.

• R8: ch 1, sc2tog five times. Ss to the first sc. [5]

Fasten off with a sewing tail. Thread it through the front loops of the five remaining stitches, draw the opening closed around the two wire tails, secure and hide the yarn end. This wire anchoring method is the untested assembly adaptation noted above.

Bud Sepal — Make 1

With green yarn, make a magic ring. Leave its centre open enough for the bud’s two wire tails.

• R1: ch 1, 5 sc into the ring. Ss to the first sc. [5]
• R2: ch 1, inc five times. Ss to the first sc. [10]
• R3: ch 1, (4 sc, inc) twice. Ss to the first sc. [12]
• R4: ch 1, 12 sc. Ss to the first sc. [12]
• R5: (ch 7; starting in the second chain from the hook, work 1 ss, 1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc and 1 tr along the chain; sk the next two stitches of Round 4 and ss into the following stitch) four times. [4 sepal points]

Ch 1, fasten off and weave in the end, keeping the centre opening accessible.

Leaves — Make 5

With green yarn, ch 12. Hold a separate wire along the leaf’s perimeter and crochet over it throughout Round 1, leaving wire tails at the base.

1. R1, first side: starting in the second chain from the hook, work 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 4 tr, 1 dc, 1 hdc and 1 sc. This uses ten chains.
2. Tip: work 3 sc in the last remaining chain. Mark the middle sc as the leaf tip.
3. Opposite side: rotate and work into the unused foundation loops: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 4 tr, 1 dc, 1 hdc and 1 sc. Ss to the first sc. [23 sts]
4. R2: ch 1, 1 sc in the first stitch; (1 sc in the next stitch, ch 2) ten times. In the marked tip stitch, work (1 sc, a two-chain picot, 1 sc, ch 2). Then (1 sc in the next stitch, ch 2) ten times; 1 sc in the last stitch. Ss to the first sc. [24 sc, 21 ch-2 spaces and 1 picot]

The tip group uses only the marked stitch. Fasten off, leaving a long tail to wrap the wire tails at the base. Make all five leaves in the same way.

Assembly

1. Prepare the Three-Leaf Group

Set aside two leaves for the bud branch. Arrange the other three with one central leaf and two angled side leaves. Bind their wire tails together with green yarn and secure the wrapping end with a small amount of glue.

2. Attach the Bud Sepal

Pass the bud’s two wire tails through the centre of the four-point sepal. Slide the sepal up to the bud’s base. Apply a small amount of glue where the cup meets the bud, keeping the four points free to curve outward.

3. Finish the Bud Branch

Wrap the doubled wire with green yarn. While wrapping, attach the two reserved leaves at your preferred heights and angles. Bind their wire tails firmly into the branch, cover them with yarn and secure the wrapping end.

4. Assemble the Full Bloom

1. Bind the two flower rods together side by side with green yarn. Secure the binding to create a firm support for the bloom.
2. Curve the four small petals around the top of the support, overlapping them to form the centre. Secure their lower edges with small amounts of glue or stitches through the petal bases.
3. Add the three middle petals around the centre, staggering their overlaps.
4. Add the five large petals as the outer layer. Position them between the overlaps of the previous layer and secure only their bases, leaving the upper edges free.
5. Check the shape before the glue sets. Hide or trim loose yarn tails at the base after the layers are secure.

5. Add the Main Sepal and Branches

1. Pass the lower ends of the bound rods through the six-point sepal’s centre and slide it up beneath the flower.
2. Secure the sepal cup to the bloom’s base, allowing its points to curve outward.
3. Wrap the main stem with green yarn. Bind the bud branch and the three-leaf group into the stem at your chosen positions.
4. Continue wrapping to cover the attachment wires and rod ends. Secure the yarn end with glue and tuck it into the wrapping.
5. Gently shape the petals, bud and leaves. The finished stem uses all five leaves: three in the main leaf group and two on the bud branch.

Finish Your Rose Arrangement

Try the same pieces in pink, peach or ivory, keeping the inner petals slightly darker for depth. Combine your finished stem with other designs from our free crochet flower pattern collection, or make several matching roses for a vase arrangement.

Try a Downloadable Botanical PDF Project