crochetguideKnow these stitches: magic ring, single crochet, single crochet decrease, crochet increase, chain, slip stitch
Materials and yarn planning
Yarns we’ve reviewed that suit it: Bernat Softee Cotton yarn, Knit Picks Dishie Cone yarn, Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton DK yarn. For the hook, choose by size and handle.
Yarn estimate from the stitch counts: about 7 m of red, 3 m of green. That allows about 4 cm of yarn per tight single crochet, plus a quarter for tails and sewing. One 50 g ball of a light or medium yarn holds about 80 m or more, so one ball of each color is enough.
Finished size and gauge
At about 20 tight single crochets per 10 cm, the widest round of 18 stitches is about 9 cm around, so the strawberry is about 3 cm across and 4 cm tall: small enough for a set of keys or a bag zip. These are calculations from the counts, not a measured sample.
The gauge calculator compares your swatch with the pattern. A stitch name you do not know is in the abbreviation chart; a UK pattern’s names are in the US/UK term reference.
The pattern
Count rows for this patternStrawberry (red)
- Round 1: make a magic ring and work 6 sc in it. Mark the first stitch and work in a spiral without joining (6 stitches).
- Round 2: [sc in the next stitch, 2 sc in the next stitch] 3 times (9 stitches).
- Round 3: [sc in the next 2 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch] 3 times (12 stitches).
- Round 4: [sc in the next 3 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch] 3 times (15 stitches).
- Check the fabric now: hold it up to the light. If you can see gaps between the stitches, stuffing will show through them; start again with a hook 0.5 mm smaller.
- Round 5: [sc in the next 4 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch] 3 times (18 stitches).
- Rounds 6–8: sc in each stitch (18 stitches).
- Round 9: [sc in the next stitch, invisible decrease] 6 times (12 stitches).
- Stuff the strawberry firmly, pushing the stuffing well into the point.
- Round 10: invisible decrease 6 times (6 stitches). Fasten off, thread the tail through the front loops of the last round, pull it closed and weave the tail into the middle. The magic ring is the point of the berry.
- Seeds: with yellow or white yarn, embroider short straight stitches over the berry, about 3 stitches apart and staggered from round to round.
Leaf cap and loop (green)
- Make a magic ring and work 5 single crochets in it; pull it closed and join with a slip stitch.
- [Chain 4, slip stitch in the second chain from the hook and in the next 2 chains, slip stitch in the next stitch of the ring] 5 times: 5 leaves.
- Loop: chain 12 and join with a slip stitch into the first stitch of the ring, so the loop stands up from the middle of the cap. Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.
Assemble
- Sew the cap to the top of the berry, over the closed end, with the loop standing up from its middle. Stitch down the tip of each leaf.
- Open the key ring and thread it through the chain loop.
Check the work
The berry is 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 stitches, 18 for three more rounds, then 12 and 6. The cap has a 5-stitch ring and five leaves.
- If the berry comes out round rather than pointed, make sure the first rounds add only 3 stitches each, not 6.
- If stuffing shows between the stitches, start again with a hook 0.5 mm smaller.
- If the cap twists around the berry when it hangs, sew through the middle of the cap into the berry a second time.
Updated . Stitch counts checked row by row; we haven’t crocheted a sample of this one yet. How the patterns are checked. Keep your yarn label, hook and swatch on the printable project worksheet.