Easter Projects: Cross with Lily

The next several posts will highlight Easter projects I have been working on the last few weeks. This is a cross with a lily wrapped around it:




I created the cross on the pink loom starting on the 16 center pegs using Lion Brand Homespun Wild Fire in a one over 1 stitch (if you want a firmer cross, use a 1 over 2 stitch). Cast on, wrapping the yarn as if making a scarf. Knit off 2 rows. Then e-wrap and knit off 10 rows. Next add 8 pegs on both sides of the cross and knit off 13 rows to make the horizontal beams. (I used e-wrap stitches for this and just sewed it closed after I finished knitting the entire cross.) Then e-wrap only the original center 16 pegs and knit off 26 rows. You may choose to bind off the same way that you cast on, by wrapping the yarn on the loom as if making a scarf and knitting off. Or you may choose to bind off the regular way. Sew the horizontal beams of the cross, and it is complete (unless you wish to add some stuffing inside it.)

For the lily: I started at the bottom of the petal using Homespun Deco (white) 1 over 1 stitch. I cast on the pink loom in the center 2 pegs for a flat panel and knit off 2 rows. Then I increased it by 1 peg on both sides to knit off on 4 pegs for 6 rows. Then I increased it by 1 peg on both sides to knit off on 6 pegs for 3 rows. Then I decreased it by 1 peg on both sides to knit off on 4 pegs for 3 rows. Then I decreased it by 1 peg on both sides to knit off on 2 pegs for 2 rows, and bind off, leaving about 3-5 inches of yarn for a tail. I repeated this process two more times and then sewed the three petals together, leaving a small opening at the bottom center of the petals.

For the stigma (the long yellow stems inside the flower (which are actually green inside the real flower)): I simply used a yellow yarn and created 3-4 inch I-cords which I sewed together at the bottom and pulled through the bottom center of the lily, and sewed to the bottom of the lily.

For the stem: I created a "cup" for the flower to sit in by using red heart green yarn and making a drawstring cast on 6 pegs of the pink loom and then knitting off 5 rows. Pull the drawstring to close the "cup." Loosely bind off. Position the lily inside the cup and sew it onto the cup by using the green yarn.

The actual stem is one long green I-cord which I sewed to the bottom of the cup. I then positioned the lily how I liked it on the cross, and pulled the petal tails through the cross in the exact position I wanted them and sewed them to the cross. I then used the green yarn to knit through the stem onto the cross, wrapping it around the cross as I sewed. And that's it!

I suppose if you made the cross bigger you could add more petals to the lily to make it more realistic. I wanted mine to be relatively simply. It "reads" as a lily flower whether it has the right amount of petals or not, and whether or not the stigma inside the flower are perfectly correct.