Shamrocks and Clovers

In my last post, I shared the pattern for my  Lucky Clover Headband, which includes directions for how to make small three- and four-leaf clovers. This week I'm in the process of putting together a new, super secret (for now) St. Paddy's Day project which will have a shamrock embellishment rather than clovers. So, what's the difference?

The truth is "botanists don't agree on the exact species" and "Irish literature makes no distinction" so I think it's fair to generalize that a shamrock is a type of clover that has three heart-shaped leaves rather than three or four rounded ones and leave it at that.

Shamrock

Clover

 

 

 

 

For the pattern I'm working on, I wanted more of a traditional Irish shamrock, so I needed to make a slight change to my clover design to get that distinctive shape.

 Here's the pattern for my clover embellishment:

Clover

 1: In a magic loop, ch 3, tc 2, ch 3, sl back into loop

    Repeat 2-3 more times, for 3 or 4 leaf clover

2: Ch 5-7 (depending how long you want the stem). Sl in second ch from hook, and each succeeding ch. Tie off, leaving long tail if it will be used as an applique. Pull magic loop tight and weave in end. 

 

And the finished product: 

 

Look at all that luck

To make the leaves more heart-shaped and shamrocky, I simply added an hdc between the two tc stitches in each leaf.

Shamrock

1: In a magic loop, ch 3, tc, hdc, tc, ch 3, sl back into loop

    Repeat 2 more times.

2: Ch 5-7 (depending how long you want the stem). Sl in second ch from hook, and each succeeding ch. Tie off, leaving long tail if it will be used as an applique. Pull magic loop tight and weave in end.

 

Ta Daa!

Shamrocks or clovers could be used to embellish any number of items or backed with felt and made into a pin. I'll show you what I've done with mine some time before St. Paddy's!