Once you’ve finished the Columbine’s top petals (pages 49-50 of Crochet Bouquet) and the glue is dry (see previous post), it’s time to add the stamens. If you can’t find them locally, use your online search engine and type in “craft stamens.” That should give you several retail sources for stamens.
You’ll need a sewing needle threaded with sewing thread. Figure out how many stamens you need, by holding a bundle of stamens, folded in half, at the middle of the flower. You probably won’t need all the stamens in the package.
Divide your stamens into two bundles. Wrap the sewing thread around the middle of one bundle. Make a few stitches in the wrap to secure the thread.
Place the second stamen bundle cross-ways to the first. Wrap the sewing thread around both to hold them together in the x-shape. Make a few stitches in the wrap to secure the thread.
Fold the bundles in half at the wrap, so all the stamen ends are together. Wrap the sewing thread around the base of the fold. Tack to secure.
Now take your sewing needle down through the center of the Columbine’s top petals, pulling the stamen tuft after it. When you’re pleased with the height of the stamens in relation to the flower, sew several stitches on the bottom of the petals to hold the stamens in place.
Now for the embellishment (or not!). In Crochet Bouquet, I enhanced each petal of the Columbine with embroidery or buttons, to add depth to this three-dimensional flower. I decided to use buttons this time.
This is one of my favorite parts of any project. I love to experiment with different embellishments. First, I tried several different buttons (top left). I liked the black, purple, and salmon-colored buttons, so studied each one separately.
Digital cameras are a great help in projects like this. It’s very difficult to remember what one option looks like, after you’ve gone to the next one. To solve this problem, I photographed each set of buttons on the columbine, downloaded the photos, and compared the options side-by-side on my computer screen.
I liked the black and purple pretty well, but I realized that the buttons drew my attention to themselves, and away from the whole flower.
Because of the way the top petals are crocheted, and I think because of the color of the yarn I used, there’s a natural shadowy spot in each petal, near the center of the flower. It looked fine without embellishment. I sewed the top and bottom petals together, and here it is.