How to Crochet a Flower - 6-Step Beginner Tutorial

Pull out a 5.5 mm crochet hook, DK weight yarn (Bella Coco uses Stylecraft Special DK), a pair of sharp scissors, and a yarn needle for weaving in the loose ends at the end. Watch this part of the video.

The 5.5 mm hook is a starting point, not a rule. Pick a bigger hook for a chunkier flower, a smaller hook for a tighter one. The yarn weight matters more than the exact color - any DK or worsted weight will give you a recognizable flower shape.

Make a slip knot on the hook however you usually do. Chain 4. Insert the hook into the very first chain you made, yarn over, and pull a loop through to close the chain into a small ring. Watch this part of the video.

That little ring is the center of the flower. Every petal you make from here on out gets worked into the middle of this ring, not into the chain stitches themselves. If you'd rather start with a magic circle, that works too - the flower turns out the same and the center hole is cleaner.

Chain 1 (yarn over and pull through the loop on the hook). This first chain counts as the short stitch at the start of the petal - a UK double crochet, which is the same as a US single crochet. Watch this part of the video.

Now work 4 double trebles (UK) / trebles (US) into the center of the ring. For each one: yarn over twice, insert the hook into the middle of the ring, yarn over and pull up a loop (4 loops on the hook), then yarn over and pull through 2 loops three times in a row until one loop remains. Repeat until you have 4 tall stitches stacked together. Those four stitches plus the starting chain are the body of your first petal.

Pull the four-stitch petal downward, then work a UK double crochet (US single crochet) back into the center of the ring. Insert the hook, yarn over, pull a loop through, then yarn over and pull through both loops. That short stitch closes the first petal and pulls it into a rounded shape. Watch this part of the video.

Now repeat the whole sequence four more times around the ring: chain 1, work 4 double trebles into the ring, anchor with a double crochet. After the fifth repeat you'll have 5 petals fanning out evenly around the center. Spread them apart with your fingers as you work so they have space to sit flat.

Once the fifth petal's anchoring double crochet is done, insert the hook into the bottom of the very first stitch of round 1 - the one you made way back at the start. Yarn over and pull a loop through both that stitch and the loop on your hook in one motion. That's a slip stitch, and it joins the end of the round back to the beginning so the flower closes into a circle. Watch this part of the video.

Chain 1, then grab the scissors and snip the working yarn about 6 inches from the hook. Pull the loose tail all the way through that last loop and tug it tight. That locks the stitch so the flower can't unravel.

Thread the loose tail onto a yarn needle (sometimes called a darning needle). Run the needle through the back loops of 3 or 4 stitches on the wrong side of the flower, change direction, and pass it back through a few more stitches the other way. Trim the tail flush with the work. Do the same with the starting tail from your slip knot. Watch this part of the video.

That's the whole flower. Sew it onto a baby blanket, a beanie, a tote bag, or a hair clip. Stack two or three in different sizes (use a smaller hook for a smaller flower, a bigger hook for a bigger one) and layer them for a brooch. Try the crochet heart or crochet star next - same chain-and-tall-stitch logic, different shape.