Irish Crochet Leaf – We Got Ridges!

I worked at this leaf, crocheting, ripping, crocheting, ripping, until I finally got a nice ridged effect like a picture I saw on the Web. Here’s the basic pattern. You can make it longer, work more rows, etc., to suit your needs.

Irish Crochet Leaf

Ch = chain
SC = single crochet

Row 1: Ch 15.
Row 2: SC into 3rd stitch from hook. SC into next 11 stitches. 3 SC into last stitch of starting chain. Continuing along the other side of the starting chain, SC to end of chain. DO NOT TURN. You will have a long, skinny oval. The stitch at the very end of your funny shape is the “end stitch.”
Row 3: 3 SC into end stitch. SC into following stitches until 3 SC from end of long oval. Ch 1 (if you want pointier leaf tips, ch3). TURN.
*Row 4: SC into every stitch until you reach the “end stitch.” 3SC into end stitch. Continue SC into every stitch until you are 3 stitches from the end. Ch 1. Turn.*
Continue Row 4 until you have as big a leaf as you want (usually 2 times will be plenty). For last row of leaf, work half of row 4, that is, stop at the “end stitch” and fasten the end.

Now my discovery: work into the back of the stitches in the row below, even when it seems counter-intuitive. The vertical offset caused by working into the back of the row below causes an accordion effect. That’s how you get the nice ridges!

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Resources
Unfortunately, my favourite Irish Crochet book, Clones Lace, by Maire Treanor, appears to be out of print. Try Abebooks but be aware that they can be rather pricey.

Dover produces very affordable reprints of older patterns.

These books I recommend because they teach you how to DO Irish crochet, as opposed to following patterns:

Masterpieces of Irish Crochet Lace: Techniques, Patterns, Instructions (Dover Needlework Series) Dillmont’s work will teach you just about everything you need to know about Irish crochet lace. The newer books like Treanor’s have more accessible and modern interpretations of traditional patterns, but Dillmont’s book has all the basic motifs, stitches, and grounds.

Irish Crochet Lace: Motifs from County Monaghan Eithne D’Arcy’s strong point is the wonderful assortment of bizarre and baroque Irish crochet motifs. Forget shamrocks. Some of these motifs you’ll find nowhere else.

If you prefer something in the “slow lane,” these books have pretty patterns:

Favorite Irish Crochet Designs (Dover Needlework Series) Traditional doilies.

Creative Crochet Lace: A Freeform Look at Classic Crochet I don’t own this book but I’ve heard good things about it. Myra Wood’s emphasis is on larger-scale Irish crochet, adapted for clothing. A good thing, since not many of us have the stamina to work an entire blouse or wedding gown in size 100 thread with a .65 mm crochet hook!