Knit a St George's Day Red Rose

Here's a red rose to celebrate St. George's Day on the 23rd of April.


These roses are very pretty and quick to make, the size of the rose depends on the weight and thickness of the yarn and the size of the needle you choose to use. For the purpose of this post I used double knit type yarn and size 4mm needles.

Centre Petal – make 1.
Cast on 7 stitches and work 2 rows.
Row 3 Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row (9 sts)
Work straight
Row 4,6,8,10,12,14 knit
Row 5,7,9,11,13 purl
Rows 15 and 16 Decrease 1 stitch at each end of the row ( 5 sts at end of row 16)
Row 17 Cast off 2 sts at the beginning of the row (3 sts)
Cast off the remaining 3 stitches.


Outer petals (all worked the same) – make as many as you require (or until your yarn runs out).
Cast on 2 stitches and work one row
Row 2, purl back and front of first and last st, purl, (4sts)
Row 3, knit front and back of first and last st, knit  (6sts)
Row 4, purl back and front of first and last st, purl (8 sts)
Rows 5,knit
Row 6, purl back and front of first and last st, purl (10sts)
Row 7, knit
Row 8, purl back and front of first and last st, purl (12sts)
Row 9, knit front and back of first and last sts, knit (14sts)
Row 10, purl
Row 11, knit
Row 12, purl
Row 13, k2tog, knit to last 2sts, k2tog (12sts)
Row 14, purl
Rows 15 k3tog,knit to end (10sts) 
Row 16, purl 3 tog, purl to end (8sts)
Row 17 Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the row (7 sts)
Row 18 Cast of 2 sts at the beginning of the row (5 sts)
Cast off.

Leaf – make as many as you’d like.
Cast on 3 stitches and work 2 rows in stocking stitch.
Row 3 K1, yrn, K1, yrn, K1 (5 sts)
Rows 4, 6, 8 and 10 K1, P to last st, K1
Row 5 K2, yrn, K1, yrn, K2 (7 sts)
Row 7 K3, yrn, K1, yrn, K3 (9 sts)
Row 9 K4, yrn, K1, yrn, K4 (11 sts)
Rows 11, 13, 15, 17 Knit
Row 12 K1, P3, sl1 p-wise, P2tog, psso, P3, K1 (9 sts)
Row 14 K1, P2, sl1 p-wise, P2tog, psso, P2, K1 (7 sts)
Row 16 K1, P1, sl1 p-wise, P2tog, psso, P1, K1 (5 sts)
Row 18 K1, sl1 p-wise, P2 tog, psso, K1 (3 sts)
Row 19 Sl1, K2 tog, psso, fasten off the remaining stitch.




Stem - cast on 4sts and knit i-cord to your required length.

To make up.

Sew in all ends. Folding the centre petal into a tube sew a few “catching” stitches to hold it in place.
Add the other petals to this base in layers and sewing them up to row eight only (just before the final increases).
Once the petals are in place, sew on the leaf/ leaves, up to row seven only. Attach stem and sew to base of rose, thread wire through stem to make sturdy. Sew a small safety pin or brooch backing and wear on your lapel with pride for St. George's Day.!





In addition to being the Patron Saint of England, George is the Patron Saint of Aragon, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany and Greece. He is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, where legend has it that, after killing the dragon, he gave the princess a red rose and, as a result, on April 23 (especially in the City of Barcelona), it is traditional for men to give their sweethearts or wives a red rose and the lady in question reciprocates the gesture with the gift of a book. He is also the Patron Saint of Moscow, Istanbul, Genoa and Venice (where he is second only to Saint Mark), as well as being the Patron Saint of the State of Georgia. He is the patron of soldiers, cavalry and chivalry; of farmers and field workers; of Boy Scouts and of butchers; of horses, riders and saddlers.