9 Easy and Free Crochet Flower Patterns

Pattern 6: The Classic Granny Square Flower

If you’ve been following along with this series, welcome back! We’re already at pattern number six, and if you’re just joining us for the first time, hello and welcome to Knittingway. I’m Megan Anderson, and I’ve spent years collecting, testing, and falling head over heels in love with crochet flower patterns. This series is all about giving you beautiful, beginner-friendly designs that cost you absolutely nothing — just your yarn, your hook, and a little bit of time.

Today’s pattern is one that holds a truly special place in my heart. The Classic Granny Square Flower is not just a standalone bloom — it’s a versatile little motif that can live beautifully on its own or become part of something much bigger. Think blankets, tote bags, pillow covers, garlands, or even a stunning granny square sweater. The possibilities genuinely feel endless once you start making these.

Let’s dive in.

Why I Love This Pattern

Before we get into the stitches, I want to talk about why I chose this particular design as number six in the series. We’ve already covered some gorgeous flowers — the simple five-petal daisy, the layered rose, the sunburst motif, the tiny forget-me-not, and the open-work poppy — and I wanted something that bridges the world of classic crochet with something fresh and floral.

The granny square is arguably the most iconic motif in the entire history of crochet. Every crocheter, at some point, has made one. But what a lot of newer makers don’t realize is that you can adapt the traditional granny square construction to create something that looks unmistakably like a flower, complete with a textured center and defined petals that fan out in a way that feels organic and lively.

This pattern gives you that. It’s a granny-style flower with a tight, raised center and soft, rounded petals worked in clusters around the outside. The result looks complex but comes together surprisingly fast once your hands get the hang of the rhythm.

It’s also one of those patterns where changing your color choices completely transforms the finished piece. A single-color version in dusty sage looks botanical and modern. A two-tone version with a bright yellow center and cream petals looks like something you’d find pressed in a vintage journal. A scrappy multi-color version using all your leftover yarn gives you something cheerful and bohemian. I’ve made this flower in at least thirty different color combinations and I’m not even close to being done.

Materials You’ll Need

One of the things that makes this pattern so accessible is that you likely already have everything you need.

You’ll want a medium-weight worsted yarn in two colors — one for the center and one for the petals. That said, this pattern also works beautifully in DK weight if you want a slightly daintier flower, or in bulky yarn if you want something big and bold for home décor. For your first attempt, I’d recommend sticking with worsted weight because it’s the most forgiving and the easiest to see your stitches clearly.

For your hook, a 5mm (US H/8) hook is the standard recommendation for worsted weight, though as always, use whatever hook feels comfortable in your hand and gives you a fabric you’re happy with. Crochet gauge is personal, and for decorative motifs like flowers, there’s a lot of room for variation.

You’ll also want a yarn needle for weaving in ends, scissors, and a stitch marker if you like to mark the beginning of your rounds — though once you get the hang of this pattern, you may find you don’t need one.

That’s it. No special tools, no complicated notions, just the basics.

Gauge and Sizing

With worsted weight yarn and a 5mm hook, the finished flower measures approximately 4 inches across from petal tip to petal tip. If you go up to a 5.5mm or 6mm hook, you’ll get something closer to 4.5 to 5 inches. With DK weight and a 4mm hook, expect something around 3 to 3.5 inches.

For most decorative purposes, gauge doesn’t need to be exact. If you’re planning to join multiple flowers into a larger piece like a blanket or a bag, you’ll want to make sure your motifs are all the same size so they join evenly, but for standalone use — as a brooch, a hair clip embellishment, a gift topper — just crochet to your own comfortable tension and enjoy the process.

Abbreviations Used in This Pattern

This pattern uses standard US crochet terminology.

ch — chain
sl st — slip stitch
sc — single crochet
dc — double crochet
tr — treble crochet
sp — space
st — stitch
rep — repeat
( ) — work instructions inside parentheses the number of times indicated
[ ] — used for clarity around stitch groups

The Pattern: Classic Granny Square Flower

Color A — Center color
Color B — Petal color

Round 1 (Center, Color A):

Begin with a magic ring, or chain 4 and join with a slip stitch to form a ring.

Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet throughout), work 11 double crochets into the ring. Join with a slip stitch to the top of the beginning chain-3. You should have 12 double crochets total.

Pull your magic ring tight. Fasten off Color A, leaving a short tail to weave in.

This round creates a tight, rounded center that gives the flower its dimensional, slightly raised look. If you’d like an even more textured center, you can work the double crochets as front-post double crochets on Round 1, which creates a lovely ridged effect.

Round 2 (Petal Base, Color B):

Join Color B with a standing single crochet in any stitch of Round 1, or join with a slip stitch and then chain 1, work a single crochet in the same stitch.

Chain 3, skip 1 stitch, single crochet in the next stitch. Repeat from to around. You should end up with 6 chain-3 spaces total.

Join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet.

These little chain-3 arches are the foundation of your petals. If you want fuller, more rounded petals, you can use chain 4 here instead.

Round 3 (Petals, Color B):

Slip stitch into the first chain-3 space.

In each chain-3 space, work the following petal cluster: [1 single crochet, 1 half double crochet, 3 double crochets, 1 half double crochet, 1 single crochet].

Work this petal cluster in each of the 6 chain-3 spaces around. Do not join between petals — just continue from one petal to the next.

After the final petal, join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet of the round.

You now have 6 beautiful, rounded petals fanning out from your center. Fasten off, leaving a tail long enough to weave in securely.

Optional Round 4 (Outer Petal Edging):

If you want a slightly larger flower with more defined petal outlines, join Color A (your center color) with a slip stitch between any two petals.

Chain 5, slip stitch between the next two petals. Repeat from to around to create 6 chain-5 loops between the petals.

Then, in each chain-5 loop, work [1 single crochet, 1 half double crochet, 2 double crochets, 1 treble crochet, 2 double crochets, 1 half double crochet, 1 single crochet] for a longer, more pointed outer petal.

This fourth round creates a layered effect — your inner petals from Round 3 peek through between the outer pointed petals, giving the flower a dahlia-like quality that is truly stunning.

Finishing Your Flower

Weave in all ends using your yarn needle. I always recommend weaving in at least two directions and making a small knot if needed — you want these flowers to last, especially if they’ll be laundered on a garment or bag.

If the flower feels like it wants to curl or not lie flat, a light block with a damp cloth and a warm iron (or just a spritz of water and some pinning) will help it settle into a perfectly flat, even shape. Acrylic yarns can be steam blocked gently, while natural fibers like cotton and wool respond beautifully to a wet block.

Ways to Use Your Granny Square Flower

Now for the fun part — what do you actually do with it?

If you’re making just one or two flowers, the most common uses are as an embellishment on a finished project. Sew one onto a beanie or a beret for a sweet, handmade touch. Attach one to a tote bag. Glue one onto a barrette finding or a brooch pin for a wearable accessory that always draws compliments. Wrap one around a ponytail holder for the sweetest hair tie you’ve ever seen. Layer two or three different-sized flowers together with a button in the center for a dimensional corsage effect.

If you’re making many of these flowers, the options open up dramatically. You can join them using the join-as-you-go method, connecting each flower to the next through the slip stitch points between petals, creating a fabric that looks like a field of blooms. This makes gorgeous baby blankets, lap blankets, table runners, and even wall hangings. There’s something incredibly meditative about working through a pile of flowers one after the next, watching the stack grow while you watch a film or sit in the garden.

You can also use these flowers as appliqués on non-crochet items. Hot glue or fabric glue one onto a canvas tote. Stitch a row of them along the hem of a denim jacket. Attach them to a wreath form for a fiber art piece that will brighten up any wall.

Customizing the Pattern

This flower is wonderfully adaptable. Here are a few ways to make it your own.

Vary the petal count. By changing the number of stitches in Round 1 and adjusting the spacing of your chain-3 arches in Round 2, you can easily get 4, 5, or 8 petals instead of 6. A four-petal version has a modern, graphic look. An eight-petal version looks full and extravagant.

Change the petal shape. For more pointed petals, replace the double crochets in the petal cluster with treble crochets and extended treble crochets. For flatter, more daisy-like petals, use only single crochets and half double crochets in the cluster.

Add a button center. After completing the flower, you can stitch a decorative button or a pearl over the center cluster instead of using the color contrast center. This is a wonderful option if you’re turning the flowers into brooches or jewelry.

Try a three-color version. Use Color A for Round 1, Color B for Round 2 only, and Color C for Round 3. The inner ring of color between the center and the petals creates a beautiful secondary detail that makes the flower look even more realistic.

Go monochrome. Using a single color throughout creates a more subtle, texture-focused design that works beautifully in neutral yarn tones. An all-cream version of this flower looks utterly elegant stitched onto a white linen pillow cover.

Yarn Suggestions

Because this pattern is free and the flower itself is small, it’s a brilliant stash-buster project. Almost any leftover yarn you have can find a second life as a crochet flower.

For a crisp, structured flower with good stitch definition, cotton yarn is wonderful. Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton is a popular choice, as is Paintbox Cotton DK. Cotton doesn’t have much stretch, which actually helps the petals hold their shape.

For a softer, cozier flower — ideal for garments and accessories that will be worn against the skin — a soft acrylic or acrylic blend like Lion Brand Pound of Love, Red Heart Soft, or Paintbox Simply DK gives you comfortable, machine-washable results.

For something a little more luxurious, this pattern looks absolutely gorgeous in a merino or alpaca blend. The natural sheen of those fibers gives the finished flower an almost luminous quality, especially in jewel tones like deep teal, burgundy, or forest green.

A Note on Joining Multiple Flowers

If you’re planning to make a large project using multiple Granny Square Flowers, I recommend deciding on your joining method before you start rather than after. There are two main options.

The first is the flat slip stitch join, where you hold two finished flowers wrong sides together and slip stitch through the edge stitches of both simultaneously. This creates a slightly raised seam on the right side that can actually add to the decorative effect, looking almost like a small ridge between the flowers.

The second is the join-as-you-go method, which involves working the final slip stitch or chain connection of one flower directly into the corresponding stitch of the previous flower while you’re still making it. This requires a bit more planning and spatial awareness, but the result is a seamless connection that makes the entire piece flow beautifully.

For large blankets, I personally prefer join-as-you-go. For smaller pieces or when I’m gifting individual flowers to friends to use however they like, I just leave them as standalone motifs.

Keep Going Through the Series

If you’ve made it to pattern six and you’re still going strong, I am so proud of you and I hope you’re building up a beautiful little collection of flowers. Each pattern in this series has been designed to stand alone but also to complement the others — so if you make all nine, you’ll have a gorgeous variety of shapes, sizes, and textures to work with.

Coming up in patterns seven, eight, and nine, we have some really exciting designs waiting for you. Pattern seven is a delicate open-work carnation that looks far more complicated than it is. Pattern eight is a big, bold tropical hibiscus that’s perfect for summer accessories. And pattern nine — the finale — is a dimensional layered rose with multiple tiers that is, in my completely unbiased opinion, one of the most beautiful things you can make with yarn.

If you’re making flowers from this series, I would absolutely love to see them. Tag me on social media or leave a comment below — nothing makes my day quite like seeing the colors and creativity that each of you brings to these patterns. Crochet is always better when it’s shared, and this little corner of the internet exists because of makers like you.

Happy crocheting, and I’ll see you on the next page.

— Megan