Make a Creeping Woodsorrel in Crochet: Petals, Center, Leaves

Few things in the fiber arts world are as satisfying as recreating the quiet details of the natural world in yarn. Creeping woodsorrel — that cheerful little wildflower you’ve probably noticed pushing up through sidewalk cracks or spreading across a garden bed — makes an unexpectedly beautiful subject for crochet. Its five heart-shaped petals, delicate veining, and distinctive clover-like leaves give it just enough character to translate into a dimensional textile piece without being overwhelming to construct.

Whether you’re building a botanical wall display, adding a tiny wildflower to a wreath, making embellishments for a hat or bag, or simply collecting crochet botanicals because you can’t stop yourself (a very understandable life choice), this guide will walk you through every component: the petals, the center, and those iconic triple-leaflet clusters. By the end, you’ll have a finished creeping woodsorrel you can style any way you like.

Let’s get into it.

What Is Creeping Woodsorrel?

Before you start hooking, it helps to spend a moment looking at what you’re recreating. Creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata) is a low-growing plant found on almost every continent. It’s the kind of wildflower most people walk past every day without noticing, but once you see it — really see it — it’s hard to ignore.

The flowers are small, typically yellow, with five rounded petals that are slightly notched at the tip, giving each one the softest heart shape. The center is a cluster of yellow stamens and pistils that forms a subtle raised boss. The leaves are the plant’s most recognizable feature: they come in groups of three, and each leaflet is perfectly heart-shaped, looking almost exactly like a clover. Many varieties have green leaves, but some have a beautiful bronze-purple tone that adds a lot of visual depth.

For our crochet version, we’ll be making a yellow flower with a slightly raised center and bright green leaves. If you want to recreate a bronze-leafed variety, simply swap the green yarn for a burgundy or deep plum.

Materials You’ll Need

You don’t need anything fancy for this project. It’s a great stall-buster or a way to use up small amounts of leftover yarn from other projects.

Yarn: Fingering weight or sock weight yarn in yellow (for the petals and center), bright green (for the leaves and stems), and white or cream (optional, for petal detail). You’ll use very small amounts of each color — less than 10 yards of each for a single flower.

Hook: A 2.0mm or 2.5mm crochet hook is ideal for fingering weight. If you’re working with DK weight yarn and want a slightly larger flower, go up to a 3.0mm or 3.5mm hook.

Other supplies: A tapestry needle for weaving in ends, scissors, a small amount of fiberfill or a cotton ball if you want to pad the center, and floral wire (optional, for stems if you’re making a display piece). Stitch markers are helpful but not essential.

Abbreviations and Stitch Guide

This pattern uses standard US crochet terms.

ch — chain
sl st — slip stitch
sc — single crochet
hdc — half double crochet
dc — double crochet
tr — treble crochet
MR — magic ring
st(s) — stitch(es)
sp — space
rep — repeat
pm — place marker

Part One: The Petals

Creeping woodsorrel has five petals, each one small and gently heart-shaped. We’ll crochet each petal individually and then join them in a ring to form the full flower. This gives you the most control over the shape and makes it easy to get that soft, rounded tip that’s characteristic of the plant.

Single Petal

Make five of these.

Using yellow yarn and your hook, start with a magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 1, work 6 sc into the magic ring, pull ring closed, sl st to join. (6 sts)

Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in first st, sc in next st, 2 hdc in next st, ch 2, sl st back into top of last hdc to create a small notch at the tip (this forms the heart shape), 2 hdc in same st, sc in next st, 2 sc in last st, sl st to join. (You’ll have two small lobes at the top of the petal.)

Round 3: This round adds definition. Working around the outside edge of the petal: sc up one side, 3 sc in the notch space, sc down the other side, sl st to join at the base.

Fasten off, leaving a tail of about 6 inches for assembly. Do not weave in yet.

A note on shaping: If your petal looks more rounded than heart-shaped, try using a slightly smaller hook for just the notch section. The notch is the key detail — it’s what makes the petal read as “woodsorrel” rather than a generic flower petal.

Assembling the Petals into a Flower

Once you have five petals made, arrange them in a circle with the base ends meeting at the center. Thread your tapestry needle with one of the yarn tails and begin stitching the petals together at their bases, working around the circle until all five are joined securely. Make sure the tops of the petals fan outward evenly.

Pull the center tight so the petals are snug against each other without overlapping. Weave in all ends except two or three, which you’ll use to attach the center next.

Part Two: The Center

The center of creeping woodsorrel is a tight cluster of stamens — small yellow filaments tipped with tiny anthers. In crochet, we’ll recreate this as a raised, slightly textured button that sits on top of the petal assembly.

The Center Disc

Using yellow yarn (a slightly brighter or more golden shade than your petals, if you have it):

Round 1: MR, ch 1, 6 sc into the ring, sl st to join. (6 sts)

Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around, sl st to join. (12 sts)

Round 3: Ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, rep around, sl st to join. (18 sts)

Round 4 (optional, for a larger center): Ch 1, sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, rep around. (24 sts)

For most fingering-weight projects, stopping at Round 3 gives a center that’s proportional to the five petals. Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

Adding Texture to the Center

To give the center some dimensional interest, you have two options. The simpler option is to add a few French knots on top of the disc using a tapestry needle and a strand of slightly darker yellow or golden orange yarn. The crochet option is to make a small number of bobble or popcorn stitches directly into the surface of the disc before fastening off.

For the crochet texture approach, after completing your last round, work 5 small bobbles evenly spaced across the top of the disc. A basic bobble here is just 3 dc worked into the same stitch and pulled closed — nothing elaborate. These little bumps mimic the anthers beautifully.

Stuffing the Center

If you want the center to have a pleasingly dome-like profile (which looks very natural and gives the flower a three-dimensional quality), stuff it lightly before attaching it to the petal assembly. Pinch a tiny bit of fiberfill or pull apart a small piece of cotton ball and tuck it behind the disc as you stitch it down.

Attaching the Center

Place the center disc over the petal assembly, right where all five petal bases meet. Using the long yarn tail, stitch the center down all the way around its edge. Pull the stitches firm so the center sits up slightly. Weave in remaining ends on the back of the flower.

Part Three: The Leaves

The leaves are, honestly, what make this project so charming. Each leaf is made up of three identical heart-shaped leaflets arranged at the end of a thin stem. The leaflets are slightly larger than the petals and have a more pronounced heart shape — really leaning into that clover silhouette.

Single Leaflet

Make three per leaf cluster. You’ll likely want to make at least two full leaf clusters per flower for a natural-looking arrangement.

Using green yarn:

Foundation: Ch 7.

Row 1: Starting in the 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 2 ch, hdc in next 2 ch, dc in next ch, 5 dc in last ch (this is the rounded tip of the leaflet), now working back along the opposite side of the foundation chain: dc in next ch, hdc in next 2 ch, sc in next 2 ch. (You’ll have worked up one side and back down the other.) Do not join yet.

Notch: To create the heart-shaped notch at the tip, you’ll notice you’re at the midpoint of your 5-dc fan. Sl st into the center dc of the fan, ch 2, sl st back into same st. This creates a small indentation that gives the leaflet its heart shape.

Edging round: Sc evenly around the entire leaflet, working 3 sc into each curved tip and sl st through the notch to define it. When you reach the base of the leaflet, sl st and fasten off, leaving a tail.

Repeat for all three leaflets.

Tip: Block these leaflets before assembly if possible. Even a light spritz of water and pinning them to a foam mat for an hour will make the heart shape much crisper. This is especially helpful if you’re working with a yarn that has a lot of spring to it.

Assembling the Leaf Cluster

Arrange your three leaflets so their bases meet at a single point, fanned out evenly like a three-leaf clover. Using a tapestry needle and your yarn tails, stitch all three bases together tightly. This joint becomes the top of the stem.

Making the Stem

For a simple crochet stem, use green yarn and work a foundation chain of your desired length. For a single stem with leaves, 12 to 15 chains is usually enough. Sl st back along the chain for a neat, firm cord. Fasten off, leaving a tail for attachment.

If you want a more rounded, substantial stem, instead of a chain, work a 3-stitch i-cord. This requires working 3 sc in a tiny ring and then doing circular rows of 3 sc around and around without joining, giving you a slim tube. It takes longer but creates a lovely thick, vine-like stem.

Attach the stem to the base of the assembled leaf cluster, and if you’re adding the leaves to a full flower piece, attach the other end of the stem to the back of the flower.

Part Four: Putting It All Together

Now comes the most satisfying moment — assembling the complete woodsorrel plant.

Lay your flower face-up. Position one or two leaf clusters beside or slightly below the flower. If you’ve made multiple flowers (for a cluster or a wreath), arrange them together now before committing to any placements.

Using your tapestry needle and matching yarn, tack the leaf clusters to the back of the flower or to each other if you’re making a multi-stem arrangement. Keep your stitches small and tidy on the front side.

If you’re mounting the piece on a background — a canvas, a wreath, a piece of felt — use green yarn to tack the stems down in gentle curves, which gives the piece that trailing, creeping quality the plant has in nature.

For a display piece, insert a length of floral wire through each stem (looping it through the chain or through the center of the i-cord stem) to make it poseable. You can then arrange the leaves and flowers the way you’d arrange real botanicals.

Sizing and Yarn Weight Variations

One of the best things about this pattern is how easily it scales.

With fingering weight yarn on a 2.0mm hook, each flower will measure about 3 to 4 centimeters across — very close to actual woodsorrel size. This is perfect for detailed botanical projects.

With DK weight yarn on a 3.5mm hook, the flower comes out at roughly 5 to 7 centimeters — a good size for hat embellishments or bag decorations.

With worsted weight on a 5.0mm hook, you’ll get a bold, chunky version around 8 to 10 centimeters, which works beautifully as a statement appliqué on a tote or pillow.

The leaf clusters scale proportionally in all cases, though you may want to add an extra row of edging on the largest version to keep the edges neat.

Color Variations to Try

The classic creeping woodsorrel is yellow, but the Oxalis family is wonderfully varied, and exploring different colorways keeps this project fresh no matter how many times you make it.

Pink or lavender petals are accurate for many Oxalis species and create a softer, more romantic look. White petals with a yellow center are elegant and work well for winter botanical projects. For a more dramatic effect, try deep purple or magenta petals — these correspond to ornamental varieties of woodsorrel and look stunning against bright green leaves.

For the leaves, most woodsorrel has green foliage, but the purple-leafed variety (Oxalis triangularis, sometimes called false shamrock) is a popular houseplant with gorgeous deep burgundy or purple leaves. Swapping your green yarn for a plum or burgundy creates a completely different mood.

Ideas for Using Your Crochet Woodsorrel

The finished pieces are quite versatile. A cluster of three or four flowers with trailing stems makes a beautiful botanical brooch when backed with a felt circle and a pin back. A handful of flowers and leaf clusters glued or stitched to a grapevine wreath creates a naturalistic wildflower wreath that never wilts. Individual flowers can be stitched onto the brim of a sun hat or scattered across a market bag. Small pressed-looking versions make charming gift tags or card embellishments when stitched onto cardstock.

If you’re a jewelry maker, tiny woodsorrel flowers — especially in a white or pink colorway — work beautifully as hair pins when backed with bobby pins. And if you’re a plant parent with a habit of killing the real thing, a pot of crocheted woodsorrel (stems wired upright and pushed into florist’s foam inside a small terracotta pot) is a cheerful, eternal desk companion.

Finishing Touches and Care

Weave in all ends thoroughly, especially on pieces that will be handled frequently or worn. A tiny dab of fabric glue on the back of each woven end adds extra security without affecting the look of the piece.

For blocking, lay finished pieces on a damp towel or use a spray bottle, shape them gently with your fingers, and allow to dry flat. Pinning the petal tips and leaflet notches into place while drying will give you the crispest heart shapes.

Most acrylic and wool-blend yarns can be gently hand washed in cool water if the pieces get dusty. Reshape while damp and allow to air dry. For purely decorative pieces, a gentle brush with a dry pastry brush is usually enough to remove dust without any washing.

There’s something quietly wonderful about making a flower that most people would overlook in a garden. Creeping woodsorrel is the kind of plant that rewards close attention — and translating it into crochet is its own kind of close attention, working stitch by stitch to capture the small, precise things that make it what it is. Whether this is your first botanical crochet project or your fiftieth, I hope this little wildflower finds a happy place in whatever you’re making.