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A PANSY FOR SHELDA

The English name for these little flowers comes from what the French call them: "pensees," (pon-say) meaning "thoughts." So I had been thinking that there were a lot of knitted flowers being shown this spring, and that the question of an A-K symbol comes up for discussion from time to time, and that Shelda loves pansies. Here is the product of all those thoughts, a pansy to knit and pin to your bosom, or anywhere else you think it will show our spirit. Hint: purple pansies would look divine on a red hat.

Two-color pansies have two solid-color petals and three bicolor petals. If you want to do a bicolor, knit the two solid petals first, then follow the directions for changing colors and knit the three bicolor petals.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 or 2 hanks Perle cotton, size 5
Small amounts of yellow, white and green - accent colors can be embroidery floss
1 needle US 4 - 3.5 mm
2 needles (straight or DP) or 1 circular US 2 - 2.75 mm
tapestry needle
sharp needle
scrap of felt or ultrasuede - for backing
pin back
glue

With larger needle and Color A, CO 22 sts

Row 1 (RS) K7, place marker, K8, place marker, K7, wrap edge st and turn

Switch to smaller needles for this and all subsequent rows.

Row 2 P21,[**] wrap edge st and turn

**Change colors here: P last st using both colors. Take new color to front and wrap edge st

Row 3 K4, SSK, K2tog, K4, SSK, K2tog, K3, wrap and turn

Row 4 P15, [***] wrap next-to-last st and turn

*** Change colors here. To change colors, take color A to side of work farthest from you (in this case, the knit side,) Lay Color B between the needles with the short tail on the purl side. Wrap next stitch on left needle with BOTH yarns. After turning to work knit side, use only color B.

Row 5 With Color B, K2, SSK, K2tog, K2, SSK, K2tog, K2, wrap and turn

Row 6 P9, wrap and turn

Row 7 SSK, K2tog, SSK, K2tog, wrap and turn

Row 8 P4, removing markers as you get to them wrap & turn NOTE that this st has already been wrapped once

Row 9 SSK, K2tog, K1, wrap and turn

Row 10 P2tog (twice), P1, wrap edge st and turn

Row 11 SSK, K2tog, wrap edge st and turn BUT leave wrapped st on needle

Row 12 4 sts should present themselves on L needle. Slip one to L needle if required. P2tog (twice)

Cut yarn and draw end through remaining 2 sts. One petal completed.

NOTE: Bicolor petals will show out-of-place color on the last row of knit-side decreases. Use yarn end to duplicate stitch over these and hide them out of sight.

Weave the cast-on ends through the backs of the petals. Color change ends can be used for tidying up any spots where the wrong color shows. Save the cast-off ends (hanging from the bottom of each petal) to sew the flower together.

BLOCKING: Wet all the petals in plain cool water. Paste them face up on a curved surface (I used a turned-over mixing bowl) and allow to dry. NOTE: The cotton really needs to be shaped but I found that using an iron flattened them too much.

FORMING THE FLOWER:

Overlap two petals (the two solid ones if you made a bicolor) by about half. Line up their points, one on top of the other. Thread both cast-off ends through a tapestry needle and stitch the two points together. Use the rest of the yarn tail to whipstitch the petals together on the wrong side, attaching the edge of one petal to the midsection of the other. Do not attach more than halfway to the top of the petals.

Save the best-looking bicolor for the bottom of the flower.

Line up two petals with their points directly over the points of the two top petals. These two petals lie directly opposite each other, on the same horizontal plane. Stitch them together at the points and whipstitch their edges to the WS of the two upper petals. Place the final petal's point directly over the points of the other four. It should lie at a 90-degree angle to the two above it. Attach this one to the others as above.

NOTE: Any instability will be taken care of in the next steps.

ANATOMICALLY CORRECT DETAILS: The three lower pansy petals have throats, white on the two side petals and yellow or orange on the lower petal. Deep inside is the point of it all, the sex organ, which is green.

To simulate these, use white, yellow or orange to satin-stitch from the point of the petals, making a fan-shaped pattern over the lower two rows of knitting.

Using green, make a single French knot in the center, going through all layers.

FINISHING: I left long starting and ending tails on all the embroidery work, which I fastened off by tying square knots. Don't cut these short just yet.

Cut a circle from your backing material. I used a film can to make a circle about 1-1/4" in diameter.

Place the circle on the wrong side of the flower and whipstitch it down, being careful not to let the stitches show on the right side. Let the yarn tails hang out of the circle, then cut them short when you have finished.

Glue on a pin back and let the glue set. I used a craft glue designed for attaching sequins and jewels to cloth.

ALL DONE! Wear with pride.

COLORS: Pansies seem to come in every imaginable color, from solid white, yellow or orange to pinks with deep wine centers. I did discover (in the course of unauthorized picking whenever I could get away with it) that the "black" in the center of yellow and blue pansies is such a deep red that it looks black. I could not find Perle cotton in this color, although it may exist.