I have long been fascinated by the shapes and colours of the many various paisley designs we can see in fabric, drawings, tattoos and more, and had thought about trying to crochet some motifs for a while. Preparing to teach a freeform workshop in Germany in June made me want to try it even more, as I really want to make these fabulous shapes available to a wider audience.
I started by doing some research into the design and found that it does not originate in India as I thought, but Iran and is a design using the boteh or buta, a droplet-shaped vegetable motif of Persian origin. These designs became very popular in the West in the 18th and 19th centuries, following imports of post-Mughal versions of the design from India, especially in the form of Kashmir shawls.Its western name however derives from the town of Paisley/ Scotland, a centre for textiles where paisley designs were produced. Next I did some doodling and colouring, found some paisley patterned fabric and finally set to work with hook and yarn. It took quite a few attempts to get it right, but eventually I had a lovely teardrop shaped motif in my hands. The other thing we all associate with India are Peacocks. We have a couple of fine blue or Indian Peafowl here at the Castle in my town, the piercing call of the male can be heard a fair distance away and he can be seen strutting his stuff by visitors to the hotel.
I figured that the eye of the peacock feather would complement the paisley shape perfectly, and not quite as challenging it didn’t take me long to crochet a motif of pretty good likeness.
I posted a photo of the finished motifs on my Instagram feed and it seems that lots of you like them too. So I thought why not share the patterns with you here on my blog…
…so here goes
These India inspired crochet motifs need small amounts of yarn but really pack a punch when it comes to impact. They look beautiful made using both jewel colours inspired by colourful saris or pastels reminiscent of British Raj faded glory. See which one’s you prefer!
Materials
Anything goes really, but to achieve the best look I recommend the following:
4ply mercerised cotton for jewel colours
4ply matt cotton for faded pastels
3.5mm crochet hook
Darning needle
Note: UK Terms used throughout
Peacock Motif
Ch 4 and ss to form a ring
Rnd 1: 3ch (counts as tr), 8tr into ring, change to new colour and work another 3tr into ring (12tr)
Rnd 2: Dc to top of beg. 3ch of prev rnd, 2dc in next st, 1dc, 2dc in next st, 3htr in next st, 2dc in next st, 1dc, 2dc in next st, 1dc, ss to join.
Change Colour
Rnd 3: 1ch, dc in same sp, dc in each of next 2sts, 2dc in next st, 1dc, 1htr in each of next 2sts, 2htr in next st, 1tr, 2tr in next st, 2dtr in each of next 2sts, 2tr in next st, 1tr, 2htr in next st, 1htr in each of next 2sts, 1dc in each of next 2sts, ss to join.
Change Colour
Rnd 4: 1ch, dc in same sp, 1dc in each of next 2sts, 2dc in next st, 1dc in each of next 2sts, 2dc in next st, 1htr in each of next 6sts, 2htr in next st, 2tr in next st, 3-picot, 2tr in next st, 2htr in next st, 1htr in each of next 6sts, 2dc in next st, 1dc in each of next 2sts, 1dc, ss to join.
Fasten off and weave in ends. Block lightly if required.
N.B. 3-Picot: 3ch, ss to first of these ch’s
Paisley Motif
Ch11
Rnd 1: Ss into 3rd ch from hook, 1ss in each of next 2ch’s, 2dc in next ch, 1htr, 1tr in each of next 3ch’s, 10tr in next ch – now work on other side of ch: 1tr in each of next 2ch’s, 1htr in each of next 2ch’s, 1dc, 1ss in each of next 4ch’s
Change Colour.
Rnd 2: 5ch, ss into 3rd ch from hook, 1ss, 2dc in next ch, 1htr in each of next 4sts, 1tr in each of next 7sts, 2tr in each of next 6sts, 1tr in each of next 6sts, tr2tog, htr2tog, dc2tog, 1ss in each of next 3ch’s
Change Colour.
Rnd 3: 5ch, ss into 3rd ch from hook, 1ss, 2dc in next ch, 1dc in each of next 2sts, 1htr in each of next 3sts, 1tr in each of next 3sts, *2tr in next st, 1tr in each of next 3sts; rep from * twice, 2tr in next st, 1tr in each of next 2sts, 2tr in each of next 6sts, 1tr, 2tr in next st, 1tr in each of next 2sts, 2tr in next st, 1tr in each of next 2sts, 1htr in each of next 4sts, dc2tog, 1dc in each of next 2sts, 1ss in each of next 4ch’s
If making the small size fasten off here – for large size change colour and continue
Rnd 4: 5ch, ss into 3rd ch from hook, 1ss in each of next 2ch’s, 2dc in next ch, 1dc, 1htr in each of next 3sts, 1tr in each of next 14sts, 2tr in next st, 1tr in each of next 3sts, *2tr in next st, 1tr in each of next 2sts; rep from * 7 times, 1tr in each of next 2sts, tr2tog, 1tr, htr2tog, 1htr, 1dc in each of next 2sts, dc2tog, 1dc in each of next 2sts, 1ss in next 3ch’s.
Work surface ss crochet if desired. Fasten off and weave in ends. Block lightly if required.
If you prefer, there is also a Pdf copy available to download here.
Have fun making and please share photos of your finished motifs…remember to #peacockand paisley.
Enjoy!
X.