Crochet Bobble Flowers: A Small, Soft Flower You Can Make in 20 Minutes
Make a fluffy five-petal bobble flower in about 20 minutes, with a full supply list, stitch counts and fixes for the two things that usually go wrong.
A bobble flower is really just two rounds: ten single crochet in a ring, then five puffy petals worked around them.
Bobble flowers look softer and puffier than flat crochet flowers because each petal is a little pillow of yarn. That puff hides a lot of small mistakes, which is why they work well for beginners.
The whole flower is two rounds. Round one makes the center. Round two makes five petals around it. You can finish one while a pot of tea brews, and you can use up leftover yarn doing it.
You need about 20 minutes, two colors of soft worsted yarn and a 4 mm hook. The center is 10 single crochet in a magic ring, and each of the five petals is a chain two, one bobble, chain three, slip stitch.
What you need
Soft worsted weight yarn, two colors
About 5 g of each color makes one flower. A brushed or fluffy yarn gives the fullest bobble. Cotton works but looks crisper and less soft.
4 mm crochet hook
Match the hook to your yarn label if you are using something other than worsted. A 3 mm hook suits thinner yarn.
Tapestry needle
For weaving in the two tails. A blunt tip slides between stitches without splitting the yarn.
Small scissors
Any sharp pair works. Keep the tails at about 15 cm if you plan to sew the flower onto something.
What a bobble flower actually is
A bobble is several tall stitches worked into the same stitch, then closed together at the top. That pulls them into a rounded bump. Here, one bobble sits inside each petal, so the petal has a raised middle instead of lying flat.
Five petals sit around a ten-stitch center. The center stays flat and round. The petals stick out and stand up a little. If your petals lie completely flat, your bobble is too loose.
Use the same yarn weight for both colors. A thick petal on a thin center looks lumpy and the flower will not sit straight.
What you'll need before you start
Soft yarn matters more here than in most patterns. A fuzzy or brushed yarn makes the bobble look fuller, which is the whole point of the flower. A stiff cotton makes a crisp flower that stands up well but looks less fluffy.
- Worsted weight yarn in two colors, about 5 g of each
- 4 mm hook, or the size printed on your yarn label
- Tapestry needle for the ends
- Small scissors
If your yarn is thinner than worsted, go down to a 3 mm hook and add one extra single crochet to the center so the petals have room.
Abbreviations used in this pattern
These are the standard short forms. If you already read patterns, skip ahead to the steps.
- mr – magic ring
- sc – single crochet
- ch – chain
- slst – slip stitch
- bob – bobble
- st – stitch
- rep – repeat
Write the abbreviations on a scrap of paper and keep it beside you the first time. It saves a lot of squinting.
Bobble flowers pattern
Work the center first, then attach the petal color without fastening off the center. Keep your tension loose on the bobbles; tight bobbles are the most common reason a petal pulls the center out of shape.
Count after every petal. Five petals is the whole flower, and a sixth petal is easy to add by accident when you lose your place.
How to make the bobble
A bobble is usually three or four double crochet stitches worked into one stitch and joined at the top. Work them into the same stitch, then pull the last loop through all the loops on your hook at once.
Do not chain between the double crochets. The bump comes from them crowding together. If you leave a chain in the middle, you get a gap instead of a bobble.
Pull the final loop snug, but not tight. Snug holds the bobble closed. Tight makes a hole in the petal.
Finishing and joining flowers together
Fasten off and weave the tail into the back of the center, not through the petals. Weaving through a petal flattens the bobble.
To join flowers into a small bunch, sew them together at the back of the centers with the same yarn and a tapestry needle. Two or three stitches per pair is enough.
Leave a 15 cm tail on each flower. That is long enough to sew it to a headband, a bag strap or another flower later.
When it goes wrong
Two things go wrong most often, and both are easy to fix without pulling the whole flower apart.
The center cups upward like a tiny bowl. That means your first round is too tight. Undo it and work the ten single crochets a little looser, or go up one hook size for the center only.
The petals droop and the bobble disappears. Your bobble stitches are too loose. Undo the petal and work the double crochets closer together, keeping the loops on the hook short.
A hole shows at the base of a petal. You skipped the slip stitch into the next stitch. That slip stitch anchors the petal to the center, so it is not optional.
Fix the flower while it is still small. Undoing one petal takes a minute. Undoing a joined bunch of six takes an evening.
Step
Make the center
With color one, make a magic ring and work 10 sc into it. Join with a slst to the first sc. You should have a flat round disc about 2 cm across, with no gap in the middle.
Attach the petal color
Pull color two through the joining stitch and chain one to secure it. Do not cut color one yet. The center should still lie flat on the table.
Work the first petal
Chain 2. Work one bobble into the next stitch. Chain 3, then slst into the next stitch. The petal should stand up slightly from the center.
Repeat around
Repeat the petal four more times, so you have five petals in total. Each petal uses two stitches of the center, which is why the center has ten.
Check the count
Count your petals before fastening off. You want five. If you have four, you missed a slip stitch. If you have six, you worked a petal into the joining stitch.
Fasten off and weave in
Cut both colors, leaving 15 cm tails. Pull the tails through the last loop and weave them into the back of the center with the tapestry needle. Do not weave through the petals.
Ways to change it
Chunky flower
Use super bulky yarn and a 6 mm hook. The flower comes out around 7 cm across, which suits a bag or a cushion.
Thread flower
Use size 10 cotton thread and a 1.75 mm hook. It ends up about 1.5 cm across and works as a brooch or a hair clip.
Two-tone petals
Change color after the second petal so the flower has two shades. It uses up odds and ends and looks intentional.
Six petals
Start with 12 sc in the center instead of 10. That gives room for six petals, which makes a rounder flower.
Flat-backed version
Skip the bobble and work 3 dc in each petal instead. It lies flat, so it sits neatly on a blanket square.
The short version
- One flower takes about 20 minutes and 10 g of yarn in total.
- The center is 10 sc in a magic ring, and five petals use two stitches each.
- A bobble is several double crochets worked into one stitch and closed at the top.
- A cupped center means your first round was too tight; a droopy petal means the bobble was too loose.
- Worsted weight on a 4 mm hook gives a flower about 4 cm across.
- Weave the tails into the back of the center, never through a petal.
- A skipped slip stitch leaves a hole at the base of the petal.
Questions people ask
Can I make these flowers without a magic ring?
Yes. Chain four and join into a ring instead, then work your 10 sc into the ring. The hole in the middle will be slightly bigger, so pull the starting tail tight before you weave it in.
How do I stop the bobble from popping out to the front?
Keep the loops on your hook short while you work the double crochets, and pull the last loop through firmly. Long loops are what let a bobble flop forward.
What can I use these flowers for?
They work on headbands, bag straps, cushion corners and gift wrapping. Because they are small and soft, they also suit baby items, as long as you sew them on firmly with a doubled thread.
Can I use cotton instead of soft acrylic?
You can. Cotton gives a firmer flower with sharper petals, but the bobble looks less fluffy. Acrylic or a brushed yarn gives the soft look most people want here.
Why does my flower curl up at the edges?
Your tension is too tight overall, or your hook is too small for the yarn. Try one hook size up and work the center round loosely.
Grab your hook and make the first one
Start with one flower in two colors you already have. Once the five petals make sense in your hands, the second one takes half the time. Happy hooking!
