Bright six bladed pinwheels in pink, red, purple, blue and yellow, set on cream squares in two columns, with small white and green daisies at every corner and a scalloped cream edge all round.
The pinwheels look like they are spinning, and that comes from one thing. Each blade is worked over a chain and curves as it lies down, all six curving the same way. Straight blades give you a star. Curved blades give you motion.
The cream ground and the restrained little daisies are what stop five bright colours becoming chaos.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in cream, plus hot pink, red, purple, royal blue and golden yellow for the pinwheels, and green and white with a yellow centre for the daisies.
Around 250 g of cream and 30 g of each bright colour.
A 3.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want a blocking mat, rustproof pins and a tapestry needle.
Finished size is about 100 cm long and 32 cm wide, from twenty eight squares in two columns of fourteen.
Abbreviations are US terms. ch is chain, sl st is slip stitch, sc is single crochet, hdc is half double crochet, dc is double crochet, MR is magic ring, sp is space.
Part 1. The cream squares, make twenty eight
Each finishes at about 14 cm.
Round 1. MR, ch 3, 12 dc into the ring, join (12)
Round 2. Ch 3, dc in the same stitch, then dc in the next 2, then work 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc into the next stitch for a corner, repeated to give four corners (this sets the square).
Rounds 3 to 6. Continue in dc, working 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc into each ch 2 corner space and dc along each side, so the square grows evenly.
Round 7. Sc in every stitch around, with 3 sc into each corner. Fasten off.
Keep counting the sides. A granny style square drifts out of true very easily and twenty eight of them will show every wobble once they are joined.
Part 2. The pinwheels, make twenty eight
Roughly six of each colour. Each has six blades.
Base. 6 sc in MR (6), join.
Blade. Ch 14. Working back along the chain, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next 2, hdc in the next 3, dc in the next 4, then hdc in the next 3. Do not work the other side of the chain. Sl st into the next stitch of the base ring.
Repeat five more times for six blades.
Working one side of the chain only is the whole trick. The stitches along that single edge are longer than the chain beneath them, so the blade cannot lie straight and curls into a curve. Work both sides and you get a flat pointed petal with no movement at all.
Make sure all six blades curve the same way. If one is worked in the opposite direction the pinwheel stops spinning and looks broken.
Fasten off and sew a pinwheel to the centre of each cream square, stitching through the base ring and at the tip of each blade, leaving the middle of each blade free to lift slightly.
Part 3. Corner daisies, make about forty
In white with a yellow centre. 6 sc in MR, then into each stitch work sl st, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st, for six small petals. Add a yellow French knot cluster in the middle.
Make about fifteen more in green using the same method, worked slightly larger over an 8 stitch ring, to sit as leaves behind some of the white ones.
Part 4. Joining
Lay the squares out in two columns of fourteen and distribute the colours so no two of the same sit next to each other, diagonally or otherwise. This takes longer than you expect and it is worth doing properly, because a repeated colour pairing is the first thing the eye lands on.
Join with cream, working sl st through the back loops along the touching edges.
Part 5. Corners and edge
Sew a green daisy at each point where four squares meet, then a white daisy on top of it, slightly offset so a little green shows behind.
Along the outer edges, sew single white daisies at each square join.
Border. Join cream at any point and work sc all the way around, with 3 sc at each outer corner. Then work a round of skip one stitch, 5 dc into the next, skip one, sc into the next, repeated around for the scalloped edge. Finish with a round of sl st, ch 2, sl st into the centre of each shell.
Part 6. Blocking
Block the finished runner hard, pinning the squares true and the scallops open.
Then lift each pinwheel blade slightly with your fingers once it is dry. They are meant to sit proud of the cream, and pinning will have flattened them.
Notes and variations
A pastel version on a white ground is much softer and works year round.
Make all the pinwheels in shades of one colour for something more restrained.
Four squares make a placemat and a single square makes a coaster.
Questions I get asked
Why do my pinwheels look like stars? You worked both sides of the chain. One side only, so the blade has to curve.
Why does one blade look wrong? It is curving the opposite way to the others. Unpick and rework it in the same direction.
Why is my runner not square? Granny squares drift. Count the dc along each side on every round rather than trusting the corners to sort themselves out.
Can I use acrylic? Cotton gives crisper blades and blocks properly.
How long does it take? About twenty hours.