Crochet Flowering Cactus

Tomorrow is the first day if spring, and I thought I'd do some spring planting... However, I do not have a green thumb, so instead, I decided to crochet some cacti. The cactus is everywhere, and I'm loving it. After seeing several crochet cactus creations, I decided to make some of my own. I am a collector of Rae Dunn pottery, and I decided that my Rae Dunn planters definitely needed some crochet cacti.

SUPPLIES:
Vanna's Choice Chocolate Brown yarn 

Vanna's Choice Kelly Green yarn

Vanna's Choice White yarn

yellow embroidery floss
H/5mm crochet hook
yarn needle
polyester fiber fill

Each cactus needs soil, so I crocheted the soil first with the Vanna's Choice Chocolate Brown yarn and H/5mm crochet hook.

With brown yarn:

1) magic ring, ch 1, 8 sc into the ring, join

2) ch 1, 2 hdc in each stitch, join

3) ch 1, hdc in same stitch, (1 hdc, 2hdc) around, join

4) ch 1, hdc in same stitch, (1 hdc in next 2 stitches, 2hdc) around, join

5) ch 1, hdc in same stitch, (1 hdc in next 3 stitches, 2hdc) around, join

6 - 9) ch 1, hdc in each stitch, join.

10) ch 1, (hdc in next 3 stitches, hdc decrease) around, join

11 - 12) ch 1, (hdc in next 2 stitches, hdc decrease) around, join
*STUFF with fiber fill.
13) ch 1, (hdc, hdc decrease) around, join
14) hdc decrease around, join.

Stuff with polyester fiber fill before closing.

left: top of the soil | right: bottom of the soil

the soil in a pot

The first cactus I made was this round cactus. I crocheted the cacti with Vanna's Choice Kelly Green yarn.

ch 15

1) hdc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc across, turn.

2) ch 1, hdc in back loop only across, turn.

3) ch 1, hdc in the front loop pictured above (not the normal front loop) across, turn.

Repeat rows 2 - 3 until 8 inches wide...

Whip stitch sides together with yarn needle.

Close one end.

 It kind of looks like knit. 

 Whip stitching the sides together with a yarn needle...

I closed one end by weaving yarn through stitches and pulling close like a drawstring.

all stuffed...

Stitch to the top of the soil with the yarn needle.

Once the cactus was stitched to the soil, I added a flower. This flower was leftover from another cactus project, but I can't share the pattern for it since it is not mine. Sorry! But there are many free flower patterns on Pinterest. I crocheted this flower with Vanna's Choice White yarn and used yellow embroidery floss to create the flower stamens.

cactus with the flower on top...

This is the next cactus I made. It's like a saguaro cactus.

For this cactus, I crocheted rows just like with the round cactus. But for the body of this cactus, I began by chaining 20 crocheted with half double crochets in the alternating back loop only and front loop only rows until it measured 4.5 inches. For the arms of the cactus, I chained 8 and crocheted with half double crochets until it measured 2 inches.

body:

ch 20

1) hdc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc across, turn.

2) ch 1, hdc in back loop only across, turn.

3) ch 1, hdc in the front loop pictured above (not the normal front loop) across, turn.

Repeat rows 2 - 3 until 4.5 inches wide...

Whip stitch sides together with yarn needle.

Close one end and stuff.

arms (make 2):

ch 8

1) hdc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc across, turn.

2) ch 1, hdc in back loop only across, turn.

3) ch 1, hdc in the front loop pictured above (no the normal front loop) across, turn.

Repeat rows 2 - 3 until 2 inches wide...

Whip stitch sides together with yarn needle.

Close one end.

Stuff and stitch on the body.

stuffed and ready to attach to the soil...

The cactus is sewn to the soil.

time for flowers...

The last cactus I made is this columnar cactus with spirally succulents.

For this one, I crocheted the same as the others, but I began with different chain counts like 25 chains, 20 chains, and 15 chains.

I stuffed the columnar cacti and sewed them onto the soil.

To make the succulent spirals, I chained 15 and crocheted 2 or 3 sc into each stitch. Once the spirals were made, I stitched them onto the soil. 

I added some colorful flowers.

All done!

Once I finished the cacti, I put them in one of my favorite Rae Dunn planters and put them on my hutch. I have a couple more Rae Dunn planters, and I plan to crochet more cacti for them. These cacti are fun and quick to make.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my cacti!