Heliconia: A crocheted piece of tropical paradise

It's been a long time since I came to my blog!  I have plenty of things to say about my crocheting, well for that long absence, as if my blog has gone AWOL, things have piled up! but that is because I have been creating and designing a lot of patterns. I also went in hibernation to think of things to make and to find inspiration. Sometimes, you need to create something unique, and original. If it's not original, because there probably are a gazillion of it out there in the internet already, at least make it look real or life like. 

Speaking of "unique", my list is full. I have a very looong to-do list and have been working the list for a while now. But, you know, you pick the ones you want to make because you have a vision in the recesses of your mind that urges you to make it now or lose it. It's now or gone! Alright, so I imagined living in an island where all the pretty contrasting colors of the tropical flowering plants abound. One of the flowers on my imaginary island is the Heliconia.

So, off I go asked my bae Google, my gal pal Pinterest, and her cousin Flicker, and the rest of the gang for inspiration. I lost my mind to the explosion of beautiful colors! Immediately, I grabbed my hook and arranged stitches together. No, that's bad,another try, oh, horrible!  next try, and next, and next and next, dang, I almost gave up. I couldn't get it right!  One day, I was making something, turned the piece upside down, ohhh eureka! this one is like the one I wanted to create! So, I discovered the stitches for my Heliconia by twist of the wrist!


 By twist of the wrist, I have made it!                                          

                                                                  


Mr. Wiki said that there were 89 species of the genus Heliconia and 350 varieties. Some are edible, like bananas, while others are decorative. Dude google talked about the taxonomy of Heliconia. The attractive orange with yellow and green edging is called bract, bracts are analogous to leaves and homologous to petals. This trait makes them attractive because they resemble flowers. The axis on which the bracts are attached is called rachis, this rachis is either bend downward to look like a pendant, or so it just goes up, hence erect heliconia. The arrangement of bracts in succession creates inflorescence. So, a bunch of bracts arranged in succession on a rachis is the whole inflorescence. 

                                                                     

I created the whole plant so I can put something in the large vase I bought. Well, that vase was on sale at %80 off so I grabbed it and took it home. I was glad I got that vase.

                     

                                                                    

To make a pendant Heliconia, you need floral stem. They are available in most craft stores, they are either bleached (white) or stained to look natural. I have to wrap mine with floral tape because the floral stems are very smooth and floral wires slide on them without wrapping it with tape first.  These floral stems are really long, you may need to cut them to the length you want.

 Heliconia leaves are massive like bananas so I used the largest or biggest yarn and hook I can handle
 but making sure it will not be too loopy. I will have to work some magic to make a tree out of yarn.

                                                                  

So there you go, pendant or erect Heliconia! You can make it too, the pattern is very easy to follow. It has photo tutorial and stitch diagram to help you. You can purchase the pattern in my online store https://lynscrafts.com/yarnstore/patterns-for-sale/631-heliconia-crochet-pattern.html 
or in my Raverly shop http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heliconia-2http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heliconia-2