you will need:

for the cactus stem and arm

• green yarn – worsted or chunky
• 4mm, 4.5mm or 5mm hook suitable for your chosen green yarn (it’s best to use a slightly smaller hook than the yarn suggests so you get a tight structure that is stable and does not show stuffing through the gaps. A smaller hook is harder work though as the stitches will be tight – I’ll leave it to you to decide!)
• soft stuffing (I used old yarn off-cuts…)

for the base

• heavy stuffing (I used dried lentils)
• small amount of brown material
• a small plant pot (plus paint etc. if you want to decorate the pot)
• needle and thread

for the flower

• small scrap of pink yarn and yellow yarn or thread for sewing onto the cactus
• hook of a size suitable for the pink yarn
• needle / yarn needle

or for the alternative / realistic flower option:

• 2mm hook
• pink, yellow and white thread
• needle

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techniques / stitches used:

All crochet terms and abbreviations are as defined by the Craft Yarn Council. American names for stitches are used so be aware of that if you’re used to another system.

• magic circle (can be substituted by chain 4, slip stitch into first chain and complete required number of stitches into the loop. this does leave a small hole that the stuffing will show through though so the magic circle is preferred)
• ch – chain
• sl st – slip stitch
• sc – single crochet
• hdc – half double crochet
• db – double crochet
• FPsc – front post single crochet
• BPsc – back post single crochet

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cactus stem

• rnd1. magic circle with 6sc. sl st to 1st sc (6)
• rnd2. 2sc in each stitch (12)
• rnd3 & 4. 1sc in each stitch (12)
• rnd5. [FPsc, BPsc] x 6 (12)  for the first few rounds this might be tricky and a bit tight but stick with it and soon you will see the ridges appear. It is best to work with the outside of the work facing you – this may need you to turn it inside out after round 4. Once you’ve completed a few rounds then it is simple to just FPsc into every FPsc and BPsc into every BPsc. stuff firmly as you go.
• repeat rnd5 until stem is ~10cm long, fasten off.

cactus arm

• rnd1. magic circle with 6sc. sl st to 1st sc (6)
• rnd2. 2sc in each stitch (12)
• rnd3 & 4. 1sc in each stitch (12)
• rnd5. [FPsc, BPsc] x 6 (12)
• repeat rnd5 until arm is ~5cm long. stuff firmly as you go.
• [3sl st, sc, 2hdc, 3dc, 2hdc, sc] x 2 (12)
• 1sc each stitch (12), fasten off.

flower

• rnd1. magic circle with 6sc. sl st to 1st sc (6)
• rnd2.  [sl st, ch3, sl st same stitch] x 6 (6 petals), fasten off

alternative / realistic flower

 

• rnd1. in yellow. magic circle with 6sc. sl st to 1st sc (6)
• rnd2. [2sc, sc] x 3 (9)
• rnd3. change to pink. sc each stitch (9)
• rnd4. sc, [ch6, sc] x 9 (9 loops)
• rnd5. [3sc into next loop, ch3, 3sc into same loop] x 9 (9 loops).
• fasten off. your flower should look like the photo to the right:

• attach white thread into any of the ch-3 petal tips.
• rnd6. [ch1, sc into next ch-3 petal tip] x 9
• fasten off.

base

cut a rough circle of brown fabric 2 to 3 diameters larger than your pot and loosely sew all around the edge:

pull on the two ends of thread to gather the fabric into a pouch, loosely stuff, pull the thread tightly and sew through a few times to secure. (important! only fill the base ~75% with your heavy stuffing material. it should be like a tiny bean bag. The extra space allows the base to be molded so the cactus can be free standing and does not tip over).

decorate your plant pot in any way you choose:

Sew together all the components, covering the base open end with the cactus stem, place into the plant pot and stick with pins. The flexible base allows the cactus to be free standing or sit in the pot and act as a lid – you can fill the pot with other sewing bits and bobs such as safety pins, a tape measure, etc.

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Copyright & Legal Stuff: I’m happy for you to sell items you make from this pattern but the images and words are mine – I worked hard writing & testing & photographing so don’t copy or distribute any part of this pattern. If you want to share it then link to this page. Thanks & happy crocheting