Rose and Raspberry Leaf Square Bed Cover Crochet Pattern

This bed cover is a garden of pink leaves on a cream lace background. Each square is a cream granny square with four ribbed leaves that start in the middle and point out to the four corners. Two leaves are a soft rose pink and two are a deep raspberry, with matching colors sitting opposite each other, so every square looks like a little pinwheel in two shades of pink. Between the leaves, the cream granny clusters show through in a cross shape, with small open holes that keep the cover light and lacy.

The magic happens when you join the squares. Because every leaf points to a corner, the tips of four leaves meet wherever four squares come together. Two rose leaves and two raspberry leaves touch at each meeting point, and together they form a second, larger four-petal flower. So the cover has two patterns at once: pinwheels inside every square and flowers on every corner. From across the room the bed looks covered in blossoms, and up close you can admire every rib and vein of the leaves.

The background is a classic ten-round granny square in cream, followed by two rounds of single crochet that give it a firm, straight edge and neat corner holes. The leaves are made separately. Each one is worked around a short foundation chain, growing from single crochet at the ends to treble crochet in the middle, which gives it a pointed leaf shape. A second round in the back loop only leaves a line of ridges around the edge and a clear center vein down the middle, like a real leaf. You then sew the four leaves onto the square along the diagonals.

I chose to sew the leaves on rather than work them into the square because it keeps everything simple and flat. The granny squares are quick and relaxing, the leaves are tiny and portable, and you can lay the leaves on the square and move them until they sit exactly right before you sew. It also means you can make all the squares first, all the leaves next, and then enjoy a calm evening of sewing with a basket of pink leaves beside you.

Each finished square measures about 10 inches. The queen size uses 80 squares, set in 8 columns and 10 rows, and 320 leaves, half rose and half raspberry. The squares are joined with a whipstitch through the back loops, so the seams lie flat and almost disappear into the cream. The cover finishes at about 80 by 100 inches before the border and about 82 by 102 inches after it, with a generous drop over the sides and the foot of a queen bed.

The border is a round of single crochet and a round of little picot shells. I worked out the counts so the shells fall evenly on every side for any size of cover, with a fuller shell turning each corner. The stitches used are chain, slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and treble crochet, all familiar ones. What makes this pattern intermediate is the number of pieces and the care needed to place the leaves the same way on every square.

The finished cover is soft, pretty and very feminine, with a gentle weight from all those granny clusters. The leaves stand up slightly from the background, so the cover has a lovely texture you can feel with your fingertips. Rose, raspberry and cream suit a romantic bedroom, a girl's room, a cottage guest room or any space with white furniture and fresh flowers. If you enjoy granny squares and want something with more personality, this is a wonderful project to make.

I love projects where the pieces are small and the result is big, and this bed cover is exactly that. A single leaf takes me about ten minutes. I make them in little batches, five rose and five raspberry, while I wait for the kettle or sit in the garden in the afternoon. They pile up in a basket like a heap of fallen petals, and every time I look at that basket I feel happy. It is such a gentle way to make progress on a large project.

The two pinks are a big part of why I love it. Rose pink is soft and sweet, and raspberry is deep and rich, almost like a ripe berry. Side by side they make each other look even better, and on the cream background both colors glow. I chose to keep matching leaves opposite each other, so every square has a calm balance, but the cover still looks lively because the colors alternate in the flowers where the corners meet.

My favorite moment is joining the first four squares. Until then, each square is a pretty pinwheel, but nothing more. Then you stitch four of them together, and suddenly a big pink flower appears right in the middle, made from the tips of four leaves. I remember laughing out loud the first time it happened, because I had planned it and it still felt like a surprise. Every new row adds a whole line of these flowers.

Here are a few habits that made this project smooth for me:

• Make one complete square with its leaves first, so you can check the size and the look.
• Leave a long tail on every leaf; you will use it to sew the leaf on.
• Pin all four leaves before you sew any of them.
• Keep a finished square nearby as your guide, so every square matches.

I also love how restful the granny squares are. After the leaves, which need a little counting, the cream squares are pure comfort. Three double crochet, a chain, three more, around and around, and the corners come almost by themselves. I can make a granny square while chatting or watching a film, and I barely look at my hands. That mix of easy rounds and small detailed leaves keeps the project interesting from start to finish.

This cover changes a bedroom completely. It brings warmth and a sense of spring, even on a grey winter day. With pink curtains, fresh flowers on the nightstand and a soft cream rug, the room feels like a little rose garden. Yet the cream background keeps it light and calm, so it never feels too sweet. It is the kind of bed you want to climb into with a good book and a cup of tea.

Finally, I love it as a gift. A friend's daughter received one for her first apartment, and she told me it made the new place feel like home from the very first night. A bed cover like this carries many hours of care, and the person who receives it can feel that in every leaf. If you make it for your own bed, enjoy every flower, because you have earned each one.

Choose new leaf colors. The design looks lovely in many palettes. Sage and olive green leaves on cream look like real foliage and suit a calm, natural bedroom. Rust and mustard leaves feel warm and autumnal, while two shades of blue on white are fresh and coastal. Lavender and plum make a soft, dreamy cover. Keep the two leaf colors one light and one dark, and keep the background in a pale neutral so the leaves stand out clearly.

Make it for any bed. Each square is about 10 inches, so new sizes are simple to plan. Add or remove columns for the width and rows for the length, and remember that every square needs four leaves. These sizes are before the border:

• Twin: 6 by 10 squares, 60 squares and 240 leaves, about 60 by 100 inches
• Full: 7 by 10 squares, 70 squares and 280 leaves, about 70 by 100 inches
• Queen: 8 by 10 squares, 80 squares and 320 leaves, about 80 by 100 inches
• King: 10 by 10 squares, 100 squares and 400 leaves, about 100 by 100 inches

The border works for every size, because each side of Border Rnd 1 always has 44 stitches per square plus 1, which divides evenly into the 4-stitch shell repeat.

Make a sofa throw. Five columns by six rows, 30 squares and 120 leaves, makes a throw of about 52 by 62 inches with the border. It uses a little under 40 percent of the yarn, so it is a good way to try the leaves and the joining before committing to a full bed. Folded over the arm of a sofa, the pink flowers at the corners show beautifully, and it makes a lovely Mother's Day or birthday gift.

Make a baby blanket. Three columns by four rows, 12 squares and 48 leaves, gives a blanket of about 32 by 42 inches. For a baby, choose a soft cotton blend or a washable baby yarn, and sew every leaf down all the way around its edge, not just at the base and tip, so tiny fingers cannot pull them. Pale pink and peach leaves on white, or mint and sage on cream, look sweet in a nursery.

Add matching pillows. One square makes a small 10 inch pillow, four squares joined 2 by 2 make a 20 inch cushion, and six squares joined 3 by 2 make a standard sham front. You can also make a solid pink pillow in rows of single crochet and sew one raspberry leaf in the middle, which is how the pink pillows on my bed were made. Work the picot shell border around each pillow front to tie it to the cover.

Change the leaf arrangement. Instead of matching opposite leaves, you can make all four leaves on a square the same color and alternate rose squares with raspberry squares like a checkerboard. You can also turn the leaves so they point to the middle of each side instead of the corners. Then the leaf tips meet along the seams instead of the corners and form a chain of diamonds across the bed. Lay out a few squares before you decide.

Change the edge. The picot shells are pretty and soft, but you can make the edge your own. Work the border in rose pink for a colorful frame, or add a round of raspberry single crochet before the shells. For a simpler finish, stop after Border Rnd 1 and work one round of reverse single crochet for a rounded rope edge. Any edge with a 4-stitch repeat fits the counts exactly.

Change the yarn weight. In DK cotton with a 4 mm hook, each square comes out about 8 inches, so a queen cover needs about 10 by 12 squares, 120 in all. In bulky yarn with a 6 mm hook, the squares grow to about 12 inches, and a queen needs only 7 by 8 squares, 56 in all. The leaves grow or shrink with the yarn, so they still fit their squares. Always make one complete square first and measure it before you buy yarn.