White Garden Lily - Knitted Artificial Flowers

Here are knitting instructions form Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine March 1861. You are welcome to use these instructions however way you like. I have not made this myself, so if anyone makes it, feel free to live a comment about the difficultly of the instructions.

Six petals, six stamens, one pistil, are required to form each flower; two knitting-needles, NO. 19, and a skein of superfine white Shetland wool.

Cast on four stitches.
1st row. - Slip one, purl two, knit one
2d. - Make one, purl one, knit two, purl one.
3d. - Make one, knit one, purl two, knit two.
4th. - Make one, purl two, knit two, purl two.
5th - Make one, knit two, purl two, knit two, purl one.
6th - Make one, knit one, purl two, knit two, purl two, knit one.
7th - make one, purl one, knit two, and purl two alternately to the end of the row.
8th.- make one, knit two, purl two alternately to the end of the row.
9th.- Make one, purl two, knit two to end of row; knit last stitch plain.
10th- Make one, purl two, knit two to end of row; purl the last stitch.
11th - make one, knit one, knit and purl two alternately to the end of row.

You will now have fourteen inches, making seven ribs: continue these seven ribs until you have knitted a length of three inches from the beginning of the work. Break off the wool leaving a bit long enough to thread a rug needle with; with this needle take up seven stitches, which you must fasten off; then the other seven, and fasten in the same way, which completes one petal. Take a piece of fine wire sufficiently long to leave a small bit at the end for a stalk, and sew it neatly round the edge of the petal with white wood, which will make it in form.

Pistil. - cut a length of wire of about eight inches, fold a bit of green Berlin wool in six and split in two another bit of the same wool; place this lengthwise with the other wool, and place the wire across the wool, fold the wire down, and twist it as tightly as possible, thus in closing the wool; turn down the shortest end of the split wool, and twist the longest round it and the wire, so as to cover them evenly; fasten the wool with a slip-knot at the end of the stem. Cut off a part of the green wool at the top, so as to leave merely a neat little tuft of wool at the end of the wire.

Stamens are made in the same way as the pistil, merely using yellow Berlin wool instead of green, and covering the stem with white instead of green. Place one stamen with every petal, twisting the wires of both together. the pistil is to be placed in the centre of the flowers when made up. Sew the petals together, leaving them open about an inch at the top, as neatly as possible, and draw them close at the bottom, twisting the stems together.

Buds.- several buds are required; the large ones are of a very pale shade of green, the smaller ones of rather deeper color. they look best in double knitting, and should be done in different sizes from twelve to twenty stitches. Knit about an inch of these different widths, and open them like a little bag. Take a piece of coarse wire, double some common wool about the thickness of your finger, put it across the wire, which must be folded down and twisted very tight; put this wool into the little bag, and gather the stitches of the bud at the top, catching the wire with your needle to fasten it. this will form the shape of the bud; fasten the stitches also at the bottom, and cover the stem with green wool split in two.

Leaves- Different shades and sizes are required. Begin them all at the top, casting on four stitches; they look best in double knitting, without putting the wool twice round the needle; increase one stitch every second or third row, till you have eight stitches for the smallest, and sixteen for the largest size. Continue to knit without increase, till the leaf is the required length. The longest should be about a finger length, the smaller in proportion. the longest must be placed at the bottom of the stem when making up.

To finish a leaf, pull your needle out, and thread a rug needle with the wool, and pass it through the stitches so as to form a little bag, into which you must insert a bit of double wire; catch this at the top or sides to fix it, and it will keep the leaf in shape. Draw the wool tight on the while the stitches are threaded, and twist the wool at bottom round the little stem.

The next operation consists in mounting the branch. Begin at the top with the smallest bud, round the stem of which some green wire must be twisted. fix it at the top of a piece of bonnet wire, the length required for the long stem; continue to twist the wool round, and thus fasten the second bud, and the rest in the same way, at very small intervals. the flowers are fastened in a similar manner, according to taste, adding the leaves as needed.

Six buds, three flowers, and eight or ten leaves, form a beautiful branch.

Although the petals of the lily can be made up with the wool as it is, they look much better if, after being knitted, they are washed with a little blue in the water, and quickly dried, before the wire is put round them.