Crochet Clover Bookmark

This crochet clover bookmark is a flat four-leaf clover with a long stem and a little leaf, and it's made in one piece: no sewing at all. The clover sits on top of your book, the stem and leaf hold your page. It takes about 15 yards of green DK cotton, a 3 mm hook and about 45 minutes.

Key Takeaways

• One piece, one color, zero seams: the stem grows straight out of the clover, so it can't come unstitched.
• Real heart-shaped leaflets: a shorter stitch in the middle of each leaflet plus a slip stitch in the outline pull in the little dip.
• The stem doesn't stretch. It's single crochet in the back bumps of a chain.
• Size it to your book: about 6 stitches per inch, so add or remove chains for a paperback or a big hardcover.

Why I love this clover bookmark

A four-leaf clover is a wish for good luck, and a bookmark is the one handmade gift that gets used every day. Put the two together and you have the little present I tuck into birthday cards, give to readers before an exam, and make by the handful in March for St. Patrick's Day.

What I like best about this one is that there's nothing to sew. Bookmarks get tugged out of books hundreds of times, and a sewn stem is always the first thing to give way. Here the stem is chained straight off the last round of the clover, the leaf is made at the far end, and you crochet back up the stem to finish right where you started.

Skill level. Easy. You need a magic ring, chains, single crochet, half double, double and treble crochet, and joining rounds with a slip stitch. The two less common moves, working into the back bump of a chain and surface slip stitches for the leaf vein, are explained step by step in Part 2.

If you'd rather make a flower, my crochet flower bookmark uses the same stem and leaf with a pink six-petal flower on top.

What you'll need

Yarn: about 15 yd (14 m) of green DK #3 cotton, such as Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK or any smooth DK cotton. A bright grass or apple green looks the most like a real clover.

I worked this amount out from the stitch count, with a margin for tails, so treat it as an estimate. One long scrap is often enough. Cotton is the best choice: it holds a crisp outline and doesn't shed fuzz onto the pages like some acrylics do.

Hook and notions

• 3 mm hook (between US C/2 and D/3; a 3.25 mm D/3 works too). It's a little smaller than the ball band suggests, so the stitches are tight and the clover stays flat.
• A tapestry needle, scissors and a stitch marker.
• Optional: spray starch, if you want the leaflets extra crisp. Skip it if you don't have any.

Gauge and finished size

Gauge isn't critical, but tension is: keep it firm so the clover lies flat. With DK cotton and a 3 mm hook, the finished clover is about 2½ in (6.5 cm) across. The stem makes about 6 stitches per inch, so the 40-stitch stem is about 6¾ in (17 cm) long, and the leaf adds about 1¾ in (4.5 cm). These are estimates: measure your first one against your book.

Abbreviations (US crochet terms)

• MR: magic ring
• ch: chain
• sl st: slip stitch
• sc: single crochet
• hdc: half double crochet
• dc: double crochet
• tr: treble crochet
• sk: skip
• st(s): stitch(es)
• R: round

All the clover rounds are joined rounds: close each one with a sl st in the first stitch. When a round starts with ch 1, that ch 1 doesn't count as a stitch. Stitch counts are in parentheses at the end of each round.

The pattern, step by step

The whole bookmark is one piece in one color. You make the clover first, then, without fastening off, chain the stem, make the leaf at the far end and crochet back up the stem to the clover.

Part 1: The clover (green)

The magic ring is the center of the clover. The side facing you as you work is the front.

• R1: 8 sc in a MR. Pull the ring closed tightly and sl st in the first sc. (8)
• R2: ch 1. Starting in the same st as the join, (sc in the next st, ch 6, sk the next st) 4 times in total. Sl st in the first sc. (4 sc and 4 ch-6 loops)

Each ch-6 loop is the base of one leaflet. The 4 sc are the anchors between the leaflets, and because each loop only skips one stitch, the leaflets start narrow at the center, like the point of a heart.

Leaflets.

• R3: sl st in the first ch-6 loop. In that loop, work (sc, hdc, 2 dc, 2 tr, dc, 2 tr, 2 dc, hdc, sc). Repeat the same group in each ch-6 loop, 4 times in total. Sl st in the first sc. (4 leaflets of 13 sts, 52 sts)

Look at one leaflet: the two pairs of trebles are the two round lobes of the heart, and the single dc between them is shorter, so it already makes a small dip. The last sc of one leaflet and the first sc of the next sit side by side, right over the anchor sc of R2.

Outline. This round gives each leaflet its neat raised edge and pulls the dip into a real heart shape.

• R4: don't ch 1. Working into the sts of R3 and starting in the sc you joined into, (sl st in the sc, sc in the hdc, sc in each of the next 2 dc, 2 sc in each of the next 2 tr, sl st in the middle dc, 2 sc in each of the next 2 tr, sc in each of the next 2 dc, sc in the hdc, sl st in the last sc of the leaflet). Work this 4 times in total, once around each leaflet. Sl st in the first sl st. (68 sts: 17 per leaflet)

Pull the sl st in the middle of each leaflet snug: that's what draws the top of the heart in. Don't fasten off. The loop on your hook now sits in the gap between two leaflets: that gap is the bottom of the clover, where the stem grows out.

Tip: the leaflets look like round petals, not hearts? Check that the stitch in the middle of each leaflet is a dc on R3 (not a tr) and a sl st on R4 (not a sc). Those two short stitches make the dip.

Part 2: The stem and leaf (keep going, same yarn)

Foundation. With the loop still on your hook at the bottom of the clover, ch 51. The first 40 chains (closest to the clover) are the stem; the last 11 are for the leaf. (To change the stem length, see the chart below. Only the 40 changes: the leaf always uses the last 11 chains.)

Leaf, side 1. Starting in the 2nd ch from the hook (this end is the tip of the leaf) and working back toward the clover:

• sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, dc in each of the next 2 chs, tr in each of the next 2 chs, dc in each of the next 2 chs, hdc in the next ch, sc in the last leaf ch. (10 sts)

That last sc sits in the 41st chain from the clover, right next to the stem: that's the base of the leaf.

Leaf, side 2. Turn the leaf so the free loops of the chain are on top, and work back toward the tip, in the free loop of the same chains:

• sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, dc in each of the next 2 chs, tr in each of the next 2 chs, dc in each of the next 2 chs, hdc in the next ch, sc in the next ch. (10 sts)

Tip. ch 2, sl st in the first sc of side 1. This makes a little point.

Vein. Now travel back to the base along the middle of the leaf with surface slip stitches. Hold the leaf right side up with the yarn underneath it. Insert the hook down through the leaf on the center line (the gap between the two sides, right along the foundation chain), yarn over underneath and pull a loop up through the leaf and through the loop on the hook. Work about 9 of these sl sts, evenly spaced, until you reach the base. They make a raised vein down the middle, like a real leaf.

Stem. Work back up the stem toward the clover:

• sc in the back bump of each of the 40 stem chains. (40 sc)

The back bump is the little ridge on the back of each chain. Working into it leaves the neat "V" of the chain on the outside, so the stem looks the same on both sides and doesn't stretch.

Close it. When you reach the clover, sl st in the first sl st of R4 (the stitch the stem chain started from). Fasten off, leaving a 6-in (15 cm) tail. Thread it on the needle and make 3 or 4 small stitches across the top of the stem through the back of the clover, so the join can take a good tug, then weave the tail through the backs of the stitches and trim. Weave in the starting tail from the magic ring the same way.

Stem length for your book. Measured from the bottom of the clover to the tip of the leaf, the bookmark should be about 1 in (2.5 cm) shorter than the page, so the leaf stays inside the book and the clover sits just above the top edge. The 40-stitch stem fits a book about 9½ in tall.

Book	Page height	Stem chains (the first number)	Total ch
Mass-market paperback	about 6¾ in (17 cm)	24	35
Trade paperback	about 8 in (20 cm)	32	43
Large paperback or small hardcover	about 8½ in (21.5 cm)	35	46
Standard hardcover	about 9½ in (24 cm)	40	51

Every 6 chains add or remove about 1 in. If you change the count, the stem round has the same number of sc as the stem chains.

Part 3: The finishing touches

Leaflet veins (optional, but they make it look like a real clover). Cut a 20-in (50 cm) length of the same green and thread it on the needle. On the front of the clover, backstitch a line from the center to the dip of each leaflet: 3 small backstitches per leaflet, along the middle, between the two lobes. Carry the yarn across the back to the next leaflet, catching only the backs of the stitches so nothing shows on the front. Knot the two ends together on the back and weave them in.

Block it. Pin the clover flat on an ironing board or a folded towel, mist it with water (or spray starch for crisper leaflets), shape each heart with your fingers and let it dry. Steam or pin the stem straight at the same time. It stays flat between the pages for much longer.

How to use it. Slide the stem and leaf between the pages, with the clover sitting above the top edge of the book. Don't close a heavy book on the clover itself: it's flat, but weeks under the pages can bend the leaflets.

Make it yours — quick variations

Variation	Change from the base pattern
Three-leaf shamrock	R1: 6 sc in a MR. R2: (sc, ch 6, sk 1) 3 times in total. Work R3 and R4 the same, 3 times in total (39 sts, then 51 sts).
Two-tone clover	Work R1 in a lighter green, fasten off, and join the main green for R2.
Gold for luck	Make the whole bookmark in green, then work the leaflet veins in gold or mustard yarn.
Two leaves	Make a second leaf on its own: leave a 6-in starting tail, ch 11, then work the two leaf sides, the tip and the vein as above. Both tails end at the base: use them to sew it to the stem about 2 in above the first leaf.
Long curly stem	Add 20 chains to the stem for a stem you can lay in a loop across the page, or tie around a gift. The stem round gets 20 more sc.
Gift tag	Make a shorter stem (ch 20 + 11) and tie it around a jar or a present with ribbon.

Troubleshooting the three things that go wrong

The leaflets curl up like a cup

Your tension is tighter on R3 than on R4, or the hook is too small for your yarn. Press each leaflet flat and block the clover (see Part 3). If it still cups, go up to a 3.25 mm hook for R3 and R4 only.

The edges ruffle

There are too many stitches in the outline. Check that R3 has exactly 13 sts per leaflet and that you work only 2 sc in each treble on R4. If your yarn is on the thick side for a DK, work 1 sc in the first and last treble of each leaflet instead.

The stem twists into a spiral

A chain with sc in its back bumps sometimes twists a little, especially if the chains were tight. Make the foundation chain looser than your usual chain (or with a hook one size up), and steam or block the stem straight. A gentle curve looks lovely in a book anyway.