Crochet Snowflake Hydra

What you’ll need
For my beautiful Crochet Snowflake Hydra, I used cotton thread size 10 and a 2 mm crochet hook. The finished motif is 10,5 cm (about 4 inches) in diameter. You can use heavier thread and bigger hook, or thinner thread and smaller hook and you will have a bigger or smaller motif. You will also need a needle to weave in loose ends and a pair of scissors.
To stiffen the snowflakes you will need white pva glue, stainless steel pins (or toothpicks), plastic wrap and some kind of foam/blocking board.

Instructions
Make a magic ring.

• Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the ring, (ch 3, 2 dc in the ring) 5 times, pull the thread end to tighten the ring, ch 1, hdc in 3rd ch of first ch3 (counts as last ch-3 sp).
• Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in same sp, * in next ch-3 sp work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc); repeat from * 5 times, in next ch-3 sp work 3 dc, ch 1, hdc in 3rd ch of first ch3 (counts as last ch-3 sp).
• Round 3: Ch 1, sc in same sp, * ch 6, dtr in 3rd dc and in 4th dc, ch 6 **, sc in ch-3 sp; repeat from * 5 times and from * to ** once more. Join with sl st in first sc.
• Round 4: Ch 1, * sc in sc, ch 8, dc in each of next 2 dtr, ch 8; repeat from * 6 times. Join with sl st in first sc.
• Round 5: Ch 1, * sc in sc, ch 10, dc in dc, ch 8, dc in next dc, ch 10; repeat from * 6 times. Join with sl st in first sc.

Fasten off and weave in loose ends.

Stiffening
Print out this blocking template. It will help you make your snowflakes symmetrical. Tape it on your blocking board and then cover it with plastic wrap.
Prepare a mix of equal amounts of white craft glue and water, or use your preferred stiffening solution.
Soak the snowflake in the solution, squeeze out the excess and spread out the snowflake on the plastic wrap-covered pinning board, having right side facing up. Use stainless steel pins and start by pinning the center. Work your way out pinning as you go until you reach the desired look. While it is still wet, you can sprinkle glitter and make it sparkly. Let dry completely. Remove from the board.
To hang the snowflake, attach a piece of thread, yarn, ribbon, invisible thread or wire.

The stiffening solution will permanently damage your pins, so it’s best to set the used ones aside for use in future starching projects.