Every culture and civilization throughout human history has developed a folklore and meaning behind the existence of the dragonfly.

“The dragonfly spiritually embodies the stripping away of negativity that holds us back, helping us to achieve our dreams and goals. Dragonflies are the keepers of dreams, the energy within that sees all of our true potential and ability. Dragonflies inspire spirituality and creativity, they help us on the path of discovery and enlightenment. They remind us that anything is possible. “ - Unknown.

This pattern was originally created as the store crochet pattern for Apricot Yarn and Supply in San Diego, CA to be given away during the 2019 San Diego Yarn Crawl.
It is worked in three sections: the border sections, the body section and the center section. Each has a different pattern layout, but comes together to form a cohesive design. Each dragonfly consists of 13 stitches across and seven (7) row tall. The overall center section is fifteen (15) rows tall.

Designer’s note:
When Sara from Apricot first asked me if I would be interested in doing a pattern for the yarn crawl, even though I said yes I really didn’t know what I would do. I was pretty “shelled out”. I knew it needed to be relatively easy, but I wanted it to be fun to stitch as well. A short time later, I saw a compelling stitch pattern posted by https://ellej.org/en/d-fly/ that was the base or downward facing dragonfly. I knew immediately that this would make a good body element for a shawl pattern. Dragonflies have had a special meaning for me for a while and I loved the idea of bringing that form to a beautiful piece. I also knew that I didn’t want to just stagger the elements across and set about creating my own upward facing dragonfly to mirror the one ellej had created. I then sketched up 4 different designs that combined the elements and had our weekly stitch group at the shop vote on them. What you see in the middle section is the winning design. Some tests later with border elements yielded the overall design of this pattern.
I hope you enjoy making this pattern as much as I enjoyed creating both the pattern and the final sample! And may the dragonfly inspire you as much as she has me.