In 1202 a mathematician known as Fibonacci introduced the concept of the Fibonacci sequence of numbers to the Western world in his book, Liber Abaci. Many objects in nature, such as flowers, display properties related to the Fibonacci sequence.

The next number in the Fibonacci sequence is always found by adding the two previous numbers together, like so:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34…

This pattern contains instructions for several different flowers with petals in the Fibonacci sequence, starting with a row of either 2 or 3 petals, and goes up to a possible 13-petal row. Thread can be fastened off at any point at the completion of a row of petals, allowing for numerous possibilities for types and sizes of flowers.

My favorite version of these flowers was done with a vintage acrylic yarn that corresponds to size 3 thread. Acrylic seems to hold its shape in this pattern better than cotton. The photos in the tutorial consist of flowers made with this yarn.