[Free Pattern] Hanabira Mochi Amigurumi Crochet Pattern・[無料編み図] 正月の和菓子: かぎ針編み花びら餅

Originally planned to post this crochet pattern of the hanabira mochi amigurumi on January 15th, which is Koshogatsu小正月 (Little New Year) in Japan. But that didn't materialise as I got caught up with the Chinese New Year festivities and preparing for our trip.

Ending January 2023 with hanabira mochi from Kagurazaka Isuzu, Tokyo (IG)

On this trip (IG Stories), I was able to find and eat hanabira mochi花びら 餅 as it was still January. I found it while wandering around Kagurazaka, one of Tokyo's many charming neighbourhoods, in a wagashi-ya called Kagurazaka Isuzu神楽坂 五十鈴. Whenever in Japan, I like to visit wagashi-ya和菓子屋 and kanmidokoro甘味処 to enjoy traditional Japanese confections and to buy some as omiyage to bring home. The latter isn't always possible as a lot of wagashi和菓子 (e.g. most of the mochi, namagashi, etc.) have to be consumed within 2-3 days.

That night, I ate the hanabira mochi as an after-dinner snack, along with a pot of houjicha. It was indeed a unique wagashi, being a balance of both savoury and sweet, as well as crunchy and soft. The combination of crunchy candied gobo burdock together with the soft, sticky gyuhi mochi and smooth miso-an was really good. Not what I expected.

As mentioned, the hanabira mochi is a traditional Shogatsu (New Year) wagashi but I've already talked about it extensively in a previous post, so I won't rehash its origins and history, and go straight into my amigurumi version and the pattern (jump to pattern).

Crochet hanabira mochi, inspired by the Shogatsu wagashi of the same name.

This crochet hanabira mochi is a quick and easy make. As previously posted, the real thing is unsealed at the sides, so I chose to do the same for my crochet version, and replicated crochet versions of the mochi's fillings too. When making this, I also looked up real hanabira mochi and some recipes to see how the wagashi is made. Some of the references include this video tutorial by Urasenke chado practitioner Kiyoshi Machiko, this recipe and video tutorial by Wagashi Fuku, and this video tutorial by Leo's Japanese Dojo.

The crochet version consists of 4 components: (1) a white, oval mochi piece; (2) a pink, square hishi mochi piece; (3) a beige, semicircular miso-an piece; and (4) a light brown, long gobo burdock piece. Pieces (2), (3) and (4) are the inner components of the amigurumi.

From the sides of the finished work, the inner components can be glimpsed, like the real hanabira mochi, but barely, and I personally think they're not similar enough. That said, it is a lot less work to just make the white mochi and gobo burdock stick, and just stuff the work with fiberfill instead.

Crochet hanabira mochi, unsealed at the sides so the inner components are visible.

Unlike the real thing, I can't get the pink of the hishi mochi to show through the white mochi piece, and so pink colouring (like non-toxic pastel, water soluble paint, or even cosmetic blush) is needed to colour the exterior. But it can be left uncoloured too.

Anyway, to wrap it up (haha)... below is the pattern for the crochet hanabira mochi amigurumi.

HANABIRA MOCHI AMIGURUMI CROCHET PATTERN

Materials & Tools:
• Yarn in white, pink, beige and light brown
• 2.5mm and 3.0mm crochet hooks
• Stuffing
• Stitch markers
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Pink colouring, e.g. non-toxic pastel or water soluble paint (optional)
• Safety eyes (optional)
• Embroidery thread (optional)

For this amigurumi, I used Lion Brand Feels Like Butta in white for the mochi, Scheepjes Catona No.409 Soft Rose for the hishi mochi, No.404 English Tea for the miso-an and No.179 Topaz for the gobo burdock.

Abbreviations (US terms):
R : round or row (as the case may be)
MR : magic ring
ch : chain
sl st : slip stitch
st(s) : stitch(es)
sc : single crochet
hdc : half double crochet
inc : increase - 2 sc in the same st
3-sc inc : 3 sc increase - 3 sc in the same st
(...) : a set of pattern instructions
[...] : total number of sts in the round/row

Finished Size:
Approx. 10.5 cm × 4 cm × 2.5 cm

MOCHI

Using white yarn and 2.5mm 3mm hook, work in rounds,
R1. Ch 6, 3 sc in the 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc, 2 sc in the last ch, rotate piece and work along the other side of the ch: 4 sc. [12]
R2. (3 inc, 3 sc) 2 times. [18]
R3. (inc, sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (inc, sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [22]
R4. (1 sc, inc, 1 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (1 sc, inc, 1 sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [28]
R5. (inc, 3 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (inc, 3 sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [34]
R6. (2 sc, inc, 2 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (2 sc, inc, 2 sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [40]
R7. (inc, 5 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (inc, 5 sc) 3 times, 3 sc[46].
R8. (3 sc, inc, 3 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, 3 sc, inc, 3 sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [52]
R9. FLO 52 sl st. [52]
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.

HISHI MOCHI

Using pink yarn and 2.5mm hook, work in rounds,
R1. 6 sc in MR. [6]
R2. 6 inc. [12]
R3. 1 sc, (3-sc inc, 2 sc) 3 times, 3-sc inc, 1 sc. [20]
R4. 2 sc, (3-sc inc, 4 sc) 3 times, 3-sc inc, 2 sc. [28]
R5. 3 sc, (3-sc inc, 6 sc) 3 times, 3-sc inc, 3 sc. [36]
Fasten off and weave in end.

MISO-AN

Using beige yarn and 2.5mm hook, work in rounds,
R1. Ch 6, 3 sc in the 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc, 2 sc in the last ch, rotate piece and work along the other side of the ch: 4 sc. [12]
R2. (3 inc, 3 sc) 2 times. [18]
R3. (inc, sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (inc, sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [22]
R4. (1 sc, inc, 1 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (1 sc, inc, 1 sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [28]
R5. (inc, 3 sc) 3 times, 3 sc, (inc, 3 sc) 3 times, 3 sc. [34]
R6. Fold the work in half, ch 1 and sc the edges together. [17] Before completely closing the piece, stuff lightly. Over-stuffing this component will make the amigurumi difficult to assemble and close.
Fasten off and hide end inside the work.

GOBO BURDOCK STICK

Using tan or light brown yarn and 2.5mm hook,
R1. 6 Ch 31, starting in 2nd ch from hook, 29 hdc, 4 hdc in last ch, rotate and work into the other side of the ch, 29 hdc. [62]
R2. Ch 1, fold the work in half and sl st the edges close. [31]
Fasten off and hide end inside the work.

TO COMPLETE

1. Colouring the centre of the white mochi piece pink is optional. If adding colour, use a brush and ground pastel or non-toxic water soluble paint to lightly colour the centre of the amigurumi pink.
   
   For my amigurumi, I actually left it uncoloured and only digitally added colour to the photograph. For some amigurumi I've made previously, e.g. the kueh bangkit amigurumi, I've used cosmetic blush when there's no chance of the kids ever playing with them.

2. If using safety eyes, insert them at desired location on the white mochi (see the picture above for reference). Embroider the face on the white mochi before attaching the inner components.

3. Turn the white mochi to the wrong side, and arrange the hishi mochi, burdock stick and miso-an as shown below. Pin them in place if needed.

   

   Crochet hanabira mochi, on the inside.

4. Using the white yarn tail, make small hidden stitches at various intervals on these 3 pieces to secure them to the white mochi.

5. Fold over the white mochi. Using the white yarn tail, join the 2 edges at the centre with hidden stitches, but leave the sides open. Secure and hide the end.

And it's done!

Crochet hanabira mochi (IG).

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Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have fun making this crochet wagashi. As with all my other patterns, I would love to see how your finished items turned out, so please tag me with my Instagram handle @yotsuba_blythes.

While I'm happy to share my pattern without charge and would be delighted to see it being used, please note that my pattern is for personal use only. Please respect my legal and moral rights as the author with respect to this pattern and all the images therein. This pattern and images are not for commercial use, sale or distribution. The sale of this pattern or any of the images is not permitted without my prior written consent. If you wish to share this pattern, please link to this post and my Instagram profile @yotsuba_blythes. You are welcome to sell limited quantities of the finished items you have made from this pattern. Thank you.