It’s week 29 and we’re back in one of our favorite places…New Zealand!  We’re looking for the Ponga tree with Jenness Fulton who lives in the Manawatu with her husband and three children.  Her Friends Around the World 3 square was inspired by these beautiful silver fern trees.

The Ponga tree fern (Cyathea dealbata) is unique  to Aotearora and are distinct from other ferns because of having a silver or white colour on the underside of the leaves, hence being given the common name “silver fern”. Because of their uniqueness to Aotearoa, and distinct colour they are often used as New Zealand emblems.  Jenness designed the square to show the view either from the top of the ponga tree or from the bottom looking up. The square is designed to be made in a single colour but you can also make a version where you do all the front post stitches in a contrasting colour.

Jenness first taught herself to crochet in 2014 using YouTube and photo tutorials. She started making her own designs the following year so that she could accessorize a road mat blanket that she made for my children. Most of what she’s designed  has been amigurumi vehicles for her kids or for gifts.  She found designing a square a bit different, especially since she has never worked with with worsted weight before.

You can find the written pattern here: Ponga Tree by Jenness Fulton

You can find the video link here:  Ponga Tree YouTube tutorial by Tania Leis

Extra Stuff

Yarn Requirements

Check out our post on yarn requirements here.  Here’s what the testers used for this square:

Lynette:  Worsted/Aran, 113 grams

Marjolein:  Stylecraft Special DK, 32 grams

Silvana:  Herrschners Worsted 8, 82 grams

Aprille:  Stylecraft Aran, 78 grams

Micki: Worsted, 98 grams

Important Additional Pattern Info

Don’t forget you will need to add an extra three rounds to your square to achieve the final 48 st/side count which is necessary for joining. You can find the instructions for all squares here. Translations for these additional rounds can be found here.    The extra rounds will vary slightly from week to week because the squares vary in ending stitch counts so be sure to follow the directions for each square.

Ponga Tree ends with a 38 stitch count on each side.  You will need to add an additional 10 stitches per side for a total of 48 stitches per side.

Rnd 1: Begin with a standing sc (stsc) in any corner chsp, (sc, ch2, 2sc) in same corner chsp, sc to end of side. *(2sc, ch2, 2sc) in corner chsp. Sc to end of side * repeat from * to * 2 more times. Join with slst to beginning stsc. (42sts, ch2) per side)

Rnd 2: Begin with a standing sc (stsc) in any corner chsp, ch1, (ch2, sc) in same corner chsp, sc to end of side. *(sc, ch2, sc) in corner chsp. Sc to end of side * repeat from * to * 2 more times. Join with slst to beginning stsc. times. (44sts, ch2 per side)

Rnd 3: Begin with a standing sc (stsc)in any corner chsp, (sc, ch2, 2sc) in same corner chsp, sc to end of side. *(2sc, ch2, 2sc) in corner chsp. Sc to end of side * repeat from * to * 2 more times. Join with slst to beginning stsc.  (48sts, ch2 per side)

We’ve got a long plane ride ahead of us to get back to the US next week.  No time to linger among the Ponga trees in lovely New Zealand.  It’ll be summer where we’re going so dress accordingly!!!

See you soon!