Free preview · full pattern in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Card-Basket with Geraniums and Forget-me-nots (1850): vintage crochet pattern
A small round basket for visiting cards in shaded green and amber Berlin wool, stiffened with wire and trimmed with crocheted geraniums, geranium buds, forget-me-nots and leaf sprays. Originally published as "Card-Basket" in The Lady's Album of Fancy Work for 1850 by Not printed (the Address names only “the Publishers of the Lady's Album of Fancy-Work”) in 1850.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Advanced |
| Yarn weight | Super fine (#1) |
| Yardage | As printed: 2 skeins each of blue and green; shaded wools not quantified. |
| Hook | 3.25 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. Work to the size of the article. |
| Finished size | Not printed. |
| Time | about 12 hours |
Materials
- Fingering-weight (CYC #1) soft wool, approximating four-thread Berlin wool: shaded (ombré) green, shaded amber and shaded geranium; 2 skeins blue and 2 skeins plain green (skein size not printed)
- About 2 yd (1.8 m) of craft wire
- Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
- Hook: Start with 3.25 mm (US D-3) and adjust to suit your yarn; no gauge is printed.
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #1 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Knit Picks Stroll Sock · 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon
231 yds per skein · Durable stitch definition, machine washable
2 skeins required
approx. $$13.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- slip stitch
- single crochet
- double crochet
- treble crochet
- double treble crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- row
- repeat
- skip
- loop
Notes before you start
- Source: "Card-Basket", The Lady's Album of Fancy Work for 1850, Not printed (the Address names only “the Publishers of the Lady's Album of Fancy-Work”), 1850. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: Shaded green, shaded amber, shaded geranium-colour, Berlin wool; two skeins of blue, two of green, Berlin wool, and two yards of wire, will also be required.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitch names converted to modern US terms strictly by the book's own “Explanation of the Various Terms used in Crochet”, not by modern UK usage: “double crochet” / “close double crochet” / “d c” = sc; “single crochet” / “single” / “s c” = sl st; “long stitch” / “long” / “l s” = dc; “double long stitch” / “d l s” = tr; “treble long stitch” / “t l s” = dtr; “chain” / “c s” = ch; “single open crochet” = dc, ch 1, sk 1; “chain-stitch open crochet” = ch loops (5 or another odd number) joined into every 3rd st, then into the centre of each loop below; “three chain crochet” = the same with ch-3 loops; “miss” = sk; “unite” = join (the joining stitch is not named). Note that the book's “double crochet” is a modern sc and its “single crochet” a modern sl st.
- Modernisation note: Period wording modernised: “needle” / “tambour-needle” written as “hook”; “commence” as “begin”; “cotton” / “thread” as “thread”; “receipt” as “directions”. Round and row numbers are kept as printed.
- Modernisation note: Printed paragraphs split into one step per row, round or instruction; no stitches, counts or rows added, removed or reordered. Words in square brackets or marked “Check:” are ours.
- Modernisation note: Berlin wool was a fine, soft worsted-spun wool. Four-thread Berlin wool is approximated as fingering weight (CYC #1), eight-thread or “double” Berlin wool as sport to DK weight (CYC #2–3). “Shaded” wool changes gradually from light to dark along the strand (modern ombré or self-striping yarn). Where the thread count is not printed, four-thread is assumed. Check: approximate.
- Modernisation note: No hook size and no gauge is printed. The modern starting hook is an approximate suggestion only.
- Modernisation note: Colour swatches are approximate modern readings of the period colour names; they are not in the book. “Drab” is a dull greyish brown; “puce” a dark purplish brown; “cerise” a deep cherry pink; “geranium” a bright scarlet-pink.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
- Modernisation note: The engraving (illustration) is referred to as a guide; the directions are complete enough to work from, but stitch counts per repeat are not always printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: Rnd 11 is printed “Work along stitch in each stitch”; “along” is read as “a long” (dc).
- Modernisation note: Check: “increasing … in the same stitch in each of the succeeding rounds” is read as stacking each increase above the one below; the book does not say how many increases per round.
- Modernisation note: Check: the order of the wire rounds is not clear — the book says the amber round over wire is worked “in the 10th round” to form the bottom, after describing Rnds 18–19.
- Modernisation note: Check: the geranium bud's first round is not described; “increase in the second round” is kept as printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: in the geranium bud calyx, “repeat three times” may mean four groups in all.
- Modernisation note: Check: the leaf directions do not make clear how the stitch count runs after the repeat (“rep from (a) once” is followed by the 9th and 10th sts); compare the engraving.
- Modernisation note: Check: Rnd 12 does not say what the 3 dc are worked into.
- Modernisation note: “Weave in ends” added.
Row progress: 0 of 5 done (0%)
Stitches
0 of 5 done- Double crochet (book's definition): “having made a chain, pass the needle through the first loop on the chain, draw the cotton through the loop, there will now be two loops on the needle, through these draw the cotton.” = single crochet (sc). “Close double crochet” = sc worked in every st with no chain between.Mark row complete
- Single crochet (book's definition): “Insert the needle in the loops, and draw the cotton through this loop and that on the needle.” = slip stitch (sl st). The book's “single” on its own means this stitch.Mark row complete
- Long stitch (book's definition): “Twist the cotton round the needle, pass it through the loop, draw the cotton through the first two loops on the needle, then catch the cotton again and draw it through the next two loops; there will be one loop left on the needle.” = double crochet (dc).Mark row complete
- Double long stitch (book's definition): “This resembles long stitch, excepting that the cotton is twisted twice round the needle.” = treble crochet (tr).Mark row complete
- Treble long stitch (book's definition): “Twist the cotton three times round the needle.” = double treble crochet (dtr).Mark row complete
Working on:
Double crochet (book's definition): “having made a chain, pass the needle through the first loop on the chain, draw the cotton through the loop, there will now be two loops on the needle, through these draw the cotton.” = single crochet (sc). “Close double crochet” = sc worked in every st with no chain between.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Card-Basket with Geraniums and Forget-me-nots (1850) pattern is in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Basket
- Handle
- Geranium (make 7)
- Geranium bud (make 3)
- Forget-me-not (make 15)
- Leaf spray (make 7)
- Finishing
Included with 236 patterns for $19 — $0.08 per pattern.
Errata
No corrections have been published for this pattern. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will log the fix here with a date.
Your notes on this pattern
Keep track of the yarn, hook and changes you used. Saved in this browser only — nobody else can see it.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Card-Basket pattern from?
It was published as "Card-Basket" in The Lady's Album of Fancy Work for 1850 by Not printed (the Address names only “the Publishers of the Lady's Album of Fancy-Work”) in 1850. The publication is in the public domain in the United States; this version is transcribed and modernised by crochetpatterns.io.
What yarn or thread do I need for the Card-Basket?
super fine (#1) yarn. As printed: 2 skeins each of blue and green; shaded wools not quantified.
What hook should I use?
Start with 3.25 mm (US D-3) and adjust to suit your yarn; no gauge is printed. Gauge: Not printed. Work to the size of the article.
