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Elizabethan Watch-Hook (1850): vintage crochet pattern
A small round ornament for hanging a watch: pink four-thread Berlin wool worked in single crochet over cord, with a white and pink border gathered into loops and a pearl watch-hook sewn to the centre. Originally published as "Elizabethan Watch-Hook" in The Lady's Album of Fancy Work for 1850 by Not printed (the Address names only “the Publishers.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Super fine (#1) |
| Yardage | As printed: ½ oz (14 g) each of pink and white (no yardage printed). |
| Hook | 3.25 mm |
| Gauge | 140 sts round the edge of a 3½ in (9 cm) circle, as printed. |
| Finished size | Centre circle 3½ in (9 cm) across, as printed, before the border. |
| Time | about 3 hours |
Materials
- Fingering-weight (CYC #1) soft wool, approximating four-thread Berlin wool: ½ oz (14 g) pink and ½ oz (14 g) white, as printed
- About 4 yd (3.7 m) of thin cord to work over
- A pair of pearl (or pearl-effect) watch hooks or small decorative hooks
- 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
- single crochet
- double crochet
- double treble crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- row
- repeat
- skip
- space
- loop
Notes before you start
- Source: "Elizabethan Watch-Hook", 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: Half-an-ounce of pink four-thread Berlin wool, half-an-ounce of white ditto, four yards of cord, and a pair of pearl watch-hooks. Gauge: there should be 140 stitches round the edge.
- 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: “Plain” is not defined in the book. It is written as sc throughout this design. Check: some period books meant a sl st by “plain stitch”; compare with the engraving.
- 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: Metric conversions added.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book does not say how the circle over the cord is begun (for example, a small ring worked round and round over the cord).
- Modernisation note: Check: “open crochet” is not defined on its own; it is read as the long stitch of the book's single open crochet (dc with ch 1 between).
- Modernisation note: Check: “1 chain stitch between each” in Row 2 may mean between the two dtr of each pair or between each pair; compare the engraving.
- Modernisation note: Check: Row 4 “2 chain, miss 20” is kept as printed. It pulls the edge into loops that are tacked to the centre; with 140 sts it gives 7 loops, while the engraving appears to show eight petal-like loops.
- Modernisation note: Check: “a pair of pearl watch-hooks” is printed, but only one is sewn on in the directions.
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
- 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
- Treble long stitch (book's definition): “Twist the cotton three times round the needle.” = double treble crochet (dtr).Mark row complete
- Single open crochet (book's definition): “a succession of long stitches, with a chain-stitch between each, missing one stitch of the foundation; in the succeeding rows the long stitch is worked between the two long stitches of the preceding rows.” = *1 dc, ch 1, sk 1; rep from *; on following rows each dc goes into the ch-1 space between the dc below.Mark row complete
- “Plain” (plain stitch, plain crochet) is not defined in the book; it is the stitch that joins the loops of chain-stitch open crochet, and elsewhere an ordinary short stitch. It is written here as sc. Check: a sl st may have been meant; compare the engraving.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 Elizabethan Watch-Hook (1850) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Centre
- Border
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Elizabethan Watch-Hook pattern from?
It was published as "Elizabethan Watch-Hook" 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 Elizabethan Watch-Hook?
super fine (#1) yarn. As printed: ½ oz (14 g) each of pink and white (no yardage printed).
What hook should I use?
Start with 3.25 mm (US D-3) and adjust to suit your yarn; no gauge is printed. Gauge: 140 sts round the edge of a 3½ in (9 cm) circle, as printed.
