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Music-Stool Cover (1850): vintage crochet pattern
A round 24-round cover for a music stool in shaded green four-thread Berlin wool, with a shell-and-chain centre, open-crochet bands and a border of fans. Originally published as "Music-Stool Cover" 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, it is.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Advanced |
| Yarn weight | Super fine (#1) |
| Yardage | Not printed. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 3.25 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. Work to the size of the article. |
| Finished size | To fit a music stool; no size is printed. |
| Time | about 8 hours |
Materials
- Fingering-weight (CYC #1) soft wool, approximating four-thread Berlin wool, shaded (ombré) green
- Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
- Hook: Start with 3.25 mm (US D-3) and adjust to suit your yarn; the book names only an “ivory crochet-hook”, and 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
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- repeat
- skip
- loop
Notes before you start
- Source: "Music-Stool Cover", 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 Berlin wool, four threads; ivory crochet-hook. 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: Check: “treble” (the main stitch of this design) is not defined in the book. It is written as dc, reading the book's names as a ladder — single crochet (sl st), double crochet (sc), treble (dc). It is not the book's “treble long stitch” (dtr).
- 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: No yardage is printed and none is estimated.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
- Modernisation note: A shilling of the period was about 0.93 in (23.6 mm) across. Check: the book does not say how the starting round is made (e.g. a ring of ch or of sc).
- Modernisation note: Check: stitch counts per repeat and the number of repeats are not printed; the book does not say whether sts are skipped under the chains in Rnd 2.
- Modernisation note: Check: Rnd 4 gives nothing between the sl st into the 7th dc and the next repeat; kept as printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: Rnds 12 (“Treble”) and 19 (“Plain treble”) are read as 1 dc in every st of the previous round.
- Modernisation note: Check: in Rnds 16–18, “making 2 treble-stitches together, with 1 chain” may mean 2 dc side by side followed by ch 1, or 2 dc worked into one space; compare the engraving.
- Modernisation note: “Weave in ends” added.
Row progress: 0 of 4 done (0%)
Stitches
0 of 4 done- 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
- 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
- “Treble” is not defined in the book. Following the book's own ladder of names (single = sl st, double = sc), it is written here as dc. Check: compare the engraving, which shows tall open stitches.Mark row complete
Working on:
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.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Music-Stool Cover (1850) pattern is in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Cover
- Finishing
Included with 236 patterns for $19 — $0.08 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Music-Stool Cover pattern from?
It was published as "Music-Stool Cover" 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 Music-Stool Cover?
super fine (#1) yarn. Not printed.
What hook should I use?
Start with 3.25 mm (US D-3) and adjust to suit your yarn; the book names only an “ivory crochet-hook”, and no gauge is printed. Gauge: Not printed. Work to the size of the article.
