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Heartsease Crochet Mat in Berlin Wool (1854): vintage crochet pattern
A round mat of brown crochet eyelet rings surrounded by twelve violet-and-yellow heartsease (pansies), framed by a green leaf border with chain veinings and a scalloped edge, in eight colours of Berlin wool. Originally published as "Crochet Mat" in The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting, and Needlework (Mrs. Ann S. Stephens) by Dick & Fitzgerald in.
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 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. |
| Finished size | Not printed. |
| Time | about 7 hours |
Materials
- Fingering-weight (CYC #1) wool, approximating Berlin wool: 3 shades of brown, 3 shades of green, violet and yellow
- Tapestry (rug) needle for sewing the pieces together
- Hook: No hook size is printed. Start with a 2.75–3 mm (US C-2/D-3) hook and adjust to suit your wool; 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
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- skip
- repeat
- fasten off
Notes before you start
- Source: "Crochet Mat", The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting, and Needlework (Mrs. Ann S. Stephens), Dick & Fitzgerald, 1854. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: Berlin wool—3 shades of brown, 3 of green, 1 of violet, and 1 of yellow.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitch names checked against the book's own definitions (pp. 22–23), which describe the same stitches as modern US terms, so they are kept: “ch.” = ch; “sl.” / “slip” = sl st; “sc.” = sc; “dc.” = dc (US, not UK); “tc.” (treble crochet) = tr; “l tc.” / “long tc.” (long treble crochet) = dtr; “miss” = sk. Note that the book's “tc.” is a modern US tr, not a UK treble (US dc).
- Modernisation note: Period wording modernised: “needle” (meaning the hook) → hook; “commence” → begin; “close for a loop”, “close in a round” and “form it into a round” → join into a ring (the book does not name the joining stitch unless it says “slip”); “under” a chain → in the ch-sp; “fasten off” → FO; “alternative” → alternate. Repeat marks (✕, +, *, †, ¶, (a)) are written as parentheses with the book's total count.
- Modernisation note: Printed paragraphs split into one step per row, round or instruction; no stitches, counts, rows or rounds added, removed or reordered.
- Modernisation note: “Berlin wool” was a fine, soft worsted-spun wool. Ordinary Berlin wool is approximated as fingering weight (CYC #1) and “8 thread” (double) Berlin wool as sport to DK weight (CYC #2–3). The “bone crochet hook” has no printed size; the modern hook is a suggestion only.
- Modernisation note: No yardage or weight of thread is printed for this design, and none is estimated.
- Modernisation note: No hook size is printed for this design; the suggestion is based on the wool only.
- Modernisation note: “Heartsease” is the wild pansy.
- Modernisation note: Check: the dark green veining rnd (“4 ch., miss 1, sc. the other three … 6 ch., miss 1, sc. 5 of them”) is read as chains worked back into sc to form a vein, but the book does not explain it; compare with the engraving.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book names “the middle shade of green”, “dark green”, “second shade of green” and “the lightest green”; with only 3 greens listed, “second shade” and “middle shade” are presumably the same, but it is not stated.
- Modernisation note: Check: the 12 darkest-brown eyelet holes are “worked all round in sc” although the first eyelets are already 18 sc; the stitch count for them is not given.
- Modernisation note: “Weave in ends” added.
Row progress: 0 of 6 done (0%)
Stitches
0 of 6 done- Chain (book's definition, “ch.”): “A loop of thread made on the hook, and through this the thread is drawn, forming the first chain stitch; draw the thread through this one, and a second is formed.” = ch.Mark row complete
- Slip stitch (book's definition, “sl.”): “Insert the hook in the stitch next to that already on the needle (unless the directions particularly say, miss so many,) and draw the thread at once through both stitches.” = sl st. The book says it serves “to carry the thread from one part to another, without either breaking it off or widening the work.”Mark row complete
- Single crochet (book's definition, “sc.”): “Insert the hook in the chain, and draw the thread through it; this forms a second loop on the hook. Draw the thread through these two by a single movement and the stitch will be completed.” = modern US sc.Mark row complete
- Double crochet (book's definition, “dc.”): “Raise the thread over the hook, so as to pass it round, before inserting the latter in the chain; draw the thread through, and you will find three loops on the hook; bring the cotton through two … finish the stitch by drawing the thread through these.” = modern US dc (not the UK dc).Mark row complete
- Treble crochet (book's definition, “tc.”): as dc, “but as the thread is passed twice round the hook before the insertion of the latter in the chain, there will be four loops on … Bring the thread three times through two loops to finish the stitch.” = modern US tr.Mark row complete
- Repeat marks (book's definition): stitches between two similar marks (✕, +, *, †) “are to be done as many times as directed; thus, ✕ 3 dc. 2 ch. ✕ three times, means 3 dc. 2 ch., 3 dc. 2 ch., 3 dc. 2 ch.” So “twice” or “3 times” is the total number of times the group is worked. Written here as (…) twice, (…) 3 times.Mark row complete
Working on:
Chain (book's definition, “ch.”): “A loop of thread made on the hook, and through this the thread is drawn, forming the first chain stitch; draw the thread through this one, and a second is formed.” = ch.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Heartsease Crochet Mat in Berlin Wool (1854) pattern is in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Eyelet holes
- Heartsease (make 12)
- Leaf border
- Finishing
Included with 236 patterns for $19 — $0.08 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Crochet Mat pattern from?
It was published as "Crochet Mat" in The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting, and Needlework (Mrs. Ann S. Stephens) by Dick & Fitzgerald in 1854. 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 Crochet Mat?
super fine (#1) yarn. Not printed.
What hook should I use?
No hook size is printed. Start with a 2.75–3 mm (US C-2/D-3) hook and adjust to suit your wool; no gauge is printed. Gauge: Not printed.
