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Passion Flower in Chenille for the Hair (1854): vintage crochet pattern
An artificial passion flower with bud and leaves, crocheted in fine chenille (chenille à broder) over loops of flower wire (liteaux), for a head-dress, bonnet or wreath. Originally published as "Passion Flower in Chenille" in The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting, and Needlework (Mrs. Ann S. Stephens) by Dick & Fitzgerald in 1854, it is now.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Lace (#0) |
| Yardage | Not printed. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 2 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. |
| Finished size | Not printed. |
| Time | about 7 hours |
Materials
- Fine embroidery chenille (period: chenille à broder) in medium green, very pale green and violet; the directions also mention white (for the petals) and dark green
- Paper-covered or cloth-covered florist's stem wire, fairly stout (period: liteaux), plus very fine wire for the leaf edges
- A little cotton wool for the bud
- Hook: Start with a 2 mm (US steel 4) hook and adjust to suit your thread (original: crochet hook No. 14, eagle card-board gauge; approximate conversion). No gauge is printed.
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #0 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Caron Simply Soft · 100% Acrylic
315 yds per skein · High-yield yardage, silky no-scratch texture
2 skeins required
approx. $$10.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- double crochet
- treble crochet
- single crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- repeat
Notes before you start
- Source: "Passion Flower in Chenille", 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: One piece of green chenille, of a medium tint; one of a very delicate green; one of violet ditto; and a small quantity of rather stout liteaux.; This last is a kind of fine wire, used in making up flowers, &c. The chenille is the fine kind termed chenille a broder. Crochet hook, No. 14.. 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: Printed paragraphs split into one step per row, round or instruction; no stitches, counts, rows or rounds added, removed or reordered.
- Modernisation note: Crochet hook numbers belong to the book's “eagle card-board gauge”, a period bell-type gauge in which higher numbers are finer. The metric and US sizes given are approximate conversions only, and no gauge is printed.
- Modernisation note: “Chenille à broder” was the fine embroidery chenille (the book, p. 40, contrasts it with the much coarser “chenille ordinaire”); a fine modern embroidery chenille is the nearest equivalent. “Liteaux” is the book's word for flower-making wire.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book does not say how the pistil, stamens, ring and stems are “covered” with chenille; wrapping the chenille closely round the wire is the usual method but is not stated.
- Modernisation note: Check: the materials list medium green, very delicate green and violet, but the directions also call for white (petals, as an alternative), dark green (calyx, bud calyx) and “darkest green” (leaves), and the finishing mentions lilac and scarlet.
- Modernisation note: “Worked over the wire” added as an explanatory note; the book says to work the stitches “on this loop” of wire.
- Modernisation note: No yardage or weight of thread is printed for this design, and none is estimated.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 4 done (0%)
Stitches
0 of 4 done- 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
- All stitches are worked over the wire: the wire loop or length takes the place of a foundation chain.Mark row complete
Working on:
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.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Passion Flower in Chenille for the Hair (1854) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Petals
- Centre and calyx
- Bud
- Leaves
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Your notes on this pattern
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Passion Flower in Chenille pattern from?
It was published as "Passion Flower in Chenille" 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 Passion Flower in Chenille?
See the materials list. Not printed.
What hook should I use?
Start with a 2 mm (US steel 4) hook and adjust to suit your thread (original: crochet hook No. 14, eagle card-board gauge; approximate conversion). No gauge is printed. Gauge: Not printed.
