Free preview · full pattern in the Vintage Crochet Edgings & Trims
Spanish Crochet Edging (1854): vintage crochet pattern
A lacy edging worked the short way in rows of chain loops with picots and small shells of double crochet, in imitation of the fashionable wool lace (dentelles de laine). Printed for No. 16 cotton, and suggested in Pyrenees wool or silk.
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 | 1.25 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. |
| Finished size | Length as required; width not printed. |
| Time | about 3 hours |
Materials
- Cotton crochet thread about size 10–20 (period: cotton No. 16; approximate), white; or fine black or coloured wool (period: Pyrenees wool); or silk crochet thread
- Fine sewing needle for running in the ends
- Hook: Start with a 1.25 mm (US steel 10) hook and adjust to suit your thread (original: crochet hook No. 18, eagle card-board gauge; approximate conversion). No gauge is printed. For finer No. 30 cotton the book gives hook No. 20 or 21 (about 0.9–1 mm).
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)
- chain
- slip stitch
- single crochet
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- row
- skip
- repeat
Notes before you start
- Source: "Spanish Crochet Edging", 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: Cotton, No. 16; crochet hook, No. 18; eagle card-board gauge.. 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: 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: Period cotton numbers (Evans's crochet cotton and “boar's-head” cotton) do not match modern thread sizes exactly; the modern thread size is a starting approximation. Choose the thread that suits the hook and gives lace of the right fineness.
- Modernisation note: No yardage or weight of thread is printed for this design, and none is estimated.
- Modernisation note: The engraving for this design is not among the surviving illustrations of the book, so it is transcribed from the text alone.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book gives the foundation and four pattern rows but does not say which rows to repeat, or how the next scallop is joined; rows 1–4 are presumably repeated, but that is not stated.
- Modernisation note: Check: “sc in 1st ch.” at the end of the foundation does not say which chain is meant.
- Modernisation note: The book suggests this edging “done in black or colored Pyrenees wool” for aprons, dresses and mantles, or in crochet or netting silk for mandarin sleeves and berthes. “Pyrenees wool” was a fine, soft wool; a fine lace-weight wool is the nearest equivalent.
- Modernisation note: “Run in the ends” added as finishing.
Row progress: 0 of 5 done (0%)
Stitches
0 of 5 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
- 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 Spanish Crochet Edging (1854) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Edgings & Trims
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Foundation
- Pattern
- Finishing
Included with 618 patterns for $9 — $0.01 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Spanish Crochet Edging pattern from?
It was published as "Spanish Crochet Edging" 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 Spanish Crochet Edging?
Size 10–20 crochet cotton (approximate). Not printed.
What hook should I use?
Start with a 1.25 mm (US steel 10) hook and adjust to suit your thread (original: crochet hook No. 18, eagle card-board gauge; approximate conversion). No gauge is printed. For finer No. 30 cotton the book gives hook No. 20 or 21 (about 0.9–1 mm). Gauge: Not printed.
