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Round Table Mat in Shaded Berlin Wool (1854): vintage crochet pattern
A round table mat worked from the centre in shaded green and scarlet 8-thread Berlin wool, with chain-loop rounds, treble fans and a scalloped border. Originally published as "Table Mat" in The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting, and Needlework (Mrs. Ann S. Stephens) by Dick & Fitzgerald in 1854, it is now in the public domain.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Light (#3) |
| Yardage | Not printed. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 4 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. |
| Finished size | Not printed. |
| Time | about 9 hours |
Materials
- Sport- to DK-weight (CYC #2–3) wool in shaded (ombré) green and shaded scarlet, approximating 8-thread Berlin wool
- Tapestry needle
- Hook: Start with a 3.5–4 mm (US E-4/G-6) hook and adjust to suit your wool; the book names only a “bone crochet hook” and prints no gauge.
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #3 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Caron Simply Soft Light · 100% Premium Acrylic
330 yds per skein · Gentle sheen, ultra soft against skin
2 skeins required
approx. $$11.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- single crochet
- double crochet
- treble crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- skip
- repeat
- fasten off
Notes before you start
- Source: "Table 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: Shaded green and scarlet 8 thread Berlin wool; bone crochet hook.. 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: “Shaded” wool is dyed in gradually changing shades of one colour (ombré).
- Modernisation note: No yardage or weight of thread is printed for this design, and none is estimated.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book does not name the colour for rnds 1–3; rnd 7 says to “begin with the green wool once more”, so green is implied.
- Modernisation note: Check: rnd 12 “Dc. on 4 ch.” does not say whether 1 dc or 4 dc go on each ch-4; rnd 13 then works “4 tc. on 4 dc.”
- Modernisation note: Check: rnd 13 says scarlet but no later colour change is printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: rnd 15 is printed as “6 ch., sc. in 3rd dc. of last round; repeat this twice more; 8 ch., unite into the loop formed by 9 ch. in last round; three times more”; it is not clear whether “three times more” repeats only the ch-8 join or the whole group.
- Modernisation note: “Weave in ends” added.
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
- 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
- Working “through” a stitch (book's definition): “To work THROUGH a stitch, is to draw the thread under instead of in it. This is stronger than the usual method, but not so neat” — insert the hook under the whole stitch or chain instead of into it.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 Round Table Mat in Shaded Berlin Wool (1854) pattern is in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Mat
- Finishing
Included with 236 patterns for $19 — $0.08 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Table Mat pattern from?
It was published as "Table 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 Table Mat?
light (#3) yarn. Not printed.
What hook should I use?
Start with a 3.5–4 mm (US E-4/G-6) hook and adjust to suit your wool; the book names only a “bone crochet hook” and prints no gauge. Gauge: Not printed.
