The Fleur-de-lis Couch Afghan (1915): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Medium (CYC #4) wool yarn for the squares — the original was Sunlight Eight-fold Germantown in 6 shades of brown (7 skeins light, 14 skeins of each of the next 4 shades, 18 skeins darkest) and 7 skeins Black
• Light (CYC #3) wool yarn for the plain panels — the original was Sunlight Four-fold Germantown, 28 skeins dark brown, plus 2 skeins light brown for the cross stitch
• Crochet hooks in two sizes (original: amber No. 6 for the squares, No. 4 for the plain panels)
• Tapestry needle
• Hook: Start with 5.5 mm (US I-9) for the squares and 4.5 mm (US 7) for the plain panels — approximate; 9 squares should match the 2½ yards (2.3 m) length of a 40-lp plain panel

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

st

stitch

sts

stitches

lp

loop

sp

space

yo

yarn over

rep

repeat

row

row

BLO

back loop only

Notes before you start

• Source: "The Fleur-de-lis Couch Afghan", The Sunlight Book of Knitting and Crocheting, W. G. Perry, Chicago, 1915. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: SUNLIGHT eight-fold Germantown; 6 shades brown; 7 skeins light shade; 14 skeins of each of the next 4 shades; 18 skeins darkest shade; 7 skeins black; SUNLIGHT four-fold Germantown; 28 skeins dark brown; 2 skeins brown, light shade for cross stitch; 1 Amber Crochet Hook, No. 4; 1 Amber Crochet Hook, No. 6. Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: Stitches converted by the book's own definitions (“First Stitches — Crocheting”), not by name: chain stitch (“make a chain of loops, pulling out 1 loop through the other”) = ch; slip stitch (“place the hook in a loop on the chain, put yarn over hook and pull through both loops on needle at once”) = sl st; single crochet (“take up 1 loop on the chain, put yarn over hook and pull through both loops on needle at once”) = sc; double crochet (“put yarn around hook, take up 1 loop on the chain, yarn over hook and pull through 2 loops at a time”) = dc; long crochet (yarn over, pick up a loop, yarn over and pull through 1 loop, then through 2 loops twice) = modern extended double crochet, not used in these designs; treble crochet (“put yarn around hook twice”, pick up a loop, then pull through 2 loops three times) = tr. For these stitches the 1915 American names already match modern US usage, so no stitch changes height.
• Modernisation note: The book prints no abbreviations (“No abbreviations are used in this book”); its words are written as modern US abbreviations: chain = ch, slip stitch = sl st, single crochet = sc, double crochet = dc, treble crochet = tr, stitch(es) = st(s), skip = sk, space = sp, loop = lp, yarn over hook = yo, repeat = rep. “Needle” (used for the crochet hook) is written as hook; “take up / pick up 1 loop” as “draw up a lp”; “break off the yarn” as “fasten off”; “fasten the yarn” as “join yarn”; ordinal row names (“1st row”, “2nd row”) as Row 1, Row 2.
• Modernisation note: “Taking up in the double stitch” (the book's phrase for inserting the hook under both top loops of the stitch below) is written as “through both loops”; “taking up in the back of the stitches” is written as “in back loop only (blo)”. “Plain” (a row with no increases, or 1 sc in every st) is kept and explained where it first appears.
• Modernisation note: The book's afghan stitches are Tunisian crochet worked on an ordinary long hook: loops are picked up on the forward pass and worked off on the return pass, both passes counting as one row. Its Old Afghan Stitch (loops picked up “in the front” of the loops on the row below) is modern Tunisian simple stitch; its Purled Afghan Stitch (loops picked up “in the back of the loops” on the row below) is Tunisian simple stitch worked through the back vertical bar. The return, “put yarn over hook and pull through 1 loop at a time”, is explained elsewhere in the book as pulling through “1 loop (of those picked up) at a time” — the standard Tunisian return (yo and draw through 1 lp, then yo and draw through 2 lps until 1 lp remains). The book's names are kept, with this reading.
• Modernisation note: The book's own rule for the asterisk is kept: “A star (*) is often used before and after a group of words to indicate that the work described between the stars must be repeated.” Repeats are written “rep from *” as printed.
• Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs are split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation. The book calls rounds “rows” and ridges of 2 rows “ribs”; both words are kept as printed.
• Modernisation note: Hook numbers (bone, amber, celluloid and steel, with steel “Style” numbers) refer to the book's actual-size pictures of 1915 hooks, which print no diameters, so no exact metric size can be read from the book. The suggested modern hook is an approximate starting point chosen for the yarn weight and tied to any printed measurement.
• Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed anywhere in the book; work a swatch and match any printed measurement (given in the modern gauge line) before starting.
• Modernisation note: Sunlight yarns are 1915 trade names with no exact modern equivalent. The CYC weights given are approximations only, based on the book's own descriptions: Saxony (“a fine, soft, three-ply thread”) as super fine (CYC #1); Shetland Floss (“a very lofty, fluffy yarn”) as fine (CYC #2); Four-fold Germantown as light (CYC #3); Eight-fold Germantown (“about twice as heavy” as the four-fold) as medium (CYC #4); Golf Yarn (“a four-ply, lofty yarn”) and German Knitting Worsted/Yarn as medium (CYC #4). Yardage is never printed — the book gives skeins (or balls) only, and their weight and length are not stated.
• Modernisation note: The cross-stitch embroidery is described in words only; no chart is printed. Follow the photograph or chart your own motif.
• Modernisation note: The design says “For details see Old Afghan Stitch, page 27, and Rib Stitch, page 17”; both are spelled out in the design's rows as printed.
• Modernisation note: The book calls the yarn tuft in each square a “button”; kept, with “tuft” added.
• Modernisation note: Check: the materials give “2 skeins brown, light shade for cross stitch”, but the embroidery directions say “the 2 light shades of the four-fold Germantown”. Left as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: “Make 5 shaded panels” and “Make 4 panels” (plain) with 9 squares each — alternate them starting and ending with a shaded panel, as in the photograph.
• Modernisation note: Check: the printed size (2½ × 2¼ yards) is given with the width first; the panels are 2½ yards long. Left as printed.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.