Infant’s Bootees with Silk Stripes (1915): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Fine (CYC #2) lofty wool yarn — the original was Sunlight Shetland Floss, 1 skein, White
• Fine silk (or silk-look) crochet thread, Pink in the directions (original: 1 spool “Our Special” Crochet Silk)
• Crochet hook (original: 5-inch bone No. 3)
• 1¾ yd (1.6 m) ribbon ⅓ in (8 mm) wide
• Tapestry needle
• Hook: Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; no gauge or finished size is printed

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

st

stitch

sts

stitches

lp

loop

yo

yarn over

inc

increase

dec

decrease

rep

repeat

row

row

Notes before you start

• Source: "Infant’s Bootees", The Sunlight Book of Knitting and Crocheting, W. G. Perry, Chicago, 1915. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: SUNLIGHT Shetland Floss—1 skein; OUR SPECIAL Crochet Silk—1 spool; 1 5-inch Bone Crochet Hook, No. 3; 1¾ Yards Ribbon, ⅓ inch wide. 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 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 design says “For detail see First Stitches Crocheting, pages 10–11”; the book's basic stitches are converted as in the terminology note.
• Modernisation note: The floss rows are worked in White and the silk rows in Pink (“made of white floss, with a narrow row of pink silk”).
• Modernisation note: “Make 1 chain and 1 single crochet in next stitch on row below, 1 chain and repeat from *” — the top edging is set out with the chains on both sides of the sc as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: the sole decrease (“leaving the last loop for each double crochet on needle. Put yarn over hook and pull through 3 loops. Yarn over and pull through last loop”) does not reconcile with the loops on the hook; the intent is a 3-dc (6-dc, 4-dc, 8-dc) decrease. Left as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: “taking up in the single stitch on edge” is not defined in the book; probably one loop of the edge stitches. Left as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: the number of rows between the increase rows is not fully stated (the increases run on the 3rd, 4th and 5th sc rows while Rows 3–4 are repeated 3 more times). Left as printed.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.