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Infant's Afghan-Stitch Bootees (1920): vintage crochet pattern
Pink infant bootees shaped in afghan stitch from a few stitches with a worked-in instep, a white sc foot, and a white top of sc and dc rows edged with an alternating sc-and-dc stitch. The sacque and cap of the same set are knitted and not included.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Super fine (#1) |
| Yardage | the book gives 1 skein pink and ½ skein white 3-ply Saxony; skein weight and yardage are not stated. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 3.5 mm |
| Gauge | No stitch gauge or finished measurements printed. |
| Finished size | Infant size (age not printed). Widest row 50 stitches; no finished measurements printed. |
| Time | about 2 hours |
Materials
- Super fine (CYC #1) wool yarn — the original was Lion Brand 3-ply Saxony, 1 skein pink and ½ skein white
- Crochet hook with a straight shaft for afghan (Tunisian) stitch (original: No. 3 crochet needle)
- Tapestry needle
- Hook: Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; afghan stitch is usually worked with a slightly larger hook than regular crochet in the same yarn (no gauge is printed)
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #1 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Knit Picks Stroll Sock · 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon
231 yds per skein · Durable stitch definition, machine washable
2 skeins required
approx. $$13.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- single crochet
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- repeat
- row
- increase
- decrease
- front loop only
- back loop only
Notes before you start
- Source: "Infant's Three-Piece Set — Infant's Bootees", Lion Yarn Book: Describing Latest Creations in Worsted Work, The Lion Yarn Co., 1920. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: 1 Skein of Pink and ½ Skein White LION BRAND 3-ply Saxony; Afghan Stitch; No. 3 Crochet Needle.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: The book prints no crochet lesson and no definitions of its basic stitches; it defines only star stitch (with the Auto Scarf) and a picot edge (with the Filet and Knitted Sweater). Its s. c. and d. c. are read as American terms, which are the same as modern US sc and dc, for this reason: the filet designs build open meshes out of d. c. worked on a chain ("Ch. 94 sts. and work 92 d. c. on ch.", then "46M"). Only a tall stitch (modern US dc) forms filet meshes; a British-style "double crochet" (= US sc) could not. The book is an American (New York) publication. So no stitch changes height; s. c. = sc, d. c. = dc, ch. = ch, slip st. = sl st.
- Modernisation note: Period abbreviations and wording modernised: s. c., d. c., ch., st./sts. written as sc, dc, ch, st/sts; M and B written as mesh and block; "skip" as sk; "yarn over" as yo; "fasten wool on" and "fasten yarn at" as join yarn; "fasten back in" as sl st in; "break off" as fasten off; "crochet needle" as hook; "repeat from star" as rep from *; "sts." after a chain count dropped ("Ch. 94 sts." written as "Ch 94"); ordinal row names ("Second Row") written as Row 2 (or Rnd 2 when worked in the round).
- Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation.
- Modernisation note: Hook numbers (No. 1–5, bone or amber) are 1920 makers' numbers; the book prints no diameters, so no exact metric size can be read from it. The suggested modern hook is an approximate starting point for the yarn weight, to be adjusted to the printed measurements.
- Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed anywhere in the book; work a swatch and match the printed measurements (given in the modern gauge line) before starting.
- Modernisation note: Lion Brand yarns of 1920 have no exact modern equivalent. The modern CYC weights are approximations only: Lion Brand Shetland Floss (a soft, lofty yarn) as fine (CYC #2); Lion Brand Knitting Yarn / Knitting Worsted as medium (CYC #4) — the book's own advertisement page lists Lion knitting worsted in "4 oz. hanks"; 3-fold (3-ply) Saxony as super fine (CYC #1); Pompadour Wool as fine (CYC #2); Lion Brand Crochet Wool (used doubled in the sacque) as fine (CYC #2), so the doubled strand works roughly as light (CYC #3). Yardage is never printed — the book gives skeins, hanks or balls only.
- Modernisation note: Only the bootees of the Infant's Three-Piece Set are transcribed: the sacque and cap are knitted, with a crochet edge only.
- Modernisation note: "Afghan stitch" is named but not defined in this book; it is the stitch known today as Tunisian simple stitch (pick up loops across, keeping them on the hook, then work them off in pairs). "Stitches on needle" written as "sts on the hook".
- Modernisation note: "Cast on 4 stitches" is the book's wording for starting afghan stitch; it is written as a 4-ch foundation.
- Modernisation note: "Make the second bootee the same" added.
- Modernisation note: Check: "Crochet 12 rows, single crochet for foot with white" is printed with a comma that could mean 12 afghan-stitch rows on the instep followed by sc rows; read here as 12 rows of sc for the foot. Left otherwise as printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: "single crochet in front of stitch, 1 double crochet in back of stitch" is read as front loop / back loop; it may instead mean around the front and back of the stitch post.
Row progress: 0 of 4 done (0%)
Leg and Instep (afghan stitch, pink)
0 of 4 done- Foundation: Cast on (ch) 4 sts and work afghan stitch, inc at each end every other row until there are 50 sts on the hook.Mark row complete
- Then dec every other row until there are 40 sts on the hook.Mark row complete
- Work 18 rows and sew up the back.Mark row complete
- Instep: Take up 12 sts in the middle of the front and work 12 rows.Mark row complete
Working on:
Foundation: Cast on (ch) 4 sts and work afghan stitch, inc at each end every other row until there are 50 sts on the hook.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Infant's Afghan-Stitch Bootees (1920) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Baby & Kids' Patterns
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Foot (white)
- Top (white)
- Finishing
Included with 133 patterns for $12 — $0.09 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Infant's Three-Piece Set — Infant's Bootees pattern from?
It was published as "Infant's Three-Piece Set — Infant's Bootees" in Lion Yarn Book: Describing Latest Creations in Worsted Work by The Lion Yarn Co. in 1920. 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 Infant's Three-Piece Set — Infant's Bootees?
super fine (#1) yarn. Not printed — the book gives 1 skein pink and ½ skein white 3-ply Saxony; skein weight and yardage are not stated.
What hook should I use?
Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; afghan stitch is usually worked with a slightly larger hook than regular crochet in the same yarn (no gauge is printed) Gauge: No stitch gauge or finished measurements printed.
