Novelty Braid Lunch Set (1915): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• 6 balls size 30 mercerised cotton crochet thread (ball yardage not printed — check your ball band)
• 18 yd (16.5 m) novelty braid, as printed (a narrow cotton braid of small linked blocks, each with several picot loops; "No. 4" was a trade size — match the photograph)
• Irish linen for the centres (sizes as printed)
• Sewing needle and thread for the hems; tapestry needle
• Hook: Start with 1.3 mm (US steel 10), the modern hook of the printed number, and change size to reach the printed finished size.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

sc

single crochet

st

stitch

sts

stitches

lp

loop

rnd

round

Notes before you start

• Source: "Lunch Set in Novelty Braid and Crochet (Plate No. 11)", Center Pieces and Lunch Sets in Crochet Work, Anne Orr, 1915. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: 6 balls Cordonnet Crochet Cotton No. 30, 18 yards Novelty Braid No. 4, Steel Crochet Needle No 10.. Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: Check: the centerpiece is printed as 20 inches but its linen as "28 inches across"; the photograph shows a small linen centre, so 28 is probably a misprint (perhaps 8). Kept as printed — test before cutting linen.
• Modernisation note: Check: the plate doily's 12-inch linen, worked only to rnd 8 and finished with rnd 32, would be larger than the printed 12-inch doily; the photograph shows small linen centres. Kept as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: rnd 11 (joining the braid) is very condensed; the braid is joined in as a ring on this round and the upper side is picked up on rnd 12. Follow the photograph for how the braid zig-zags.
• Modernisation note: Check: rnds 15–17 say "Same as 10th row" (the ch-4 mesh round); rnds 22–25 and 30–31 say "Same as 15th row", i.e. more mesh rounds.
• Modernisation note: Check: the book does not say how many plate and tumbler doilies to make; the photograph shows one centerpiece, two plate doilies and two tumbler doilies.
• Modernisation note: "Doylie" is the book's spelling of doily and is kept in the headings.
• Modernisation note: Irish linen and sewing thread are not in the printed materials list but are named in the instructions; they are added to the modern materials.
• Modernisation note: Stitch names mapped by the book's own definitions: its single crochet = modern US sc, double crochet = modern US dc, treble crochet = modern US tr, slip stitch = sl st, picot = ch 4, sc in 4th ch from hook. These match modern US usage, so no stitch was converted; only the abbreviation "tc" (treble crochet) is written "tr".
• Modernisation note: The book calls every round a "Row" ("First Row—"). Pieces worked in joined rounds are labelled "Rnd 1:" etc.; pieces worked back and forth keep "Row". Run-on paragraphs were split into one round or step per line; no stitches were added, removed or reordered.
• Modernisation note: Anne Orr's phrasing "1 sc, join into …" / "join to top of sc" means work the stitch into the place named; it is kept as printed. "St of ch" (e.g. "middle st of ch 5") is kept.
• Modernisation note: Steel crochet needle (hook) numbers of 1915 were not standardised to millimetres; the starting hook is the modern US steel hook of the same number. Change size so the piece reaches the printed size.
• Modernisation note: Cordonnet Crochet Cotton No. 30 was a hard-twisted mercerised crochet cotton; the nearest modern equivalent is size 30 mercerised cotton crochet thread.
• Modernisation note: Thread is printed in balls only; ball yardage is not printed, so no yardage has been invented. Buy the printed number of balls of a comparable modern thread and check your ball band.
• Modernisation note: No gauge is printed in the book.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions and modern thread and hook suggestions were added; they are not in the original.