Free preview · full pattern in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Cameo Girl Doily (1950): vintage crochet pattern
Four crinoline figures in cream and pink joined hand to hand in a ring, each with a worked bodice, sleeves, arms, a wide chain-loop skirt, a picot hat and a little crocheted bouquet. Originally published as "Cameo Girl Doily" in Doily Bouquet (Star Book No. 71) by American Thread Company in 1950, it is now in the public domain.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Advanced |
| Yarn weight | Lace (#0) |
| Yardage | 1 or 2 balls of each colour as printed; ball yardage is not printed. |
| Hook | 1.65 mm |
| Gauge | Not given in the original — work to the finished size printed for your thread. |
| Finished size | 5–11 inches (13–28 cm) across: 11 in (28 cm) in "De Luxe"; 7 in (18 cm) in "Star" Tatting Cotton; 5 in (13 cm) in "Gem" Crochet Cotton size 30. |
| Time | about 17 hours |
Materials
- Cotton crochet thread in Cream, an iridescent white, Pink, Fuchsia (or Rose), a tinted pink-and-yellow and White — size 30 where the original names a size (size 20 is the nearest widely stocked weight)
- Ball counts as printed above for the thread you choose
- Tapestry needle for sewing the arms, bouquets and hats; rustproof pins and starch for blocking
- Hook: The book prints a steel hook number beside each thread: No. 7 (about 1.65 mm), No. 12 (about 1.0 mm), No. 13 (about 0.85 mm). Start with the modern US steel hook of the number printed for the thread you buy and change size until the piece reaches the size printed for that thread.
Smart Yarn Matcher
Compare all yarns →Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #0 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Caron Simply Soft · 100% Acrylic
315 yds per skein · High-yield yardage, silky no-scratch texture
2 skeins required
approx. $$10.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- slip stitch
- single crochet
- half double crochet
- double crochet
- treble crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- space
- skip
- loop
- round
- row
- increase
- decrease
- back loop only
- front loop only
- cluster
- shell
Notes before you start
- Source: "Cameo Girl Doily", Doily Bouquet (Star Book No. 71), American Thread Company, 1950. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: "GEM" Crochet Cotton Article 35, Size 30 — 1 Ball each Cream, Iridescent, Pink, Fuchsia, Tinted Pink and Yellow, White — approx. 5 inches — Steel 12; "STAR" Tatting Cotton Article 25 — 1 Ball each Iridescent, Pink, Fuchsia, Tinted Pink and Yellow; 2 Balls White — approx. 7 inches — Steel 13; "DE LUXE" Crochet Cotton Article 346 — 1 Ball each Cream, Iridescent, Pink, Rose, Tinted Pink and Yellow, White — approx. 11 inches — Steel 7. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: The book prints no abbreviation list. It defines each stitch inline instead, in brackets where it is first used, and by those definitions its terms are already modern US terms: s c = sc, d c = dc, s d c = half double crochet (hdc), tr c = tr, d tr c (3 times over needle) = dtr, tr tr c (4 times over needle) = a triple treble worked with 4 yarn-overs. No stitch has been converted; only the spacing of the letters changes, and "thread over" is written "yo".
- Modernisation note: The original calls every round a "Row" ("2nd Row—"). Pieces worked round and round are labelled "Rnd" here and pieces worked back and forth keep "Row". Run-on paragraphs were split so there is one round, row or step per line. No stitch was added, removed or reordered.
- Modernisation note: The bodice, skirt, sleeves and arms are numbered in one continuous sequence in the original; that numbering is kept so the cross-references inside the directions still line up. Where the arm rows restart at 1 the section name is added in brackets for clarity.
- Modernisation note: The dress directions in the original run "13th Row … Work 1 row even. Repeat the last 2 rows once, then work one more row even", covering five rows in one instruction; they are grouped on one line here exactly as printed, as are the other run-on groups (rows 20–24, 26–28, 29–32).
- Modernisation note: In the 2nd row of the second sleeve the original prints "repeat from *" for a group whose asterisk is not set, and the 5th row of the joining motif does the same. Both are left as printed rather than guessed at.
- Modernisation note: The hat's last round prints "1 t r c" with the letters spaced apart; it is written "tr" here — the same stitch, respaced.
- Modernisation note: "Substitute Rose for Fuchsia if 'De Luxe' Crochet Cotton is used" is the book's own note and is kept in the row where it is printed.
- Modernisation note: Rows 18 onward of the dress are printed on a later page under a "continued" line; they are placed in sequence here.
- Modernisation note: Several joinings are given as "as illustrated" — the original relies on its photograph for the exact placement rather than counting it out. Those phrases are kept as printed; work from the photograph included with this pattern.
- Modernisation note: No gauge is printed anywhere in the book. The printed finished size for the thread you choose is the only check on tension.
- Modernisation note: Thread is printed in balls only — no yardage is given for any article number, so none has been supplied. Buy the printed number of balls of a comparable modern thread and check your ball band.
- Modernisation note: "Gem" (Article 35), "Puritan" (Article 40), "De Luxe" (Article 346), "Star" (Articles 20 and 30), "Star" Tatting Cotton (Article 25), "Star" Pearl Cotton (Article 90) and "Sillateen Sansil" (Article 102) are all discontinued. Where a thread size is printed it is repeated above; where it is not, match the printed finished size instead of guessing a size.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions and the modern thread and hook suggestions were added; they are not in the original.
Smart Pattern Companion
Row progress: 0 of 16 done (0%)
Dress (make 4)
0 of 16 done- Row 1: With Cream ch 4, sc in 2nd st from hook, 1 sc in each st of ch, ch 1, turn.Mark row complete
- Rows 2 and 3: 1 sc in each sc, ch 1 to turn each row.Mark row complete
- Rows 4 and 5: Working in sc increase 1 sc at the beginning and end of each row.Mark row complete
- Rows 6 and 7: Increase 2 sc at the beginning and end of row. Work 1 row even, break thread.Mark row complete
- Row 8: Attach Fuchsia (substitute Rose for Fuchsia if “De Luxe” Crochet Cotton is used) and work 1 sc in each sc, break thread, do not turn.Mark row complete
- Row 9: Attach Tinted Pink and Yellow, ch 3, 1 dc, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, skip 1 sc, 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc (shell) in next sc, * skip 2 sc, shell in next sc, repeat from * once, skip 1 sc, shell in next sc, break thread, do not turn.Mark row complete
- Row 10: Attach Fuchsia, sc in same space, 1 sc in next dc, * 3 sc in next loop, 1 sc in each of the next 4 dc, repeat from * 3 times, 3 sc in next loop, 1 sc in each of the next 2 dc, break thread, do not turn.Mark row complete
- Rows 11 and 12: Skip 8 sc, attach Fuchsia in next sc, working in back loop of st, sc in same space, * skip 3 sc, 1 sc in each of the next 4 sc, repeat from * once, skip 3 sc, 1 sc in next sc. Work 1 row even in sc working in both loops.Mark row complete
- Rows 13–17: Decrease 1 sc at the beginning and end of row (to decrease: insert hook in st, pull loop through, insert in next st, pull through yo and work off all loops at one time). Work 1 row even. Repeat the last 2 rows once, then work one more row even, break thread. Do not turn work.Mark row complete
- Row 18: Attach Pink, ch 5, sc in same space, * ch 5, sc in next sc, repeat from * 4 times, ch 5, sc in same space (7 loops), ch 7, turn.Mark row complete
- Row 19: Sc in next loop, * ch 5, sc in next loop, repeat from * 5 times, ch 3, dc in 2nd st from end of last loop, ch 7, turn (8 loops).Mark row complete
- Rows 20–24: Continue working same as last row always having 1 more loop in each row until there are 13 loops.Mark row complete
- Row 25: Sc over ch 3, * ch 5, sc in next loop, repeat from * across row, turn.Mark row complete
- Rows 26–28: Ch 9, sc in next loop, * ch 6, sc in next loop, repeat from * across row, turn. Repeat last row twice.Mark row complete
- Rows 29–32: Ch 10, sc in next loop, * ch 7, sc in next loop, repeat from * across row, turn. Repeat 29th row 3 times, ending last row with ch 6, tr in last loop, ch 5, turn.Mark row complete
- Row 33: Sc over ch 6, * ch 7, sc in next loop, repeat from * twice, ch 3, sc in same loop, repeat from 1st * twice, * ch 7, sc in next loop, repeat from * twice, ch 5, sc in same space, break thread. Work 3 more dresses in same manner.Mark row complete
Working on:
Row 1: With Cream ch 4, sc in 2nd st from hook, 1 sc in each st of ch, ch 1, turn.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Cameo Girl Doily (1950) pattern is in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Sleeves and arms
- Joining motif between the figures
- Edge
- Bouquets (make 4)
- Hats (make 4)
- Finishing
Included with 236 patterns for $19 — $0.08 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Cameo Girl Doily pattern from?
It was published as "Cameo Girl Doily" in Doily Bouquet (Star Book No. 71) by American Thread Company in 1950. 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 Cameo Girl Doily?
Size 30 cotton crochet thread where a size is printed (size 20 is the nearest common substitute). 1 or 2 balls of each colour as printed; ball yardage is not printed.
What hook should I use?
The book prints a steel hook number beside each thread: No. 7 (about 1.65 mm), No. 12 (about 1.0 mm), No. 13 (about 0.85 mm). Start with the modern US steel hook of the number printed for the thread you buy and change size until the piece reaches the size printed for that thread. Gauge: Not given in the original — work to the finished size printed for your thread.
