Grape Doily (1950): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Cotton crochet thread in a shaded lavender, White and Green — size 30 where the original names a size (size 20 is the nearest widely stocked weight); size 5 pearl cotton for that line
• Ball counts as printed above for the thread you choose
• Tapestry needle for sewing the leaves and stems; rustproof pins and starch for blocking
• Hook: The book prints a steel hook number beside each thread: No. 7 (about 1.65 mm), No. 10 (about 1.3 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.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

st

stitch

sts

stitches

sp

space

sk

skip

lp

loop

rnd

round

row

row

inc

increase

dec

decrease

tr

treble crochet

Notes before you start

• Source: "Grape Doily", Doily Bouquet (Star Book No. 71), American Thread Company, 1950. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: "GEM" Crochet Cotton Article 35 — 1 Ball Shaded Lavenders, 1 Ball White, 1 Ball Green — approx. 9 inches — Steel 12; "PURITAN" Crochet Cotton Article 40 — 1 Ball Shaded Lavenders, 1 Ball White, 1 Ball Green — approx. 11 inches — Steel 7; "DE LUXE" Crochet Cotton Article 346 — 1 Ball Shaded Lavenders, 1 Ball White, 1 Ball Green — approx. 11 inches — Steel 7; "STAR" Tatting Cotton Article 25 — 2 Balls Shaded Lavenders, 2 Balls White, 2 Balls Green — approx. 7 inches — Steel 13; "STAR" Crochet Cotton Article 20, Size 30 — 1 Ball Shaded Lavenders, 1 Ball White, 1 Ball Green — approx. 9 inches — Steel 12; "STAR" Crochet Cotton Article 30, Size 30 — 2 Balls Shaded Lavenders, 2 Balls White, 2 Balls Green — approx. 9 inches — Steel 12; "STAR" Pearl Cotton Article 90, Size 5 — 3 Balls Shaded Lavenders, 2 Balls White, 3 Balls Green — approx. 11 inches — Steel 7; "SILLATEEN SANSIL" Article 102 — 2 Balls Shaded Lavenders, 2 Balls White, 2 Balls Green — approx. 10 inches — Steel 10. 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 two "Basic Centers" are printed once at the front of the book and shared by four of its doilies, with a note that all four borders fit either one. Both are reprinted in full here so this pattern can be worked from one page.
• Modernisation note: Pick one centre: work the leaves and grapes, then Basic Center No. 1 with its joining, or Basic Center No. 2 with its joining. The two joinings are alternatives, not a sequence. The centre for the second version stops at its 19th round — the joining takes the place of the 20th.
• Modernisation note: Rows 6 onward of the small leaf are printed on a later page under a "continued" line; they are placed in sequence here.
• Modernisation note: The original heads the first joining "BASIC DOILY No. 1" and the second "BASIC CENTER No. 2"; both refer to the same two shared centres and the printed wording is kept.
• 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.