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The “Empire” Reticule in Picot-Edged Squares (1912): vintage crochet pattern
A reticule of twenty-four picot-edged filet squares, three squares wide and four deep on each side, each square a five-by-five block of spaces with a picot ring at the middle of every side, joined to its neighbours on the last round. A six-yard double cordeliere runs through the openings between the first and second rows of squares, with.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Advanced |
| Yarn weight | Lace (#0) |
| Yardage | Not printed. The book gives balls, skeins, cards or pieces only, and their weight and yardage are not stated. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 2.55 mm |
| Gauge | No gauge printed. |
| Finished size | Printed construction: 24 squares, each side three squares wide and four squares deep. No inch measurement is printed. |
| Time | about 5 hours |
Materials
- Size 3 pearl cotton — approximate; the original was 2 large skeins of Perle Cotton No. 3
- Steel crochet hook (original: Star crochet hook No. 1) and a large hook for the cordeliere (original: bone or amber No. 7)
- Cotton wadding to stuff the balls
- Hook: Start with 2.55 mm (US steel 0) — approximate; change size until the squares lie flat
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
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- row
- repeat
- skip
- space
Notes before you start
- Source: "Empire Reticule", The Glossilla Book of Crochet Novelties, Bernhard Ulmann & Co., New York City, 1912. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: 2 large skeins Perle Cotton, No. 3; 1 Star crochet hook, No. 1; 1 bone or amber crochet hook, No. 7. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitches are converted by this book's own key ("DESCRIPTION OF STITCHES — TERMS USED", book pages 3-6; the designs themselves cite it as "see page 3", "see page 4", "see page 5"), not by name. The printed table is: "ch. … chain stitch; s. c. … single crochet; d. c. … double crochet; t. c. … treble crochet; * a sign of a repetition to begin at that point." The worked definitions show that this 1912 book already uses modern US heights: its single crochet ("frequently known as half stitch") is worked by inserting the hook in the second chain from the hook, drawing the thread through, then thread over and through the 2 loops on the hook — the modern US single crochet; its double crochet ("known by many as 'plains'") is thread over, hook into the fourth chain from the hook, draw a loop through (3 loops on the hook), then thread over and through 2 loops twice — the modern US double crochet; its treble crochet is the same "only winding the thread on the needle twice instead of once", worked off two at a time three times — the modern US treble; and its "long treble crochet" wraps the thread three or four times — the modern US double treble or triple treble. So throughout this transcription the book's s. c. = sc, d. c. = dc, t. c./tr. c. = tr, and long treble = dtr. No stitch changes height.
- Modernisation note: The asterisk is the book's own: "a sign of a repetition to begin at that point" (stitch key, book page 3). Repeat counts are kept exactly as printed — "repeat from * 4 times" is transcribed as printed and not re-counted.
- Modernisation note: Period wording modernised: "needle" (used for the crochet hook) written as hook; "thread over (the needle)" as yo; "pick up a loop"/"draw up a loop" kept; "catch" (with a slip stitch) as join or sl st as the sense requires; "skip" as sk; "taking up the back thread only" as "in the back loop only"; "taking up both threads" as "under both loops"; "widen"/"narrow" as increase/decrease; "fasten off" kept; spaced abbreviations s. c., d. c., t. c./tr. c., sl. st., ch. written sc, dc, tr, sl st, ch. Ordinal row and round names ("Second row", "Eleventh round") written Row 2, Rnd 11.
- Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs are split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts are unchanged. Section headings added for navigation where the printed text runs on.
- Modernisation note: The materials are Bernhard Ulmann trade names of 1912 and have no exact modern equivalent; every modern substitution given here is an approximation. The book's own materials page describes them: "Glossilla Crochet" — "used where the highest lustre is required, even superior to silk"; "Solitaire Yarn" — "the most lustrous ball cotton yarn … in a large assortment of colors"; "Klondyke Thread" — "a soft metal thread for crocheting … in a rich, bright, gold color; furthermore, in aluminum, antique gold and antique silver"; "Handicraft Macrame" and "Bear Macrame" cords; "D. M. C. Cordonnet, in numbers 3 to 30" and "D. M. C. Perle, numbers 3 and 5". Bear Brand wools (Shetland floss, Zephyr Shetland, Saxony 3-fold, 4-fold Germantown) are the publisher's knitting yarns; their weights are not printed, and the CYC weights suggested here are read from how they are used, not from the book.
- Modernisation note: Hooks are printed only as "Star crochet hook No. …" (the steel hooks) or "bone"/"amber" hook numbers, with no diameters anywhere in the book, so no exact metric size can be read from it. The millimetre and US sizes suggested here are approximate starting points; the bone- and amber-hook numbers were never standardised, so those suggestions are ours. Work a swatch and change size until the work lies flat and matches the photograph.
- Modernisation note: No gauge is printed for this design, and none is printed anywhere in the book.
- Modernisation note: Check: Row 1 prints "repeat from * 2 times, thus forming five squares"; the same square in the book's Grape Design Bag prints 3 times for five squares. Both are left as printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: no colour is printed for this design beyond the thread named in the materials.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added where a measurement is printed; the printed inches are unchanged.
Smart Pattern Companion
Row progress: 0 of 6 done (0%)
Square (make 24)
0 of 6 done- Row 1: Using the No. 1 hook, ch 20, turn, make 1 dc in the eighth ch from the hook, * ch 2, sk 2 ch, 1 dc in the next ch; rep from * 2 times — five squares.Mark row complete
- Row 2: Turn, ch 5, 1 dc on the dc of the preceding row, * ch 2, 1 dc on the next dc; rep from * twice, ch 2, 1 dc caught in the third ch of the 5 ch made when turning for the preceding row.Mark row complete
- Rows 3-5: Rep Row 2 until there are five rows in all (25 squares).Mark row complete
- Rnd 1 (edge): Make 3 sc in the last space formed, 3 sc in the next space, 2 sc in the center space, ch 6, turn and catch down in the last sc made to form a ring. Turn, 2 sc in the ring, ch 3 and catch back to form a picot, 3 sc, picot, 3 sc, picot, 2 sc, all in the ring, 2 more sc in the center space, 3 sc in the next space, 7 sc in the corner space. Make the second, third and fourth sides of the square in the same way, finishing the last corner by putting 4 sc there and joining with a sl st to the first of the three sc made there when beginning the rnd.Mark row complete
- Rnd 2: * Ch 6, catch with a sl st in the first picot of the ring, ch 7, catch in the third picot of the same ring, ch 6, catch in the fourth sc of the corner space; rep from * all around.Mark row complete
- Rnd 3: 3 sc over the first space of 6 ch, ch 4 for the picot, 3 sc, picot, 3 sc, all in the same space; 3 sc, picot, 3 sc, picot, 3 sc, picot, 3 sc in the ch-7 space; rep all around, having the extra picot in each ch-7 space to form the corners. Fasten off.Mark row complete
Working on:
Row 1: Using the No. 1 hook, ch 20, turn, make 1 dc in the eighth ch from the hook, * ch 2, sk 2 ch, 1 dc in the next ch; rep from * 2 times — five squares.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the The “Empire” Reticule in Picot-Edged Squares (1912) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Joining the squares
- Cordeliere
- Slip balls and balls
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Empire Reticule pattern from?
It was published as "Empire Reticule" in The Glossilla Book of Crochet Novelties by Bernhard Ulmann & Co., New York City in 1912. 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 Empire Reticule?
Size 3 pearl cotton. Not printed. The book gives balls, skeins, cards or pieces only, and their weight and yardage are not stated.
What hook should I use?
Start with 2.55 mm (US steel 0) — approximate; change size until the squares lie flat Gauge: No gauge printed.
