“Glossilla Crochet” Opera Bag in Irish Rose and Petal Mesh (1912): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• A lustrous size 3 crochet thread or pearl cotton — approximate; the original was 2 large balls of “Glossilla Crochet”
• Steel crochet hook (original: Star crochet hook No. 3 1/2) and a large hook for the cordeliere (original: amber hook No. 7)
• Cotton wadding to stuff the balls
• Ribbon for the ribbon holes
• Hook: Start with 2 mm (US steel 4) for the bag and about 4 mm (US G-6) for the cordeliere — approximate; change size until the rose lies flat

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

st

stitch

sts

stitches

rnd

round

rep

repeat

sk

skip

sp

space

lp

loop

Notes before you start

• Source: "“Glossilla Crochet” Opera Bag", The Glossilla Book of Crochet Novelties, Bernhard Ulmann & Co., New York City, 1912. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: 2 large balls “Glossilla Crochet”; 1 Star crochet hook, No. 3 1/2; 1 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: the printed slip-ball round reads "Make six more rounds of 2458. ¢." in this copy; from the preceding round (12 sc doubled) the count is 24 sc. Transcribed as 24 sc.
• Modernisation note: Check: the printed text says to make 17 more balls after the first, that is 18 in all; the places listed for them (two per corner, two at the lower edge, two in each rose, two on each slip ball) are transcribed 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.