Solitaire Toque in Cluster Stitch with Shell Border (1912): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Light (CYC #3) mercerized cotton yarn, 4 balls in each of two colours, used double — approximate; the original was Solitaire Knitting
• 8 yd (7.3 m) of chenille yarn for the tassel and couching (original: Bear Brand Auto Toque Chenille)
• Crochet hook (original: bone or amber crochet hook No. 3)
• Hook: Start with 4.5 mm (US 7) with the yarn held double — approximate; change size so the crown measures 7 1/2 in (19 cm) across and 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

sp

space

cl

cluster

inc

increase

FPdc

front post double crochet

Notes before you start

• Source: "Solitaire Toque", The Glossilla Book of Crochet Novelties, Bernhard Ulmann & Co., New York City, 1912. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: 4 balls Solitaire Knitting; 4 balls Contrasting Solitaire Knitting; 8 yds. of Bear Brand Auto Toque Chenille; 1 Bone or Amber Crochet Hook, No. 3. 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: The border's second round works its 5 dc around the post of the centre dc of the shell below, in front of the shell — a front post shell; the wording is kept as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: the two colours of Solitaire Knitting listed in the materials are not assigned to any part of the toque in the printed directions.
• Modernisation note: Check: no head size is printed; the only printed measurement is the 7 1/2 in (19 cm) crown.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions added where a measurement is printed; the printed inches are unchanged.