Free preview · full pattern in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Ribbed House-Slippers (1918): vintage crochet pattern
Slipper uppers worked from the toe in back-loop sc ribs with a center increase to shape the vamp, a long ribbed side strip joined around the foot, a dtr beading for elastic and a looped ruching that covers the beading.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Fine (#2) |
| Yardage | the book gives no quantity for this design. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 3.5 mm |
| Gauge | No stitch gauge printed. Printed check: the side strip of 44 ribs should go easily around the sole. |
| Finished size | Adult size (not stated). Vamp 25 ribs deep and side strip 44 ribs long, "or the strip is of sufficient length to extend easily around the sole". |
| Time | about 4 hours |
Materials
- Fine (CYC #2) wool yarn — the original was 2-fold Shetland zephyr, or any similar yarn of moderate twist (quantity not printed)
- Crochet hook
- Elastic band or tape for the beading
- Ribbon for instep bows, the same shade as the yarn
- Slipper soles (the book's strip is sized to go around a sole, but no sole is described)
- Tapestry needle
- Hook: Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; change size so the side strip goes easily around your sole (no gauge is printed)
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #2 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Lion Brand Coboo · 50% Cotton, 50% Bamboo
232 yds per skein · Silky breathable drape, lovely stitch shine
2 skeins required
approx. $$12.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- single crochet
- double treble crochet
- skip
- stitch
- stitches
- repeat
- row
- round
- yarn over
- loop
- back loop only
Notes before you start
- Source: "Ribbed House-Slippers", Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet, Needlecraft Publishing Company, Augusta, Maine, 1918. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: Use 2-fold Shetland zephyr, or any similar yarn of moderate twist.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitches converted by the book's own definitions ("A Lesson in Crochet"), not by name. The book uses the older names it calls "in general use", which are one step taller in name than modern US terms: its single crochet ("insert hook in work, take up the thread and draw it through the work and the stitch on the needle at the same time") = modern US sl st; its double (draw through, "giving you two stitches on the needle; take up thread and draw through the two") = sc; half-treble or short-treble = hdc; treble (thread over, insert, draw through, then through two loops twice) = dc; double-treble (thread over twice) = tr; triple-treble (thread over three times) = dtr. Its slip-stitch (drop the loop, insert the hook where you wish to join, pull the dropped loop through) is a joining stitch and is written as "join" or sl st. So every "double" in the original is written here as sc and every "treble" as dc.
- Modernisation note: Period wording modernised: "miss" written as sk; "widen" as inc; "narrow" as dec; "vein" of a stitch as loop ("back vein" = back loop only, "both veins" = both loops); "take up thread/wool" and "over" as yo; "needle" (the crochet hook) as hook; "wool"/"thread" as yarn; "fasten in" as join yarn; "break and fasten wool" as fasten off; "fasten"/"catch" (to a stitch) as sl st; "armscye" as armhole; "repeat" as rep; numbered rows written as Row/Rnd n.
- Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation.
- Modernisation note: The book gives almost no hook sizes (one design names "bone hook size 4"); otherwise it says to use a hook "large enough to carry the yarn", and explains that "no two manufacturers use like numbers for the same sizes". The modern hook given is an approximate starting point for the yarn weight only.
- Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed for any crocheted design in the book; work a swatch and match any printed lengths (given in the modern gauge line) before starting.
- Modernisation note: 1918 yarn names have no exact modern equivalent. Approximate modern CYC weights used: fourfold (4-fold) Germantown wool/zephyr/worsted as light (CYC #3); knitting-worsted as medium (CYC #4); Shetland floss (a soft, lofty yarn) as fine (CYC #2); 2-fold Shetland zephyr as fine (CYC #2); Saxony as super fine (CYC #1); eiderdown wool and "very heavy Germantown worsted" as medium (CYC #4); Angora wool is a fluffy trim yarn used with worsted. The book gives skeins, hanks or balls only — never yardage or skein weight — so no yardage is given.
- Modernisation note: "Triple treble (over 3 times)" converted by the book's definition to modern dtr (yo 3 times).
- Modernisation note: "Make the second slipper the same" added.
- Modernisation note: Check: Row 1 prints 9 sc, 3 sc, 9 sc, but Row 2 is worked as 10 sc, 3 sc, 10 sc. Left as printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: no sole is described; the upper is presumably sewn to a purchased or separately made sole.
- Modernisation note: Check: the ruching ("insert hook in work, over 4 times, pull through") is not fully explained; it appears to form long pulled-out loops of the 3 strands in each stitch. Left as printed.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 7 done (0%)
Vamp (begin at the toe)
0 of 7 done- Foundation: Ch 11, turn.Mark row complete
- Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 8 ch, 3 sc in end ch, sc in each of 9 ch down the other side of the chain, in the same sts where the first 9 sc were worked, ch 1, turn.Mark row complete
- Row 2: 10 sc in 10 sc, working in the back loop only to form the rib, 3 sc in next (center) st, 10 sc in 10 sc, ch 1, turn.Mark row complete
- Rows 3–5: Same as Row 2, making 1 extra sc on each side of the center each row.Mark row complete
- Row 6: Sc in each sc, without inc, ch 1, turn.Mark row complete
- Row 7: Sc in each sc, with 3 sc in the center st.Mark row complete
- Rep Rows 6 and 7 until you have 25 ribs, or the vamp is as deep as desired. If preferred, inc every row, putting 2 sc in one and then the other of the inc sts, alternately.Mark row complete
Working on:
Foundation: Ch 11, turn.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Ribbed House-Slippers (1918) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Side of Foot
- Beading
- Ruching
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Ribbed House-Slippers pattern from?
It was published as "Ribbed House-Slippers" in Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet by Needlecraft Publishing Company, Augusta, Maine in 1918. 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 Ribbed House-Slippers?
fine (#2) yarn. Not printed — the book gives no quantity for this design.
What hook should I use?
Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; change size so the side strip goes easily around your sole (no gauge is printed) Gauge: No stitch gauge printed. Printed check: the side strip of 44 ribs should go easily around the sole.
