Heritage Afghan (No. 3280): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Worsted (#4) yarn. Bear Brand DeLuxe Knitting Worsted and Fleisher’s Superior Knitting Worsted were worsted-weight knitting yarns; substitute any worsted yarn that matches the gauge.
• Colours: 48 oz Black; 6 oz Red 4 (B); 3 oz each of Red 5 (C), Red 6 (D), Cardinal (E) and Wine (L); 5 oz Maroon (F).
• Tapestry wool for embroidery: 40 yd (37 m) each of A, G, H, J, K, M, N, O, P, S, R, Y, U, V and 60 yd (55 m) Grey (X and T).
• Bucilla Ever-Match Tapestry Wool was a tapestry (needlepoint) wool; any tapestry wool of similar weight will do. The yardages are as printed.
• Original hooks: “Boye” 9-inch crochet hook Size F (afghan stitch) and “Boye” 5½-inch crochet hook Size 3 (F).
• Tapestry needle for cross-stitch embroidery and sewing; cardboard 3½ in (9 cm) wide for fringe.
• Hook: Start with a 3.75 mm (US F-5) afghan (Tunisian) hook for the afghan stitch panels and a 3.75 mm (US F-5) crochet hook for all other rows; change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

sl st

slip stitch

st

stitch

sts

stitches

sk

skip

rep

repeat

row

row

yo

yarn over

BLO

back loop only

Notes before you start

• Source: "Heritage Afghan" (No. 3280), Your All-time Favorite Afghans to Knit or Crochet in Bear Brand and Fleisher Yarns (Vol. 44, Revised Edition), Bear Brand and Fleisher Yarns (the yarn brands named on the cover; no separate publisher is printed). Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: Color Key | Ounces Needed | Bear Brand DeLuxe Knitting Worsted | Fleisher’s Superior Knitting Worsted; B | 6 | Red 4 | Red 104; C | 3 | Red 5 | Red 105; D | 3 | Red 6 | Red 106; E | 3 | Cardinal 8 | Cardinal 108; L | 3 | Wine 9 | Wine 109; F | 5 | Maroon 12 | Maroon 112; | 48 | Black | Black; | QUANTITY BUCILLA EVER-MATCH TAPESTRY WOOL; A | 40 yds. | Ash Rose—1953; G | 40 yds. | Italian Blue—1998; H | 40 yds. | French Blue—1999; J | 40 yds. | Colonial Blue—1963; K | 40 yds. | Colonial Blue—1989; M | 40 yds. | Antique Gold—1984; N | 40 yds. | Brown—1969; O | 40 yds. | Fern Green—1920; P | 40 yds. | Fern Green—1921; S | 40 yds. | Fern Green-1924; R | 40 yds. | Soft Green—1867; Y | 40 yds. | Teal Blue—1950; U | 40 yds. | Teal Blue—1951; V | 40 yds. | White—1928; X & T | 60 yds. | Grey—1940; “Boye” 9-inch Crochet Hook, Size F.; “Boye” 5½-inch Crochet Hook, Size 3 (F).. Gauge: GAUGE: Afghan St— 9 sts = 2 inches; 9 rows = 2 inches. GAUGE: Shaded Pattern— 9 sts = 2 inches; 4 rows = 1 inch.
• Modernisation note: Abbreviations updated to modern US style: "rpt" → rep, "skip" → sk, "thru" → through, "chs" → ch, "d c" → dc, "back loop of sts" → back loop only (blo). Row labels such as "Row 2—" are written as "Row 2:".
• Modernisation note: The book's rule is that "rpt from * (†) 3 times" means the pattern is made 4 times in all; such repeats are written as "rep from * 3 more times" ("once" → "once more", "twice" → "twice more") so the stitch count is unchanged. Repeats "across", "around" or "to next corner" are unchanged.
• Modernisation note: Square brackets are kept as printed: [ ] means all sts inside are worked in the same st or place, except where the bracket is followed by a number of times, when the bracketed steps are repeated.
• Modernisation note: "Afghan Stitch"/"Afghan-St" is written as "afghan stitch" (called Tunisian simple stitch today). The book's general afghan stitch directions are included as the first section.
• Modernisation note: The book lists a 9-inch and a 5½-inch crochet hook; the directions use the 9-inch (long afghan) hook for the afghan stitch pieces and the 5½-inch hook for the other rows, and are written that way here.
• Modernisation note: The printed colour and materials tables are given one table row per line, with | between columns.
• Modernisation note: Row 1 of the shaded pattern is not labelled in the original; it is written as "Row 1". "Afghan-St bar" is written as "afghan stitch bar".
• Modernisation note: The printed gauge is given on separate lines in the original; the lines are joined with semicolons.
• Modernisation note: "Sew Strips together with an overhead st" is written as "overhand st", the stitch named for joining elsewhere in the same book (original wording: "overhead st").
• Modernisation note: Check: shaded pattern row 3 repeats over 9 sts (Cable, 2 sc, Cable, 2 sc, Cable, 1 sc), while rows 2 and 4–11 each repeat over 16 sts; it is left as printed — compare with the photograph before working it.
• Modernisation note: Check: the book does not give stitch counts for shaded pattern rows 2–11 or say how many repeats fit the 307 sts; work the stated beginnings and endings and keep the Cables lined up with the photograph.
• Modernisation note: The chart key lists X—Grey 1940 and T—Grey 1940 separately; the materials list gives them together as "X & T | 60 yds. | Grey—1940".
• Modernisation note: The cross-stitch charts are not transcribed: colour placement follows the original chart images listed with this pattern. The row counts named for the arrangement chart were read from the labels on that image.
• Modernisation note: "See page …" references were removed or pointed to the matching section or image on this page.
• Modernisation note: The blocking step is the book's general "To Block Crocheted or Knitted Afghans" directions. Modern advice (ours, not in the original): hot steam can permanently flatten acrylic yarn, so if you substitute acrylic, steam very lightly or wet-block instead.
• Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs were split into one step per row, round or sentence; no stitches were added, removed or reordered.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions, the CYC yarn weight, the modern hook suggestion and the yardage estimate were added; they are not in the original.
• Modernisation note: “Boye” hook sizes from this period (e.g. Size 3 (F), Size 5 (G)) were not tied to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern equivalent, and the gauge is what matters.