Highland Home Woven Afghan (1952): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Worsted (#4) yarn. Chadwick's Red Heart Knitting Worsted, 4 ply, was a worsted-weight yarn; substitute any worsted yarn that matches the gauge.
• Colours: 36 oz Black, 24 oz Scarlet, 3 oz Yellow (includes the yarn for weaving).
• The book notes that 2 oz skeins (Art. E.230-B) of the same yarn may be used instead: buy half the number of skeins.
• Original hook: Clark's O.N.T. plastic crochet hook No. 3.
• Bodkin or large blunt tapestry needle for weaving; a curtain stretcher or other frame is optional.
• Hook: Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

dc

double crochet

sk

skip

sp

space

rep

repeat

Notes before you start

• Source: "Highland Home" (C-126), Afghans (Afghan Book No. 289), The Spool Cotton Company, 1952. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: CHADWICK’S RED HEART KNITTING WORSTED, 4 Ply, Art. E.232: 36 skeins (1 oz. “Tangle-Proof” Pull-Out Skeins) of No. 12 Black; 24 skeins of No. 909 Scarlet and 3 skeins of No. 230 Yellow.; Clark’s O.N.T. Plastic Crochet Hook No. 3.. Gauge: 3 sps make 1 inch; 2½ rows make 1 inch..
• Modernisation note: Round and row labels ("1st rnd", "2nd row") are written as "Rnd 1", "Row 2"; "half dc" is written as "hdc"; "thread over" and "yarn over" as "yo"; "skip" as "sk"; "repeat" as "rep" where abbreviated.
• Modernisation note: "Break off" is written as "fasten off"; "attach" is written as "join".
• Modernisation note: Printed space counts (32 sps, 17 sps) are kept from the original.
• Modernisation note: Check: the original gives no separate step for joining the five strips; lay them side by side before weaving and check the photograph for how they are held together.
• Modernisation note: Finished size taken from the photograph caption ("Size approximately 50 x 64 inches, including fringe").
• 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 modern hook suggestion and the yardage estimate were added; they are not in the original.
• Modernisation note: Hook numbers from this period were not standardised to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern equivalent, and the gauge is what matters.

Wide strip (make 4)

1. Starting at narrow edge with Black, ch 68.
2. Row 1: Dc in 6th ch from hook, *ch 1, sk 1 ch, dc in next ch. Rep from * across (32 sps). Ch 4, turn.
3. Row 2: Sk first dc, *dc in next dc, ch 1. Rep from * across, ending with dc in last dc, ch 1, sk 1 ch of turning chain, dc in next ch. Ch 4, turn.
4. Repeat row 2 five more times, omitting turning chain on last row. Drop Black, join Yellow.
5. Next row: Ch 4 and work in pattern across. Fasten off Yellow.
6. Following row: Pick up Black, ch 4 and work in pattern across. Ch 4, turn.
7. Work in pattern with Black for 6 more rows. Fasten off.
8. Join Scarlet and work in pattern for 3 rows, omitting turning chain on last row. Drop Scarlet, join Black and work in pattern across. Fasten off.
9. Pick up Scarlet, (make 3 Scarlet rows, 1 Black row) 3 times and 3 Scarlet rows. Fasten off Scarlet.
10. Join Black and make another Black Section with Yellow stripe as before.
11. Continue in this manner, making Black and Scarlet sections alternately until 11 sections in all have been completed (6 Black and 5 Scarlet).