Pinwheel Popcorn Bedspread (1941): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• J. & P. Coats Bedspread Cotton (a firm mercerized cotton; the nearest common modern equivalent is size 10 crochet cotton)
• Yardage: about 70 yd (64 m) per motif, as printed, plus about 3 or 4 balls for fringe. The number of motifs is not printed. Check your label for ball size.
• Original hook: Milward's steel crochet hook No. 8 or 9.
• Tapestry needle for sewing motifs together.
• Make one motif first and check it against the printed motif size before buying all the thread.
• Hook: Start with 1.5 mm (US steel 8) and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

dc

double crochet

tr

treble crochet

pc

popcorn

sk

skip

sp

space

ch-sp

chain space

st

stitch

lp

loop

rnd

round

rep

repeat

Notes before you start

• Source: "Pinwheel Popcorn" (682), Old and New Favorites: Crochet Designs (Book No. 173), The Spool Cotton Company, 1941. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: J. & P. COATS BEDSPREAD COTTON. See thread information on page 22.; Milward’s Steel Crochet Hook No. 8 or 9.. Gauge: Using the materials recommended, each motif measures 6″ across, from side to side, and requires about 70 yds. of thread. Allow about 3 or 4 balls for bedspread fringe..
• Modernisation note: The original is written in US terms; abbreviations and wording were updated to modern style ("half dc" → hdc, "pc st"/"popcorn st" → pc, "skip" → sk, "p" → picot, "bl" → block).
• Modernisation note: "3rd st of ch-3" and similar are written as "3rd ch of ch-3"; "center st of next ch-3" is written as "center ch".
• Modernisation note: "3rd st of ch-3 first made" is written as "3rd ch of first ch-3"; "1st pc st made" as "first pc".
• Modernisation note: Check: the fringe length and number of strands are not printed.
• Modernisation note: Round labels rewritten in modern form ("1st rnd:" → "Rnd 1:"); run-on paragraphs split into one round or step per line. No stitches were added, removed or reordered.
• Modernisation note: Milward's steel hook numbers were not standardised to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern US steel hook of the same number, and the motif size is what matters.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions, the yardage example and the modern thread/yarn suggestions were added; they are not in the original.
• Modernisation note: The motif is printed in the section "Popcorn Bedspreads".

Motif

1. Starting at center, ch 12, join with sl st.
2. Rnd 1: Ch 3, 23 dc in ring. Join to 3rd ch of ch-3.
3. Rnd 2: Ch 3, 4 dc in same place as sl st; drop st from hook, insert hook back in 3rd ch of first ch-3 and draw loop through the one on hook (a pc). * Ch 5, sk 2 dc, dc in next dc, ch 3, 5 dc in next dc; drop st from hook, insert hook back in last ch made and draw loop through the one on hook (a pc). Repeat from * around, ending with ch 2, sl st at tip of first pc.
4. Rnd 3: Sl st in ch-5 sp, ch 3 and complete a pc; * ch 2, a pc, ch 5, dc in next sp, ch 2, a pc. Repeat from * around, ending with ch 2, sl st at tip of first pc.
5. Rnd 4: Sl st in next sp (between pc), ch 3 and complete a pc; * ch 2, in next ch-5 sp make 2 pc with ch-2 between; ch 5, dc in next sp, ch 2, pc in sp between 2 pc. Repeat from * around, ending as before.
6. Rnds 5 and 6: Same as rnd 4, making pc between pc of previous rnd and 2 pc in ch-5 sp, always making ch-2 between pc (4 pc in each group on rnd 5; 5 pc in each group on rnd 6).
7. Rnd 7: Sl st in next sp (between first 2 pc), ch 3 and complete a pc; * (ch 2, pc between next 2 pc) 3 times; ch 3, dc at tip of next pc, ch 3, dc in ch-5 sp, ch 3, dc in next sp, ch 2, pc between next 2 pc. Repeat from * around. Join.
8. Rnd 8: * 3 pc between pc of previous rnd, with ch-2 between; ch 3, dc at tip of next pc; (ch 3, dc in next sp) 4 times; ch 2 and repeat from * around. Join.
9. Rnd 9: * 2 pc between pc of previous rnd, with ch-2 between; ch 3, dc at tip of next pc; (ch 3, dc in next sp) 6 times, ch 2. Repeat from * around. Join.
10. Rnd 10: Sl st in sp (between pc), ch 3 and complete a pc; * (ch 3, dc in next sp) 3 times; ch 3, sk next dc and sp; in next dc make 3 tr, ch 3, 3 tr; ch 3, sk next sp and dc; dc in next sp; (ch 3, dc in next sp) twice, ch 2, pc between pc of previous rnd. Repeat from * around. Join and fasten off.