Ladies' Mittens in Star Stitch (1912): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Super fine (CYC #1) soft wool yarn — approximate; the original was 3 oz (85 g) of two-ply zephyr
• Crochet hook (hook not printed)
• Sewing or tapestry needle
• Hook: Start with 3.25 mm (US D-3) — approximate; no hook or measurement is printed, so try on as you go

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sc

single crochet

st

stitch

sts

stitches

rep

repeat

row

row

dec

decrease

Notes before you start

• Source: "Ladies' Mittens", Priscilla Wool Crochet Book (ed. Lola Burks Hettich), The Priscilla Publishing Company, Boston, 1912. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: Three ounces of two-ply zephyr. Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: Stitches converted by the book's own “Explanation of Stitches”, not by name: chain stitch (ch st, “make a series of loops, drawing each loop through the preceding one”) = ch; slip stitch (sl st, “insert the hook into the stitch, draw the wool through that stitch and through the wool on hook at the same time”) = sl st; single crochet (s c, “insert the hook, draw wool through, pass wool around hook (wool over), and draw it through both loops on the hook”) = sc; double crochet (d c, wool around the hook, insert, draw through, then through 2 loops twice) = dc; half double crochet (h d c, wool around the hook, insert, draw through, then “through all 3 loops at once”) = hdc; treble crochet (t c or tr c, wool around the hook twice, insert, draw through, then through 2 loops three times) = tr. For these stitches the 1912 American names already match modern US usage, so no stitch changes height. The book's long crochet (l c: wool around the hook, insert, draw through, then through 1 loop, then through 2 loops twice) is the modern extended double crochet; where used it is written “long crochet” with that definition.
• Modernisation note: The book's abbreviations are written in modern US form: ch st = ch, s c = sc, d c = dc, h d c = hdc, t c / tr c = tr, st(s) = st(s), “wool over” / “thread over” / “pass the wool around the hook” = yo; “miss” = sk; loop = lp; “repeat” = rep; “beginning” = beg. “Widen” is written as increase and “narrow” as decrease, as defined in each design. Ordinal row names (“1st row”, “2d row”) are written Row 1, Row 2; where the book calls a circuit of a round piece a “row” the book's word is kept. “Plain” (a row or round with no increases or decreases) is kept as printed.
• Modernisation note: Star stitch is the book's own stitch, defined on its “Star Stitch” page (quoted as the first steps of each design that uses it): loops are drawn up in the chain or in the long and short strands of the star below, all taken off together with 1 yo and closed with 1 ch. It has no single modern abbreviation, so it is written “star”. The book's widening terms are kept and explained: “wi 1” (one extra star in the same stitch), “wi 2” (two extra stars in that stitch) and “wi by 2 over 1” (two stars over one star of the row below).
• Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs are split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation.
• Modernisation note: Hooks are printed as bone hooks described only as fine, medium-sized or coarse, or by an unstated numbering system, with no diameters, so no exact metric size can be read from the book. The suggested modern hook is an approximate starting point chosen for the yarn weight and tied to any printed measurement.
• Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed for this design; work a swatch and match any printed measurement (given in the modern gauge line) before starting.
• Modernisation note: The yarns are 1912 trade descriptions with no exact modern equivalent, and the book prints no yardage or skein/ball weights except where quoted in the materials. The CYC weights given are approximations only: Saxony (a fine, firm yarn) and 2-ply (single) zephyr as super fine (CYC #1); ice wool (a very fine, lustrous yarn) as super fine (CYC #1); Shetland floss (a soft, lofty yarn) and eiderdown wool as fine (CYC #2) — lofty yarns and to be matched by gauge or measurement rather than by weight; 4-ply (split) zephyr, 4-fold Germantown and Spanish yarn as light (CYC #3); 8-fold Germantown and knitting worsted as medium (CYC #4).
• Modernisation note: “Glove” in the printed shaping directions is written as mitten. “Narrow” is written as decrease; the book's own definition is “taking two stars in one”.
• Modernisation note: Check: “there ought to be 12 stars, when you widen the 5th row, including the 10 that are widened” — read as the thumb gusset stars after 5 widening rounds. Follow the stitch counts as printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: the book does not explain how to work 2 stars in 1 when decreasing; draw up the loops across 2 stars of the row below for one star.
• Modernisation note: Check: “crochet 14 rows and narrow” is printed just before the top shaping and is read as leading into it.
• Modernisation note: Check: the wrist “shell scallop” is not described; no stitch counts are printed. The ribbon bow in the photograph is not in the materials.
• Modernisation note: Finishing lines added.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.