Free preview · full pattern in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Figure 41 Oval Star-Stitch Table Mat Cover (1915): vintage crochet pattern
The oval companion to the round star-stitch mat cover: a foundation chain the length of the difference between the mat's breadth and length is worked around on both sides, then treble and star-stitch rounds alternate to the size required. Originally published as "Figure 41. Cover for Asbestos Table Mat" in The Priscilla Crochet Book: Centerpieces and Doilies (edited.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Lace (#0) |
| Yardage | the book gives no thread quantity for this design. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 1.9 mm |
| Gauge | No gauge printed. Work the alternating rounds until the cover fits the mat. |
| Finished size | Worked to the size of the oval table mat to be covered. |
| Time | about 3 hours |
Materials
- Size 3 or size 5 crochet thread — approximate modern equivalent of the book's No. 3 or No. 5 crochet cotton
- 1.9 mm steel hook (US steel 5) — approximate for the book's No. 5 hook
- An oval table mat to cover, and a fine cord for the drawstring
- Hook: Start with 1.9 mm (US steel 5) — approximate for the book's No. 5 hook; change size until the thread runs easily and the work lies flat.
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #0 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Caron Simply Soft · 100% Acrylic
315 yds per skein · High-yield yardage, silky no-scratch texture
2 skeins required
approx. $$10.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- slip stitch
- single crochet
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- repeat
- round
- loop
- alternate
Notes before you start
- Source: "Figure 41. Cover for Asbestos Table Mat", The Priscilla Crochet Book: Centerpieces and Doilies (edited by Belle Robinson), The Priscilla Publishing Company, Boston, 1915. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: Crochet cotton No. 3 or No. 5; Crochet needle No. 5. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitches converted by the book's own “Explanation of Stitches” (printed page 3), not by name. This book uses the older British-style naming, so its stitch names do NOT match modern US names: chain (ch) = ch; slip stitch (sl) = sl st; “double” (d), hook through work, draw thread through, “thread over again and through both loops” = modern US single crochet (sc) — the book adds that this stitch “has been, especially in wool crochet, called ‘single crochet’”; “half treble” (h t), thread over, through work, then “thread over and through all three sts at once” = modern US half double crochet (hdc); “treble” (t), thread over, through work, “thread over and through two loops, thread over and again through two loops” = modern US double crochet (dc); “double treble” (d t), thread over twice and worked off by twos three times = modern US treble crochet (tr); “long treble” (l t) or “triple treble” (t t), thread over three times, worked off by twos = modern US double treble (dtr); “quadruple treble” (q t), thread over four times = modern US triple treble. Every stitch below has been rewritten in the modern US name and abbreviation on that basis.
- Modernisation note: The book's abbreviations are written in modern US form: d = sc, h t = hdc, t = dc, d t = tr, l t = dtr, st(s) = st(s), sp = sp, “miss” = sk, “thread over (the needle)” = yo, “repeat” = rep, “needle” (for the crochet hook) = hook. Ordinal row and round names (“1st round”, “2d round”) are written Rnd 1, Rnd 2 and Row 1, Row 2. Section headings (Border, Edge, Heading) are the book's own where it prints them. The book's British spelling “centrepiece” is kept inside quoted names.
- Modernisation note: The book prints each design as one or two solid paragraphs; these have been split into one round, row or step per line. Stitch order and counts are unchanged. Where the book's own repeat markers (*, **) span several lines they are kept as printed.
- Modernisation note: Thread sizes are the 1915 numbering. “No. N crochet cotton” is given as modern size N crochet thread, which is an approximation: modern size numbering runs the same way (higher number = finer thread) but the exact diameters are not identical. The book states that where it says “crochet cotton” it means the hard-twisted cotton sold as Cordonnet, Cordonnet Special, Cordichet, Kord-net and similar. No yardage is printed for any design, so none is given here.
- Modernisation note: Hook sizes are the book's own steel numbering, and the book itself says only a suggestion can be given: “since crochet-hooks vary, even in the most carefully graded kinds, it follows that only suggestion and not absolute directions can be given for the selections of crochet hooks.” The 1915 steel numbering is not identical to the modern one, so every metric size below is approximate and should be adjusted to the thread.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
- Modernisation note: The border and lining are not repeated in the book for this piece; it refers the worker to Fig. 40, which is transcribed separately in this file.
- Modernisation note: Star stitch is defined in the Fig. 40 directions, which this design depends on.
Row progress: 0 of 8 done (0%)
Cover
0 of 8 done- Having the table mat of the size required, make a chain as long as the difference between the breadth and length of the mat, less 3 ch sts, turn.Mark row complete
- Rnd 1: 7 dc in the 4th st from the hook, 1 dc in each ch st, 8 dc in the last st of the ch; working around the other side of the ch, 1 dc in each ch st, join with sl st.Mark row complete
- Rnd 2: Star stitch, with 5 loops around the ends of the work and with 6 loops (working into 2 dc) along the sides.Mark row complete
- Rnd 3: 3 dc in each star eye around the ends of the work, 2 dc in each eye along the sides.Mark row complete
- Rnd 4: Star stitch, with 6 loops throughout.Mark row complete
- Rnd 5: Like Rnd 3.Mark row complete
- Alternate Rnds 4 and 5 to the required size.Mark row complete
- Use the same border as for the round mat, Fig. 40.Mark row complete
Working on:
Having the table mat of the size required, make a chain as long as the difference between the breadth and length of the mat, less 3 ch sts, turn.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Figure 41 Oval Star-Stitch Table Mat Cover (1915) pattern is in the Heirloom Doilies & Tablecloths
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Finishing
Included with 236 patterns for $19 — $0.08 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Figure 41. Cover for Asbestos Table Mat pattern from?
It was published as "Figure 41. Cover for Asbestos Table Mat" in The Priscilla Crochet Book: Centerpieces and Doilies (edited by Belle Robinson) by The Priscilla Publishing Company, Boston in 1915. 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 Figure 41. Cover for Asbestos Table Mat?
Size 3 or size 5 crochet thread. Not printed — the book gives no thread quantity for this design.
What hook should I use?
Start with 1.9 mm (US steel 5) — approximate for the book's No. 5 hook; change size until the thread runs easily and the work lies flat. Gauge: No gauge printed. Work the alternating rounds until the cover fits the mat.
