Regimental Stripes Rug (vintage American Thread): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Aunt Lydia's Heavy Rug Yarn (Coats & Clark) is still sold. It is a bulky (#5)-class rug yarn; substitute any bulky rug yarn that matches the gauge.
• Yardage: the original lists 16 skeins but does not print the skein size. Other American Thread books of the period list this yarn in 70 yd skeins, which would be about 1120 yd (1024 m) — check the current label before buying.
• Colours: 8 skeins national blue, 3 skeins black, 2 skeins each light yellow and dark green, 1 skein red.
• Original hook: aluminum crochet hook size H.
• A piece of cardboard 4½ in (11 cm) wide for fringe.
• Hook: Start with 5 mm (US H-8) and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

yo

yarn over

sk

skip

st

stitch

rep

repeat

Notes before you start

• Source: "Regimental Stripes", Crocheted Rugs (Star Rug Book No. 106), The American Thread Company. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY "AUNT LYDIA'S" HEAVY RUG YARN, Article 235; 8 skeins National Blue.; 3 skeins Black.; 2 skeins each Lt. Yellow and Dk. Green.; 1 skein Red.; Aluminum crochet hook size H.. Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: The original is written in US terms; abbreviations were updated to modern style (s c → sc, d c → dc, s d c → hdc).
• Modernisation note: "Yarn over hook" is written as "yo"; "work off all loops" as "draw through all loops"; "skip 1 st of ch" as "sk 1 ch".
• Modernisation note: The original's term "eye of st" for the ch 1 is kept.
• Modernisation note: "Green" in the stripe sequence is kept as printed (the materials list calls it dark green).
• Modernisation note: "Cut yarn" and "break off" are written as "fasten off"; "attach" is written as "join".
• Modernisation note: "Weave in all ends" was added as a finishing step; it is not in the original.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions were added; they are not in the original.
• Modernisation note: Hook letters from this period were not standardised to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern equivalent, and the gauge is what matters.

Pattern stitch

1. Row 1: With national blue, ch 96, yo, insert hook in 4th ch from hook and pull up a loop, yo, sk 1 ch, insert hook in next ch and pull up a loop, yo and draw through all loops at one time, ch 1 (the ch 1 is called the eye of the st), *yo, insert hook in same ch as last st and pull up a loop, yo, sk 1 ch, insert hook in next ch and pull up a loop, yo and draw through all 5 loops at one time, ch 1 (pattern); rep from * across, then ch 1 more to turn.
2. Row 2: Yo, sk the eye of the st just made, insert hook in next st of same pattern and pull up a loop, yo, insert hook in eye of next st and pull up a loop, yo and draw through all 5 loops at one time, ch 1, *yo, insert hook in eye of same st and pull up a loop, yo, insert hook in eye of next st and pull up a loop, yo and draw through all 5 loops at one time, ch 1; rep from * across, inserting hook in 2nd ch of end ch to complete the last pattern, ch 1, then ch 1 more to turn. All rows are worked the same as row 2 for the entire rug.
3. Work 4 more rows in national blue, but on the last row work to within the last pattern, yo, insert hook in eye of same st and pull up a loop, yo, insert hook in 2nd ch of end ch and pull up a loop, with black draw through all 5 loops at one time, ch 1, then ch 1 more to turn.