Free preview · full pattern in the Vintage Crochet Edgings & Trims
Border for Bath Towel No. 9 in Coloured Wheels (1915): vintage crochet pattern
A towel border of wheels, each begun in colour with a ring of combination trebles and finished in white with single crochet and a round of half-double scallops. The wheels are joined to each other by two scallops and to the towel by a heading of trebles, double crochet and chains.
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 1 ball of each colour; ball length is not stated. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 1.8 mm |
| Gauge | No gauge or measurement printed. |
| Finished size | Not printed. Enough wheels are made to finish the end of the towel. |
| Time | about 3 hours |
Materials
- Size 12 pearl cotton, 1 ball white and 1 ball in a colour — approximate; the original was R. M. C. Cotton Perle No. 12, Art. 35 (ball length not printed)
- Steel crochet hook (original: No. 6 steel hook)
- A bath towel
- Sewing needle and thread
- Hook: Start with 1.8 mm (US steel 6) — approximate; change size so the wheels lie 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
- half double crochet
- double crochet
- treble crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- repeat
- round
- yarn over
- together
Notes before you start
- Source: "Border for Bath Towel No. 9" (No. 9), Richardson's Crochet Book No. 2 (Complete Crochet Book No. 2), Richardson Silk Company, Chicago and New York, 1915. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: One Ball of R. M. C. Cotton Perle No. 12, Art. 35 in White and one of Color; A No. 6 Steel Hook. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: From Richardson's Crochet Book No. 2. That book prints only an abbreviation list (ch = chain stitch, s c = single crochet, d c = double crochet, t c = treble crochet, t t c = triple treble crochet, p = picot, la = lacet, gr = group, sp = space, cl = clover leaf) with no worked descriptions, so the stitches are read by the same key its companion Book No. 1 prints in full: s c = sc, d c = dc, t c = tr, t t c = trtr (triple treble). Book No. 2's heights therefore match modern US usage as well.
- Modernisation note: The book's abbreviations are written in modern US form: ch sts = ch, s c = sc, d c = dc, t c = tr, d t c = dtr, sl st = sl st, p = picot, sp(s) = space(s), gr = group (block), la = lacet, cl = clover leaf; “skip” = sk; “repeat *” = rep from *. Ordinal row names are written Row 1, Row 2, and so on.
- 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 only as Richardson steel hook numbers, with no diameters, so no exact metric size can be read from the books. The metric sizes given are approximate starting points read across to the modern US steel-hook scale (in which a higher number is finer); work a swatch and change size to match 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 threads are 1915 Richardson trade names with no exact modern equivalent, and the books print no yardage except where quoted in the materials. The modern equivalents given are approximations only: R. M. C. Cordonnet and Cordonnet Special (the book says it “matches the D. M. C. thread”, sizes 3 to 150) as mercerized cotton crochet thread of the same size number; R. M. C. Perle Cotton (Art. 15 and 15-B in hanks, Art. 35 in balls, sizes 3, 5, 8 and 12) as modern pearl cotton of the same size; Richardson's Crochet and Knitting Silk (“Perfect”, ½ oz on the ball; “Our Art”, ¼ oz) as a fine silk or silk-blend crochet thread about the weight of size 10–20 cotton; Richardson's Tatting Silk (100 yd on the ball) as a fine hard-twisted silk thread about the weight of size 20–30 cotton; Bed Spread Thread on cones as a heavy cotton crochet thread about size 3–5. Grecian floss (a silk embroidery floss) is used only for embroidery where it is named.
- Modernisation note: Check: the publication year. The book is catalogued as 1915 and is recorded here as 1915, but its own title page carries a 1916 copyright line and the deposit stamp on book page 2 reads April 1916.
- Modernisation note: The book's “combination treble” is two trebles worked into the ring and drawn off together through the 3 loops left; it is written out in full where the book defines it.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book writes “2 half-doubles” in the last round, meaning half double crochet; the modern abbreviation is used.
- Modernisation note: Check: the colour is named only as “Color”; choose any shade to suit the towel.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 5 done (0%)
Wheel
0 of 5 done- Begin with the colour: ch 7 and join in a ring.Mark row complete
- Ch 4, tr in the ring, *ch 3, yo twice and take a st in the ring, (yo and draw through 2 sts) twice; yo twice and take another st in the ring, (yo and draw through 2 sts) twice; then draw through the 3 sts left; rep from * 6 times, ch 3, sl st in the ch-4.Mark row complete
- Fasten on the white: 4 sc in each ch-3 and 1 sc over each combination treble.Mark row complete
- Next round: *Ch 3, (dc, ch 2, dc) in the centre of the 4 sc in the ch-3, ch 3, sl st in the sc over the combination treble; rep from * 7 times.Mark row complete
- Last round: *Ch 3, sl st in the first dc, (sc, 2 hdc, sc) in the ch-2, ch 3, sl st in the sl st; rep from *.Mark row complete
Working on:
Begin with the colour: ch 7 and join in a ring.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Border for Bath Towel No. 9 in Coloured Wheels (1915) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Edgings & Trims
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Joining and Heading
- Joining to the Towel
- Finishing
Included with 618 patterns for $9 — $0.01 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Border for Bath Towel No. 9 pattern from?
It was published as "Border for Bath Towel No. 9" in Richardson's Crochet Book No. 2 (Complete Crochet Book No. 2) by Richardson Silk Company, Chicago and New York 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 Border for Bath Towel No. 9?
Size 12 pearl cotton. Not printed — the book gives 1 ball of each colour; ball length is not stated.
What hook should I use?
Start with 1.8 mm (US steel 6) — approximate; change size so the wheels lie flat Gauge: No gauge or measurement printed.
