Free preview · full pattern in the Vintage Afghans & Bedspreads
Crocheted Squares for Bed Spread (1915): vintage crochet pattern
A bedspread square worked from a chain ring in alternating rounds: bands of trebles with long chain corners, then a round of single crochet, growing by eight stitches on each side each time. Picot trebles and a scalloped last round join the squares to one another.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Lace (#0) |
| Yardage | Not printed. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 1.9 mm |
| Gauge | No gauge or measurement printed. |
| Finished size | Not printed. Each square is worked to 13 rounds; the squares grow by 8 sts on each side on each pair of rounds. |
| Time | about 4 hours |
Materials
- Size 5 mercerized cotton crochet thread in white or ecru, or a heavy cotton crochet thread about size 3–5 — approximate; the originals were R. M. C. Cordonnet No. 5 and Richardson's Bed Spread Thread on cones
- Steel or fine aluminium crochet hook (no hook size is printed for this design)
- Tapestry needle
- Hook: No hook size is printed for this design. Start with 1.9 mm (US steel 5) and change size so the squares 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
- treble crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- skip
- repeat
- round
Notes before you start
- Source: "Crocheted Squares for Bed Spread", 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: Richardson's R. M. C. Cordonnet No. 5, White or Ecru; or Richardson's Bed Spread Thread on Cones. 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 calls each circuit a “Row”; because the square is worked in rounds these are written Round 1, Round 2, and so on.
- Modernisation note: No hook size is printed for this design, so the suggested hook is ours and is approximate.
- Modernisation note: Check: Round 11's opening is printed “5 ch sts, 1 t c, 4 ch sts form a p, 2 t c” — the picot is made on 4 chain, as the book's picot elsewhere.
- Modernisation note: Check: the finished size of a square and the number needed for a spread are not printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: the colour is white or ecru, as named in the materials.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 9 done (0%)
Square
0 of 9 done- Make 12 ch sts; join into a circle.Mark row complete
- Round 1: Ch 5, 1 tr into each of the next 3 sts, *ch 8, 4 tr; rep twice, join, turn.Mark row complete
- Round 2: Sl st on the ch to the corner, 1 sc into each st, join.Mark row complete
- Round 3: Ch 5, 1 tr caught into the st back of the sc, leaving this as a standing st, rep making 11 tr, *ch 8, 12 tr; rep from * twice.Mark row complete
- Round 4: Sl st to the corner, 1 sc into each st.Mark row complete
- Round 5: Sl st to the corner, rep Round 3, increasing by 8 sts on each side; make Rounds 4 and 5 alternately until you have finished Round 10.Mark row complete
- Round 11: Sl st to the corner, ch 5, 1 tr, ch 4 sts to form a picot, 2 tr, *ch 3 sts, sk 4 sts, 2 tr, 1 picot, 2 tr; rep from *, with ch 8 at each corner.Mark row complete
- Round 12: Rep Round 11, making tr over ch and ch over tr; corners as before.Mark row complete
- Round 13: Ch 3 sts, *4 tr with 3 picots between, all into the centre ch st, 1 sc into the picot; rep from *, completing the square. Break the thread.Mark row complete
Working on:
Make 12 ch sts; join into a circle.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Crocheted Squares for Bed Spread (1915) pattern is in the Vintage Afghans & Bedspreads
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Joining
- Finishing
Included with 73 patterns for $19 — $0.26 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Crocheted Squares for Bed Spread pattern from?
It was published as "Crocheted Squares for Bed Spread" 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 Crocheted Squares for Bed Spread?
Size 5 crochet cotton (or a bedspread-weight cotton). Not printed.
What hook should I use?
No hook size is printed for this design. Start with 1.9 mm (US steel 5) and change size so the squares lie flat Gauge: No gauge or measurement printed.
