Infant's Lap Pad in Shell Stitch (1915): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Size 5 pearl cotton — approximate; the original was 3 large skeins of Richardson's Perle Cotton No. 5, Art. 15-B
• Size 12 pearl cotton, 1 skein — approximate; the original was 1 large skein of No. 12
• Steel crochet hook (original: No. 5 steel hook)
• A piece of rubber or waterproof sheeting to fit inside
• Ribbon for the beading (width and length not printed)
• Tapestry needle
• Hook: Start with 1.9 mm (US steel 5) — approximate; change size so a 15 in (38 cm) chain gives a pad 12 in (30 cm) deep at the printed row count

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

tr

treble crochet

st

stitch

sk

skip

rep

repeat

row

row

sp

space

sh

shell

Notes before you start

• Source: "Infant's Lap Pad", 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: Three Skeins of Richardson's Perle Cotton No. 5, Art 15B; 1 Skein No. 12, Large Skeins; A No. 5 Steel Hook; Rubber sheeting; Ribbon. 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: Check: the materials list a skein of No. 12 pearl cotton, but the directions do not say where the finer thread is used; it is likely for the beading and border.
• Modernisation note: Check: the ribbon's width and length are not printed.
• Modernisation note: Check: the colour is not printed; the pad photographs as white.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.