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Towel Border No. 8 on Rick-Rack Braid (1915): vintage crochet pattern
A five-row towel border worked over fancy rick-rack braid: white joined double crochet gather the points, then rows of double crochet with chains open the band out, and a blue round of half-double shells finishes the outer edge. A blue row matching the first finishes the inner edge.
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 3 skeins white and 1 of colour; skein length is not stated. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 1.8 mm |
| Gauge | No gauge or measurement printed. |
| Finished size | Not printed. The braid is cut the width of the towel. |
| Time | about 3 hours |
Materials
- Size 8 pearl cotton: 3 skeins white and 1 skein in a colour — approximate; the original was Richardson's R. M. C. Cotton Perle No. 8, Art. 15 (skein length not printed)
- A strip of fancy rick-rack braid the width of the towel
- Steel crochet hook (original: No. 6 steel hook)
- A towel; sewing needle and thread
- Hook: Start with 1.8 mm (US steel 6) — approximate
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
- stitch
- stitches
- repeat
- row
- together
- shell
Notes before you start
- Source: "Towel Border No. 8" (No. 8), 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 White and One of Color of Richardson's R. M. C. Cotton Perle No. 8, Art. 15; A strip of Fancy Rick-rack Braid; 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: Rows 1 and 2 use double crochet left unfinished on the hook and drawn off together; the book writes them out in full and they are kept as printed.
- Modernisation note: Check: the materials name the second thread only as “Color”, while Row 5 calls it blue; either reading is the book's.
- Modernisation note: Check: the number of points across depends on the braid and the towel's width; no count is printed.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 6 done (0%)
Border
0 of 6 done- Take a strip of the braid the width of the towel and finish the ends.Mark row complete
- Row 1: Fasten the white in the end of the braid, ch 8, sc in the first point, *ch 3, dc in the side of the point leaving 2 sts on the hook, another dc between the points leaving 3 sts on the hook, dc in the side of the next point, drawing the thread through the last 4 sts at once, ch 3, sc in the top of the next point; rep from *.Mark row complete
- Row 2: (2 dc drawing the thread through the last 3 sts on the hook at once) in the tip of each point and in the 3 dc of the last row, with ch 3 between.Mark row complete
- Row 3: *2 dc in dc, ch 2, sc in the ch-3, ch 2; rep from *.Mark row complete
- Row 4: 2 dc in 2 dc with ch 5 between.Mark row complete
- Row 5: With the blue make a shell of (sc, 3 hdc, sc) in each ch-5 and sl st in the 2 dc of the last row.Mark row complete
Working on:
Take a strip of the braid the width of the towel and finish the ends.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Towel Border No. 8 on Rick-Rack Braid (1915) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Edgings & Trims
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Inner Edge and Joining
- Finishing
Included with 618 patterns for $9 — $0.01 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Towel Border No. 8 pattern from?
It was published as "Towel Border No. 8" 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 Towel Border No. 8?
Size 8 pearl cotton. Not printed — the book gives 3 skeins white and 1 of colour; skein length is not stated.
What hook should I use?
Start with 1.8 mm (US steel 6) — approximate Gauge: No gauge or measurement printed.
