Square Dance Afghan (1951): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Fine (#2) sport yarn for Scarlet and Sand; the original lists sport, sock, and sock-and-sweater yarns or nylon as alternatives.
• Rayon crochet thread ("Star" Rayon Crochet) for Buttercup, Black and Red: 13 balls Buttercup, 2 balls Black, 5 balls Red. The ball size is not printed; a modern rayon or mercerised cotton thread of a similar thickness can be tried against the gauge.
• Colours (yarn): 32 oz Scarlet, 6 oz Sand.
• Original hook: plastic crochet hook No. 4 or F.
• Hook: Start with 3.75 mm (US F-5) and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

dc

double crochet

sc

single crochet

cl

cluster

yo

yarn over

sk

skip

st

stitch

sts

stitches

rnd

round

rep

repeat

Notes before you start

• Source: "Square Dance Afghan", Beautiful, Beautiful Afghans (Star Book No. 82), American Thread Company, 1951. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY “DAWN” BRAEBURN SPORT YARN, Article W 74; or; “DAWN” ANTI-SHRINK, ANTI-MATTING SOCK YARN, Article W 9; or; “DAWN” SOCK & SWEATER YARN, Article W 64; or; “DAWN” PERMANENT “CRIMP SET” NYLON, Article N 6; 32 ozs. Scarlet or Red for Afghan. 12 ozs. for Shawl.; 6 ozs. Sand for Afghan. 2 ozs. for Shawl.; and; “STAR” RAYON CROCHET, Article 700; 13 balls Buttercup for Afghan, 5 balls for Shawl.; 2 balls Black for Afghan, 2 balls for Shawl.; 5 balls Red for Afghan, 2 balls for Shawl.; Plastic crochet hook No, 4 or F.. Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: The original is written in US terms; abbreviations were updated to modern style (s c → sc, d c → dc, tr c → tr, s d c → hdc). "Row" is written as "Rnd" where the work is in rounds.
• Modernisation note: "Cut yarn" is written as "fasten off"; "attach" is written as "join"; "yarn over" as "yo"; "skip" as "sk".
• Modernisation note: "Join in 3rd st of ch" is written as "join in 3rd ch of ch"; "ch 2 loop" and "ch 3 loop" are written as "ch-2 loop" and "ch-3 loop".
• Modernisation note: "Repeat last row 3 times" is written as rnds 4–6 and "work same as 3rd row" (13th to 16th) as rnds 13–16, following the printed numbering.
• Modernisation note: Printed stitch counts (22 dc, 54 dc and 43 cluster sts on each side) are kept from the original.
• Modernisation note: Check: the original does not say which colour is used for rnds 28–29, 31–32 and 41–43 beyond the colour joined at the start of each group; work each group in the colour last joined unless the photograph shows otherwise.
• Modernisation note: Check: rnd 27 and rnd 45 say "Join Red"/"Join Black" but refer to rnd 7, which itself joins Buttercup; the colour named in the later round is the one to use.
• Modernisation note: The rayon crochet thread ("Star" Rayon Crochet) is used for the Buttercup, Black and Red rounds; Scarlet and Sand are the sport-weight yarn. This reading follows the materials list, which gives Scarlet and Sand in ounces and Buttercup, Black and Red in balls.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions, the modern hook suggestion and the yardage estimate were added; they are not in the original.
• Modernisation note: Hook numbers from this period were not standardised to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern equivalent, and the gauge is what matters.
• Modernisation note: "Repeat the 19th to 46th rows twice" is written as rnds 47–102; the range is our arithmetic and agrees with the printed "103rd Row" that follows.
• Modernisation note: Check: rnds 119–127 say "Attach Buttercup" but refer to rnds 24–32, which include Sand and Red rounds; it is not clear whether those colour changes are repeated. Check the photograph.

Rounds 1–46

1. Rnd 1: With Scarlet ch 4, join to form a ring, ch 3 (counts as 1 dc in each rnd) and work 11 dc in ring, join in 3rd ch of ch.
2. Rnd 2: Ch 3, 1 dc in next dc, *2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in next dc (corner), 1 dc in each of the next 2 dc, rep from * twice, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in next dc, join in 3rd ch of ch.
3. Rnd 3: Ch 3, 1 dc in each dc, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in each ch-2 loop at each corner, join in 3rd ch of ch.
4. Rnds 4–6: Repeat last rnd 3 times, fasten off (22 dc on each side).
5. Rnd 7: Join Buttercup, ch 1 and work 1 sc in each dc, 1 sc, ch 3, 1 sc in each ch-2 loop at each corner, join in ch 1.
6. Rnd 8: Ch 1, work 1 sc in each sc, 1 sc, ch 3, 1 sc in each ch-3 loop at each corner, fasten off.
7. Rnd 9: Join Scarlet, work same as rnd 3, fasten off.
8. Rnds 10 and 11: Join Buttercup, work same as rnds 7 and 8, fasten off.
9. Rnd 12: Join Scarlet, work 1 dc in each sc, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in each ch-3 loop at each corner.
10. Rnds 13–16: Work same as rnd 3, fasten off (54 dc on each side).
11. Rnd 17: Join Buttercup, work same as rnd 7, fasten off.
12. Rnd 18: Join Black, work same as rnd 8, fasten off.
13. Rnds 19–23: Join Scarlet, work same as rnds 12–16, fasten off.
14. Rnds 24 and 25: Join Buttercup, work same as rnds 7 and 8, fasten off.
15. Rnd 26: Join Sand, ch 3 (counts as part of 1st cluster st), dc in same space, *ch 1, sk 1 st, 2-dc cluster st in next st (2-dc cluster st: 2 dc in same space keeping last loop of each dc on hook, yo and pull through all loops at one time), rep from * all around working 2 cluster sts with ch 2 between in each ch-3 loop at each corner, join in 3rd ch of ch, fasten off (43 cluster sts on each side).
16. Rnd 27: Join Red, work same as rnd 7, working 1 sc in each cluster st and 1 sc in each ch 1.
17. Rnd 28: Ch 3, 1 dc in each sc, working 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in each ch-3 loop at each corner, join.
18. Rnd 29: Work same as rnd 7, fasten off.
19. Rnd 30: Join Sand, work same as rnd 26, fasten off.
20. Rnd 31: Join Buttercup, work same as rnd 27.
21. Rnd 32: Work same as rnd 8, fasten off.
22. Rnds 33–37: Join Scarlet, work same as rnds 12–16, fasten off.
23. Rnd 38: Join Buttercup, work same as rnd 7, fasten off.
24. Rnd 39: Join Black, work same as rnd 8, fasten off.
25. Rnd 40: Join Scarlet, work same as rnd 26, fasten off.
26. Rnds 41, 42 and 43: Join Buttercup, work same as rnds 27, 28 and 29, fasten off.
27. Rnd 44: Join Scarlet, work same as rnd 26, fasten off.
28. Rnd 45: Join Black, work same as rnd 27, fasten off.
29. Rnd 46: Join Buttercup, work same as rnd 8, fasten off.