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Bridal Purse in Beaded Crochet Silk (Victorian): vintage crochet pattern
A Victorian long purse in white crochet silk with every stitch beaded: a square end showing a spray of roses in scarlet ombré silk and gold beads and leaves in slate silk and steel beads on a white-bead ground, a beaded net centre with an opening, and steel rings, tassel and fringe.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Advanced |
| Yarn weight | Lace (#0) |
| Yardage | As printed: skeins by colour (skein length not printed). |
| Hook | 0.6 mm |
| Gauge | Not printed. Work to the size of the article. |
| Finished size | Not printed. The purse is a tube of 100 sts; the net centre opening is 24 rows long. |
| Time | about 27 hours |
Materials
- Silk thread about the thickness of size 20–30 crochet cotton (period: crochet silk): 6 skeins white, 2 skeins scarlet ombré (long shades), 3 skeins slate, 1 skein bright scarlet, as printed
- 2 oz (57 g) transparent white seed beads a little larger than size 11/0; 4 strings gold beads and 1 hank steel (silver-grey) beads of the same size
- Two steel purse rings (sliders), a steel tassel and a deep steel fringe
- Beading needle for stringing; tapestry needle
- Hook: Start with a 0.6 mm (US steel 14 or finer) hook, fine enough for beaded silk; the book names Boulton's tapered indented crochet hook No. 23, and no gauge is printed.
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
- single crochet
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- round
- row
- repeat
- skip
- loop
Notes before you start
- Source: "Bridal Purse, in Crochet", The Ladies' Work-Book, John Cassell, La Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, London (no year printed). Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: Six skeins of white crochet silk, two skeins of ombré; scarlet ditto, in long shades, three skeins of slate-colour, and one of bright scarlet.; Two ounces of transparent white beads, rather larger than seed beads, four strings of gold, the same size, and a hank of steel to match.; For the garnitures (which must be entirely of bright steel), two rings, a handsome tassel for one end, and a deep fringe for the other.; Boulton's tapered indented Crochet Hook, No. 23.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitch names converted to modern US terms strictly by the book's own crochet lesson: “chain” / “ch.” = ch; “slip” / “slip-stitch” = sl st; “single crochet” / “s.c.” = sc; “double crochet” / “double” / “d.c.” = dc; “treble crochet” / “treble” / “t.c.” = tr; “long treble” / “long t.c.” = dtr; “long” / “l.” = dc (one wrap, from the book's “double long … twisting the cotton twice”); “open square” = dc, ch 2, sk 2; “close square” = 3 dc; “diminished” / “contracted” stitch = dc2tog; “miss” = sk; “loop” (of a chain or row) = st. In this book “double crochet” means the same stitch as the modern US dc, and “single crochet” the modern sc.
- Modernisation note: Period wording modernised: “needle” written as “hook”; “commence” as “begin”; “unite” / “close into a round” as “join into a ring”; “round loop” as “ring”; “receipt” as “directions”; “scollop” as “scallop”. Round and row numbers are kept as printed.
- Modernisation note: Printed paragraphs split into one step per round, row or instruction; no stitches, counts or rows added, removed or reordered. Words in square brackets or marked “Check:” are ours, and the printed wording is quoted wherever a reading was needed.
- Modernisation note: Period purse silk, netting silk and crochet silk have no exact modern equivalent; a silk (or fine mercerised) thread about the thickness of size 20–30 crochet cotton is suggested. “Ombré” silk is shaded from light to dark along the strand; “gold thread” was a metallic gold thread.
- Modernisation note: Period bead descriptions (“steel”, “rather larger than seed beads”, “No. 5”, “No. 6”) have no exact modern equivalent. Choose small seed beads (about size 11/0–8/0) whose hole will take the thread doubled through the needle; steel beads can be replaced with silver-grey or gunmetal seed beads. Check: approximate.
- Modernisation note: The book's “Boulton's tapered indented Crochet Hook, No. 23” was a very fine steel hook sold by number; no conversion is printed. The modern hook is an approximate suggestion only.
- Modernisation note: No yardage is printed and none is estimated.
- Modernisation note: Colour swatches are approximate modern readings of the period colour names; they are not in the book. “Cerise” is a deep cherry pink; “maize” a soft yellow; “stone-colour” and “drab” pale greyish browns; “slate” a blue-grey.
- Modernisation note: Check: the bead-pattern rounds name only colours; sc is assumed from the book's lesson (“close work, whether d.c. or s.c.”) and from Rnd 62 and the closing row, which are sc.
- Modernisation note: Check: Rnd 39 adds up to 51 sts per repeat instead of 50; compare with the engraving and drop one white st.
- Modernisation note: Check: Rnd 58 is printed “All white, work round to the centre of one side; also” — the last word is kept out; the rnd appears to end at the side so that the scarlet vandykes and net begin there.
- Modernisation note: Check: the book does not say how many rounds of the square end sit between the vandykes; the design is 61 rnds as printed.
Row progress: 0 of 5 done (0%)
Stitches
0 of 5 done- Single crochet, “s.c.” (book's definition): “Having a loop on the needle, insert the hook in a stitch, and draw the thread through in a loop. You then have two on the hook; draw the thread through both at once.” = sc.Mark row complete
- Double crochet, “d.c.” (book's definition): “Twist the thread round the hook before inserting it in the stitch, through which you draw the thread in a loop. Three loops being then on the needle, draw the thread through two, and then through the one just formed and the remaining one.” = dc.Mark row complete
- To work with beads (book): “Beads must be first threaded on the silk, or other material, and then dropped, according to the pattern, on what is usually thought the wrong side of the work. This side presents a more even appearance than the other.” = pre-string the beads; slide one bead up against the work in each beaded st; the side the beads fall on becomes the right side.Mark row complete
- To work with several colours (book): “Hold the threads not in use along the edge of the work, and work them in. When the colour is to be changed, begin the stitch with the old colour, and complete it with the new, which continue to work with, holding the other in.” = carry the unused strands inside the stitches and change colour on the last yo of the stitch before (tapestry crochet).Mark row complete
- Repeat marks (book): asterisks, crosses and daggers mark repeats — “in every row or round, if one of any kind is used, a second, similar one, is sure to be found; and that the repetition occurs between the two”. Written here with *…* and (…).Mark row complete
Working on:
Single crochet, “s.c.” (book's definition): “Having a loop on the needle, insert the hook in a stitch, and draw the thread through in a loop. You then have two on the hook; draw the thread through both at once.” = sc.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Bridal Purse in Beaded Crochet Silk (Victorian) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Stringing and colour key
- Square end
- Net centre and long end
- Closing the square end
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Bridal Purse, in Crochet pattern from?
It was published as "Bridal Purse, in Crochet" in The Ladies' Work-Book by John Cassell, La Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, London (no year printed). 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 Bridal Purse, in Crochet?
Silk thread about size 20–30 (period: crochet silk). As printed: skeins by colour (skein length not printed).
What hook should I use?
Start with a 0.6 mm (US steel 14 or finer) hook, fine enough for beaded silk; the book names Boulton's tapered indented crochet hook No. 23, and no gauge is printed. Gauge: Not printed. Work to the size of the article.
