This airy square shawl is built from the center outward, with four corners established at the beginning and one additional point added along each side in every new row. A shell-and-knot-stitch border completes the design.
Materials & Size
- 14–15 skeins Shetland floss
- Medium-sized bone crochet hook, or modern equivalent that gives an open, even fabric
The original shawl is described as approximately 1½ yards square.
Vintage Instructions
Row 1: Make 1 short chain stitch. Draw out a long chain stitch to about 1/2 inch, make 1 short chain and single crochet back into the short chain at the beginning. Repeat this point twice more. Then make 1 long chain and 1 double crochet into the same stitch with the 3 single crochet. These four points establish the four corners.
Row 2: Make 1 long chain and a double crochet of equal length back into the top of the double crochet at the end of Row 1. Work forward into the top of the next point, keeping the long chains flat. At each corner widen with long and short chain stitches as described in the original pattern.
Following rows: Repeat the construction of Row 2, increasing the number of points between corners by one on each row: 1 point between corners on Row 2, 2 on Row 3, 3 on Row 4, and so on. Continue until the shawl is the desired size.
Border
Work chain 3 and single crochet in the center of each point around. On the next row form paired double-crochet clusters with chain spaces and knot stitch. Continue for 5 rows of shells, widening sufficiently at the corners so the work lies flat.
For the scalloped edge, work 6 long loose double crochet with chain 1 between in alternate shells, with single crochet between scallops. Finish with loose chain-2 loops worked around each scallop.
Crochet Board Editorial Note
This design depends more on maintaining four clear corner increase lines than on matching a modern standardized gauge. Keep the long chain stitches consistent in height and block the finished square carefully.
Vintage Source
Publication: Priscilla Wool Crochet Book
Editor: Lola Burks Hettich
Publisher: The Priscilla Publishing Company, Boston
Year: 1912
Original printed page: 17 (scan pages 20–21)
Rights: Public-domain historical work. The Library of Congress states that books in this collection are in the public domain and are free to use and reuse.