This dramatic half-square shawl from Miss Lambert’s 1847 crochet manual is built from very long striped rows and shaped by regularly omitting a stitch at the center. The result is a pointed shawl whose rows travel diagonally away from the center line.
A 900-stitch foundation reflects the yarn and scale used in the 1847 sample. Modern yarns vary greatly, so make a swatch and determine the width you want before committing to the historical count. Preserve the center-decrease principle even if you resize the shawl.
Materials
The original calls for black eight-thread zephyr fleecy, white, green, scarlet, and four differently colored chiné wools. A modern recreation can use a soft wool or wool-blend in coordinated solid and variegated colors.
Pattern Instructions
Foundation
Make a foundation chain of 900 stitches in black.
Stripe Sequence
- Row 1: black.
- Rows 2–3: white.
- Work 11 rows alternating black with a chosen chiné or variegated yarn.
- Rows 14–15: white.
- Rows 16–17: green.
- Work 11 rows alternating scarlet with a second bright chiné or variegated yarn.
- Rows 29–30: green.
- Rows 31–32: black.
- Work 11 rows alternating white with a third chiné or variegated yarn.
- Rows 44–45: black.
- Rows 46–47: red.
- Work 11 rows alternating green with a fourth chiné or variegated yarn.
- Rows 59–60: scarlet.
Repeat the sequence beginning with Row 2 as needed.
Shaping
At the center of every row, omit one stitch. This continuous center decrease shapes the work into a half-square or triangular point while the stripes run diagonally from the center.
Finishing
The source suggests a black fringe approximately 4 inches deep along the two sloping sides.
Vintage Source
Publication: My Crochet Sampler
Author: Miss Lambert
Publisher: D. M. Peyser, New York
Year: 1847
Original pages: 135–137
Project Gutenberg eBook: #57595
Rights note: Project Gutenberg identifies this work as public domain in the United States. Readers outside the United States should check the copyright law that applies in their location.
About This Crochet Board Edition
This Crochet Board page is an editorially organized presentation of a historical public-domain pattern. The original construction, counts, color sequence, and period terminology have been preserved where they are important to the design, while punctuation and layout have been clarified for easier reading. Historical yarn names, hook conventions, sizing practices, and stitch terms may differ from modern standards.
Explore more: Browse the Vintage Crochet archive or read How to Read Vintage Crochet Patterns before working from nineteenth-century instructions.