Long before the modern spelling “doily” became standard, Miss Lambert described this colorful circular piece as a “D’Oyley or Mat.” Its six-point color arrangement makes it an especially interesting example of early Victorian household crochet.
“D’Oyley” is the spelling used in the 1847 publication. The pattern gives color counts but leaves exact increase placement partly to the worker; this is characteristic of many early crochet texts.
Materials
The source specifies black eight-thread fleecy plus three shades of scarlet and three shades of blue. Use a hook suitable for the chosen yarn. Modern colors may be substituted, but retaining three graded shades in each color family best preserves the original effect.
Pattern Instructions
Center
With black, chain 6 and join into a ring. Work one round around the ring, increasing at every stitch.
Six-Point Color Pattern
The design is worked as a six-point star. Use the darkest scarlet against the lightest blue, gradually changing shades as the star expands.
- Round 2: repeat 1 dark-scarlet stitch, 2 light-blue stitches.
- Round 3: repeat 3 dark-scarlet stitches, 2 light-blue stitches.
- Round 4: repeat 5 stitches in the next lighter scarlet, 2 light-blue stitches.
- Round 5: repeat 5 stitches in that scarlet shade, 3 stitches in the middle blue.
- Round 6: repeat 3 stitches in the lightest scarlet, 6 stitches in the middle blue.
- Round 7: repeat 1 light-scarlet stitch, 8 dark-blue stitches.
- Round 8: work a plain round in the darkest blue.
Make the necessary increases within the blue sections so the work remains flat.
Border
Finish with 3 plain rounds in black, increasing as needed to keep the mat flat.
Vintage Source
Publication: My Crochet Sampler
Author: Miss Lambert
Publisher: D. M. Peyser, New York
Year: 1847
Original pages: 101–103
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.