Vintage pattern · 1915 · thread crochet medallion

Anne Orr's Medium Medallion

Free crochet pattern with chart

The medium lace medallion from Anne Orr's 1915 book of centerpieces: a ring of double crochet, a round of spaces, and nine scallops packed with single crochet. The 1915 wording uses the old British stitch names, so here it is translated into today's US terms, with every stitch count checked.

Thread: Size 10 cottonNo. 10 in 1915
Hook: 1.5 mm steelNo. 8 in 1915
Rounds: 4 rounds9 scallops

Every count checked by KrowsheaNo errors in the 1915 original. Modern US and UK terms, and a chart drawn from the counts.

Detail of the 1915 cover photo: white crochet medallions joined around a centerpiece — **1915** · The cover of the 1915 book. Small and medium medallions ring the centerpiece.

Chart

Anne Orr's Medium Medallion crochet chart

Right-handedLeft-handed

Crochet symbol chart of Anne Orr's Medium Medallion, drawn by Krowshea

The same chart drawn left-handed, mirrored

Reading this chart

Start at the center and read each round counterclockwise, the way a right-handed crocheter works.
Start at the center and read each round clockwise, the way a left-handed crocheter works.
Each round begins at its green mark, its first stitch or chain; its number is printed beside it. Rounds alternate dark and blue so they read apart.
The key under the chart names every symbol. Symbols follow the Craft Yarn Council chart standard.

Drawn by Krowshea from the checked counts, not traced from the original. New to charts? How to read crochet charts.

Written pattern

Round by round

US termsUK terms

Written in US crochet terms

1
Ch 6, join with a sl st to the first ch to form a ring, ch 3 (counts as a dc), 17 dc in ring, join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3.
18 dc
2
Ch 3 (counts as a dc), ch 1, [dc in next st, ch 1] 17 times, join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3.
18 dc, 18 sps
3
Ch 4 (counts as a tr), tr in next sp, [ch 8, sk next sp, 2 tr in next sp] 8 times, ch 8, sk next sp, join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-4.
18 tr, 9 sps
4
Ch 1 (does not count as a st), 15 sc in each sp around, join with a sl st to the first st. Fasten off.
135 sc

Weave in the ends.

Written in UK crochet terms

1
Ch 6, join with a ss to the first ch to form a ring, ch 3 (counts as a tr), 17 tr in ring, join with a ss to the top of the beginning ch-3.
18 tr
2
Ch 3 (counts as a tr), ch 1, [tr in next st, ch 1] 17 times, join with a ss to the top of the beginning ch-3.
18 tr, 18 sps
3
Ch 4 (counts as a dtr), dtr in next sp, [ch 8, miss next sp, 2 dtr in next sp] 8 times, ch 8, miss next sp, join with a ss to the top of the beginning ch-4.
18 dtr, 9 sps
4
Ch 1 (does not count as a st), 15 dc in each sp around, join with a ss to the first st. Fasten off.
135 dc

Weave in the ends.

The 1915 original

As it was printed

Center Pieces and Lunch Sets in Crochet Work · Plate No. 1, the cover centerpiece
Ch 6, join, ch 3, 18 t in ring, join; ch 4, t in first t, ch 1, t in next t, ch 1, repeat around, join; ch 4, dt between first t, ch 8, 2 dt in between second t, repeat around until you have 9 scallops, then d around, making 15 d to each scallop.

The 1915 stitch names

The book's own key lists US names (sc, dc, tc), but this plate is written in the older British names, where a "treble" is today's US double crochet. The pattern itself settles each one:

In 1915	US today	How we know
t	dc	Rounds open with ch 3, and the second round's "ch 4" only works as one t plus a ch 1.
dt	tr	Its starting chain is one longer than the t's: ch 4.
d	sc	On the cover photo every scallop is a smooth, solid cord, chains covered with short stitches.

What we checked

Round 1: 18 dc in the ring, the ch 3 counting as the first.
Round 2: 18 dc with 18 ch-1 spaces.
Round 3: 9 pairs of tr with 9 ch-8 scallops, exactly the 9 scallops the pattern promises.
Round 4: 15 sc in each scallop, 135 sc in all.

How we read the old wording

The ch 3 counts as the first of the 18 t. Only 18 stitches in the ring give the 9 scallops the pattern promises.
"Between t" in round 3 is the ch-1 space between two t of round 2.
Round 3 begins with ch 4 at the join, standing for the first dt, then one dt in the first space, so the first pair straddles the join. Every other pair is 2 dt in one space. Every other ch-1 space is skipped, which is what makes 9 scallops from 18 spaces.
"D around" is the 15 d in each scallop and nothing more; the tops of the dt pairs are passed over.
Round 4 opens with a ch 1 that the plate does not print and that is not counted, the usual way to stand up for a single crochet.

No errors in the original. Every count it gives checks out.

More vintage patterns

All vintage patterns

Krowshea is in beta

Make it with Krowshea

This pattern stays free right here. Krowshea members will be able to do more with it:

Turn it in 3D Yarn and watch it grow round by round
Save it to your Library and make it your own: new colors, a border, a different size
Track your rounds with Make it, on your phone
Open it in the Studio: change the thread, size it up in yarn, join motifs

Join the betaSave to Pinterest