Vintage pattern · 1954 · thread crochet snowflake

First Flurry Snowflake

Free crochet pattern with chart

The smallest of three snowflakes from a 1954 fashion booklet, made in a single round. Six chain arms stand around a small ring, and each arm carries a pair of prongs. It measures 2 3/4 inches across in heavy crochet cotton. The booklet sewed sets of them to a skirt; today it makes a quick ornament or gift topper.

Thread: Heavy crochet cottonabout sport weight
Hook: 2.1 mm steelNo. 3 in 1954
Finished: 2 3/4 in across1 round

Every count checked by KrowsheaNo errors in the 1954 original. It leaves out the number of arms; the photo shows six. Modern US and UK terms, and a chart drawn from the counts.

Black and white photo of a small white crochet snowflake with six arms, each arm with two short prongs, on a dark background — **1954** · The Small Snow Flake, as photographed for the 1954 booklet.

Chart

First Flurry Snowflake crochet chart

Right-handedLeft-handed

Crochet symbol chart of First Flurry Snowflake, 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 5, join with a sl st to the first ch to form a ring, ch 1 (does not count as a st), [sc in ring, ch 8, sk 1 ch, sl st in next 3 ch; ch 5, sk 1 ch, sl st in next 4 ch; from the same sl st, ch 4, sk 1 ch, sl st in next 3 ch; back on the ch-8 stem; sl st in next 4 ch] 6 times, join with a sl st to the first st. Fasten off and weave in the ends. Block: pin the piece flat to shape on a blocking mat and steam it with the iron held just above, never touching the yarn; leave it to cool and dry before unpinning.
6 sc, 84 sl st

Written in UK crochet terms

1
Ch 5, join with a ss to the first ch to form a ring, ch 1 (does not count as a st), [dc in ring, ch 8, miss 1 ch, ss in next 3 ch; ch 5, miss 1 ch, ss in next 4 ch; from the same ss, ch 4, miss 1 ch, ss in next 3 ch; back on the ch-8 stem; ss in next 4 ch] 6 times, join with a ss to the first st. Fasten off and weave in the ends. Block: pin the piece flat to shape on a blocking mat and steam it with the iron held just above, never touching the yarn; leave it to cool and dry before unpinning.
6 dc, 84 ss

Abbreviations (US)

ch chainsc single crochetsk skipsl st slip stitchst(s) stitch(es)

Abbreviations (UK)

ch chaindc double crochetmiss miss (skip)ss slip stitchst(s) stitch(es)

Materials

Thread, 1954: A heavy mercerized crochet cotton in white, about as thick as a sport weight yarn. The booklet names only a brand and gives no thread size; choose a smooth cotton that works well with a 2.1 mm hook. Two 125-yard skeins made ten or more sets of three snowflakes.
Hook, 1954: Steel crochet hook No. 3, about 2.1 mm in today's US steel sizes. Old steel hook sizes varied from maker to maker, so treat the millimeter size as a guide.
Size, 1954: 2 3/4 inches across.
Finishing, 1954: "Pin in true shape right side down and press." The booklet then sews the snowflakes to a skirt.

The 1954 original

As it was printed

Smart Crochet: Fashions and Home Decorating, 8th Edition (1954) · "Snow Flakes Skirt Trimming", Small Snow Flake, page 34
SMALL SNOW FLAKE, 2 3/4" dia: Ch 5, join with sl st to form ring. rnd 1: Ch 1, * sc in ring, ch 8, skip 1 ch, sl st in each of next 3 ch; ch 5, skip 1 ch, sl st in next 4 ch; ch 4, skip 1 ch, sl st in next 3 ch; sl st in 4 ch of stem; repeat from * around; join to 1st sc. End off. Make 10 or more sets of Snow Flakes. Pin in true shape right side down and press. Applique to skirt as pictured.

The booklet is written in modern American terms (sc, sl st), so nothing needs translating.

What we checked

Round 1: 6 sc in the ring, one at the foot of each arm.
Each arm: a ch-8 stem worked back with 3 + 4 = 7 slip stitches, the 7 chains left after the skipped one.
Each arm's prongs: ch 5 worked back with 4 slip stitches, and ch 4 worked back with 3. Every chain is used.
The whole round: 6 sc and 84 slip stitches, and it closes evenly on the first sc.
The compiled chart shows the same six arms with two prongs each as the photo.

How we read the old wording

"Repeat from * around" gives no number of repeats. The photo shows six arms, and the Medium and Large Snow Flakes on the same page both print "(6 patterns)", so the arm is worked 6 times.
"Sl st in 4 ch of stem" is the way back down to the ring: 3 slip stitches go up the stem to where the prongs start, and these 4 finish it.
Both prongs start from the same slip stitch, the third one back from the tip, and lie on opposite sides of the stem.
The booklet finishes with "Pin in true shape right side down and press". We write that as a steam block: pin the snowflake to shape and steam it. Use starch or fabric stiffener if you want it to hang as an ornament.
The booklet makes a Large, a Medium and a Small Snow Flake as a set and sews ten or more sets to a skirt. This page covers the Small one.
Two characters are set the modern way in the quotation: the booklet's dash after the name is printed as a comma, and its fraction glyph (2¾) is written 2 3/4.

No errors in the original. It prints no stitch totals, and every chain it makes is worked back exactly. The one thing it leaves out is how many times to repeat the arm: six, as the photo shows.

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