Vintage pattern · 1954 · thread crochet snowflake

Frost Halo Snowflake

Free crochet pattern with chart

The middle one of three snowflakes from a 1954 fashion booklet, made in two rounds. A ring of 12 single crochet carries six chain arms, each with a pair of prongs, and a small picot sits between every two arms. It measures 3 1/2 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: 3 1/2 in across2 rounds

Every count checked by KrowsheaNo errors in the 1954 original. Both printed counts check out. Modern US and UK terms, and a chart drawn from the counts.

Black and white photo of a white crochet snowflake with a solid round center, six arms with two prongs each, and a small picot between the arms, on a dark background — **1954** · The Medium Snow Flake, as photographed for the 1954 booklet.

Chart

Frost Halo Snowflake crochet chart

Right-handedLeft-handed

Crochet symbol chart of Frost Halo 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 6, join with a sl st to the first ch to form a ring, ch 1 (does not count as a st), 12 sc in ring, join with a sl st to the first st.
12 sc
2
Ch 1 (does not count as a st), [sc in next st, ch 9, sk 1 ch, sl st in next 4 ch; ch 6, sk 1 ch, sl st in next 5 ch; from the same sl st, ch 5, sk 1 ch, sl st in next 4 ch; back on the ch-9 stem; sl st in next 4 ch, sc in same st, sc in next st, ch-4 picot] 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.
18 sc, 102 sl st, 6 picots

Written in UK crochet terms

1
Ch 6, join with a ss to the first ch to form a ring, ch 1 (does not count as a st), 12 dc in ring, join with a ss to the first st.
12 dc
2
Ch 1 (does not count as a st), [dc in next st, ch 9, miss 1 ch, ss in next 4 ch; ch 6, miss 1 ch, ss in next 5 ch; from the same ss, ch 5, miss 1 ch, ss in next 4 ch; back on the ch-9 stem; ss in next 4 ch, dc in same st, dc in next st, ch-4 picot] 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.
18 dc, 102 ss, 6 picots

Special stitches

ch-4 picot: ch 4, sl st in the top of the sc just made.

Abbreviations (US)

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

Special stitches

ch-4 picot: ch 4, ss in the top of the dc just made.

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: 3 1/2 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", Medium Snow Flake, page 34
MEDIUM SNOW FLAKE, 3 1/2" dia: Ch 6, join with sl st to form ring. rnd 1: Ch 1, 12 sc in ring, join to 1st sc. rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in same place, * ch 9, skip 1 ch, sl st in each of next 4 ch; ch 6, skip 1 ch, sl st in next 5 ch; ch 5, skip 1 ch, sl st in next 4 ch; sl st in 4 ch of stem, sc in same sc on center, sc in next sc, ch 4, sl st in last sc for picot, sc in next sc; repeat from * around (6 patterns); join to 1st sc. End off.

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

What we checked

Round 1: 12 sc in the ring, the count the pattern prints.
Round 2: 6 patterns, the count the pattern prints. Each uses 2 of the 12 sc, so the round comes out even.
Each arm: a ch-9 stem worked back with 4 + 4 = 8 slip stitches, the 8 chains left after the skipped one.
Each arm's prongs: ch 6 worked back with 5 slip stitches, and ch 5 worked back with 4. Every chain is used.
The whole of round 2: 18 sc, 6 picots and 102 slip stitches.
The compiled chart shows the same six arms, prong pairs and six picots as the photo.

How we read the old wording

Each pattern uses 2 sc of round 1: the first holds a sc, the arm and a second sc; the next holds a sc and the picot.
The repeat ends with "sc in next sc", which is the first sc of the next pattern. On the sixth pattern that stitch is the round's first sc, already made, so the round ends after the picot and joins there. The booklet does not say so.
"Sl st in 4 ch of stem" is the way back down to the ring: 4 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 fourth one back from the tip, and lie on opposite sides of the stem.
"Ch 4, sl st in last sc for picot" closes the picot in the top of the single crochet just made, and the Special stitches card says so.
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 Medium 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 (3½) is written 3 1/2.

No errors in the original. Both printed counts (12 sc, 6 patterns) check out. One thing is left unsaid: the last repeat stops after its picot, because the stitch that would follow is the first sc of the round.

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