Editor’s Note: The current featured photo is a modification. It follows the original pattern up to round 11 and omits the 3 final rounds. For round 11 I have done a slight change with “ one double crochet in each stitch “ and not in each loop. The last round in the photos is - work one long stitch in each loop.

Crochet Doilies and Edgings, 1846, appears to be an extract from Crochet Explained and Illustrated (Second Series) 1845. It sold for 1s. 6d., while the longer work was priced at 5s. 6d.

Thread called for is “Boar’s-head cotton, No. 8 or 10”, and a “No. 16” crochet hook. No finished size is given.

A note on terminology: patterns of the era used the same basic stitches we use today, but slightly different terms. Mrs. Mee’s “double crochet” is the British “double crochet”, or the American “single crochet”. The “long stitch” is the American “double crochet”, and the British “treble crochet”.

“Work into the loop” means to work into the stitch, whether double, long, or chain; “work into the chain stitch/stitches” means to work into the chain loop or chain space—the “hole” formed by the chain stitches.

Finally, while not stated in Crochet Doilies and Edgings, stitches were to be made into the back loop, not both loops. This was a standard of the times, and the modern crocheter may choose to follow it or not, depending on the

Pattern on pages 26-27 of the original. There is no illustration of this doily. Only the first doily and edges are illustrated in the book.