Editor’s Note: The current featured photo is a modification. It follows the original pattern up to round 9 and omits the final round. The rounds following are adapted from the Brussels Edging, in the same book.

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.

Pattern on pages 9-11 of the original, pages 26-28 of the pdf. There is no illustration.

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 desired effect.