A decoder on all things Vintage Crochet as well as a primer on lace.
As I have been researching old patterns for this Discovering Crochet Lace series, besides having so much fun, I have been fascinated by all the oddities. Now I am sat here surrounded by heaps and heaps of scribbled notes. It has, of course, occurred to me that you might like to do the same thing. So here's some information which might benefit your own searches or add detail to all the things which I have been talking about!
Let's start with hook sizes.
Dora Ohrenstein tells us that the earliest published pattern was from 1822 in a Dutch magazine Penelope. Even in that short time of two hundred years, the art of pattern writing has come far. So it is worth remembering and having some forgiveness for those early authors! Depending how far back you go, you may not find hook sizes or gauge information. As a rule of thumb metal hooks were for lace or thread work, while wood, bone and 'celluloid' were used for wool.
To add to the complexities, here in the UK we went metric sometime around 1972, so our hooks went from numbers to millimetres. The Japanese have another scale, and the Americans another. To add further confusion out of the three modern publications I have, no one entirely agrees! This chart is just my best guess.
I wish I could give you more insight into how the early hooks were sized. Just Vintage Crochet has an interesting video on the subject which may help just a little.
Now we must move onto stitch names. Even now each country has their own version. Even though the UK and US speak a similar language we use different stitch names. Australia follows the UK but what New Zealand does I cannot say! Back in the 19th Century it was just a jumble. I have found US publications using UK terms and vice versa. It starts to settle out sometime in the first few decades of the 20th century. We, here in the UK, are of course used to checking the terminology of every pattern we pick up. But if you are from the US you may not be. You need to be aware that there is this difference which may appear in early publications. You may also find some terms which you are completely unfamiliar with. Sometimes it feels as if the pattern writers are just making them up as they go along!
Single stitch or small Close stitch ~ Slip stitch, not to be confused with the American Single crochet.
Plain or Close stitch ~ Dc, UK (Sc, US).
It
is quite common for a Dc (Sc-US) to be made into the back loop only, so
if your crochet doesn't feel right this might be what you are missing!
Short Double ~ Htr, UK (Hdc, US) .
Short Treble ~ It looks like a Hrt sat on a Dc (Hdc on a Sc, US) The instructions read as follows:
Yarn over the hook twice, pull up a loop in stitch, there are 4 loops on the hook.
Yarn over, pull through 2 loops;
Yarn over, pull through 3 loops.
Long Treble ~ Treble Treble, UK (Double Treble, US).
Treble ~ I have come across an example where a Treble is an extended Treble (Extended Dc, US). Always check the stitch descriptions at the beginning of the publication!
Long Square Crochet ~ This was given as a way of reproducing Filet patterns in a larger size. In other words; closed, 4 Double Treble (4 Treble, US), or open, a Double Treble and 3 chain (Treble and 3 chain, US).
Vandyke Stitch ~ If we consider that the ladies of this era were mostly familiar with needlework, then this stitch takes it's name from the embroidery stitch (link to Royal School of Needlework). In the above image it references the rows of Trebles (Dc, US).
German Crochet ~ a Victorian term sometimes used to differentiate standard crochet from Tunisian work.
German Wool/Berlin Wool ~ was the wool of choice at the start of Queen Victoria's reign but from the mid 1850s Australian wool came to dominate the market.
Tricoté Stitch ~ coming from the French word tricoter- to knit. Yet another confusing term which may refer to knitting or plain Dc (Sc, US). Or it may refer to Tunisian crochet. In sewing it is a zigzag stitch. Incidentally Tunisian crochet may be referred to as Princess Royal or Princess Fredrick William as well.
Scollop ~ Another needle work reference, we are talking about a scalloped edging. So one 'scollop' is one swag of this edging. But it may be a curved line or an entire shell shape.
You may already be feeling that this is just too much like hard work. But let me assure you that the greater the difficulty, the bigger the satisfaction of knowing that you have decoded the past!
Whether you want to recreate an A line dress from the 1960's or a bonnet from the 1860's here are some links where you can discover crochet secrets from the past and bring them to life.
Handweaving.net-- Topic-- Crochet
All this time I have been writing about the Victorian era, but finally I have been politely reminded that not all my readers will understand what that implies. Queen Victoria was the second longest reigning British monarch. She sat on the throne from 1837-1901 and was also named Empress of India from 1876. At this time it was 'Great Britain', with an empire stretching around the globe. Along with her husband Prince Albert they took particular interest in the art, design and technology of their entire empire. Albert gave us the Great Exhibition at Crystal palace in 1851, when goods from around the world were displayed and demonstrated for the benefit of the six million visitors.
Albert died in 1861 leaving Victoria to mourn for the next forty years and Britain with a morbid fascination with all the associated rituals. One of the final acts of her reign was to lay the foundation stone at what was to become The Victoria and Albert museum, entirely dedicated to design.
All of these things have left us to look back on the Victorian era as a golden age. It might be considered the height of our industrial age and a period of great change. The intermingling of nations has left us with a rich culture. But at the same time it was a period of the immense wealth contrasting with terrible poverty and injustice.
It feels merely a hairs breadth away from our present era. Reading some of the magazine articles in which women are encouraged to be diligent, industrious and meek, I am reminded of the social and political upheaval that was yet to come in the first half of the 20th century.
Lace Primer
I am far from an expert on Lace, so please see this as a crocheters guide intended merely to bring some illumination to Victorian Crochet Lace. I am using only the names of lace styles which you may recognise, that are used in my recent posts or you may come across in your own explorations.
It would be unhelpful for me to list all the different lace names and a description of each! The difference between one and another are in the subtitles of technique and design. Beginning, perhaps, in Italy and Venice, centres for lace making began to flourish in practically every European country and also the Americas. As goods and people moved so did the ideas and skills. So, instead of bombarding you with an excess of information we can begin with 4 categories, into which we can squeeze everything.
Needle Lace:
As the name suggests it is worked with a needle. We might see it as an extension of embroidery. In fact it probably developed directly from embroidery.
Bobbin or Pillow Lace:
Where a template is laid on a padded work surface (the pillow) and the thread is carried on bobbins. The lace is produced by crossing one thread over another and pinned to shape as the work progresses.
Strictly speaking there are examples which fit into either needle or bobbin lace or indeed both. In the most simple terms, woven tapes or braid are laid in a pattern. They are then joined and secured in place with sewn bars.
Handmade Lace:
All the other types of lace fit in here. It is the easiest to understand as this is what we do, crochet fits into the story here!
Now we can break down each of these categories further by the particular technique used and once more into the style of work. Again, this list is more complex than I am representing it to be.
Needle Lace.
We can break down this kind of work into Cutwork and Netting or Filet.
Cutwork:
This explanation has to begin with Drawn Thread work. This is a type of needle work where some of the threads are 'drawn' from the cloth. The exposed edges of the cloth are secured with sewn stitches and the bare threads are manipulated with more hand sewing.
Cutwork takes this a step further. Whole areas of the cloth are cut away and the raw edges are secured with sewn stitches. In addition sewn bars can be worked within the space. The type of work, illustrated above, is also known as Whitework. A familiar example is Broderie Anglaise.
Under Cutwork we can also include Reticella, as well as Spanish Sol, which later gave rise to Teneriffe lace.
Needle Lace.
Netting/Filet:
Filet is French meaning net. Filet Lace is made with sewn stitches on a net. The net itself can be either knotted or woven and the mesh may be square or diagonal. 
When hand knotted, it requires the use of a netting needle, or shuttle needle.
The style of stitches which fill in the canvas are what separates the different styles; among which are Filet Guipure and Filet Richelieu. 
The experts say I must also include Tambour work here. Many believe that crochet developed from Tambour work but one author from 1847 claimed; 'Tambouring, which is merely a form of crochet.' 
The work is made into the net in exactly the same way as Surface crochet using something that looks very much like an 'inline' crochet hook.
Bobbin Lace.
The experts will look in horror at this list as I present it to you, as I have chosen to disregard the confusion and present you with just Mesh Grounds and Guipure. But even the experts acknowledge that this confusion exists!
Mesh Grounds:
This type of lace, which to my untrained eye, looks like Filet Lace but it is made entirely with bobbins in one piece. Nothing is added and nothing is taken away.
Guipure:
This had me very confused for a while. This is different from Filet Guipure! To start with it is made with bobbins not needles. Guipure is a French word which refers to the thick threads which were once employed to outline the motifs or patterns. These are no longer used but the name remains. In this context, Guipure lace is one in which bars, or plaits are used to connect the different elements. It includes Genoese, Maltese, Cluny and Bedfordshire among others. This is a progression which clearly shows how one style migrated into the next and so it is sufficient for us to simply name these all Guipure!
Tape Lace.
The image, above, is classified as Irish lace. It shows how the tape or braid has been laid and connected with sewn bars. The image that I used for Guipure Lace was also Irish lace, but it was not a tape lace. As a crocheter I thought I knew what Irish lace was and for a while was very confused. What we can say is that both were produced in Ireland. One is a tape lace, the other a Guipure lace, being a development of Cluny Lace, so also known as French Irish Lace!
Just in case you are not entirely confused, these Mignardise braids were commercially produced for use in Tape lace. During the Victorian era they were also used in crochet work. At this time Tape lace was very much in vogue.
This further example of Tape lace shows how the tape is woven into a mesh ground.
Types of Tape lace you may have heard of, either in their own right or in connection with crochet are Bruges, Brussels and Honiton.
Handmade Lace.
Finally I feel as if we are on solid ground once more! We are on our home turf.
Crochet!
I feel foolish writing anything in here as this is what I have been talking about for the last however many months.
Broomstick, Brussels including short row, Continuous crochet motifs, Fancy Braid, Filet, Filigree, Guipure! Hairpin, Irish, Mesh, Pineapple, Solomon's knot, Tatting, Teneriffe, and in fact any style of lace has it's mimic in crochet!
Knitting:
During the Victorian period, the Shetland Wedding-Ring shawls were made famous by Queen Victoria. These shawls are so fine they can be drawn through a wedding ring.
Knotting:
Despite the fact that some crocheters claim to be knotters not knitters, knotting gets it's own heading. It includes Macramé and Tatting.
Despite the fact that some crocheters claim to be knotters not knitters, knotting gets it's own heading. It includes Macramé and Tatting.
Macramé:
I imagined Macramé to be only made with jute. But in the Victorian era we are talking about anything from silk to cotton and can therefore be as delicate as desired.
Tatting:
Uses a boat shaped shuttle. It is also possible to simulate the technique with needle or crochet hook.
In case everything is now as clear as mud I have added the following little chart in summary. And if you have forgotten why you, a crocheter, should be interested in any of this, I have embedded links to the relevant crochet posts.
As it is usual for me to be in a complete state of panic at this time of year, it has now become traditional for me to post something eclectic in December. I thought maybe you might have some time on your hands during the holiday season and you might like to dig around in a dusty internet library or two!
Please feel
free to add, correct or generally join the discussion in the comments.
Seasons Greetings...
Fastening off... 
Needle Lace:
- Mesh Grounds
- Guipure Lace
- Genoese
- Maltese
- Cluny
- Irish (from Cluny originating in France)
- Bedfordshire
- Brugues
- Brussels
- Honiton
Handmade:
