Americana Afghan (1952): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Worsted (#4) yarn. Chadwick's Red Heart Knitting Worsted, 4 ply, was a worsted-weight yarn; substitute any worsted yarn that matches the gauge.
• Colours: 19 oz White, 18 oz Navy, 13 oz Scarlet.
• The book notes that 2 oz skeins (Art. E.230-B) of the same yarn may be used instead: buy half the number of skeins.
• Original hook: Clark's O.N.T. plastic crochet hook No. 5.
• Tapestry needle for sewing blocks.
• Hook: Start with 4 mm (US G-6) and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

sc

single crochet

dc

double crochet

yo

yarn over

ps

puff stitch

rnd

round

sp

space

rep

repeat

st

stitch

Notes before you start

• Source: "Americana" (C-124), Afghans (Afghan Book No. 289), The Spool Cotton Company, 1952. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: CHADWICK’S RED HEART KNITTING WORSTED, 4 Ply, Art. E.232: 19 skeins (1 oz. “Tangle-Proof” Pull-Out Skeins) of No. 1 White; 18 skeins of No. 858 Navy and 13 skeins of No. 909 Scarlet.; Clark’s O.N.T. Plastic Crochet Hook No. 5.. Gauge: Each motif measures 4 inches square..
• Modernisation note: Round and row labels ("1st rnd", "2nd row") are written as "Rnd 1", "Row 2"; "half dc" is written as "hdc"; "thread over" and "yarn over" as "yo"; "skip" as "sk"; "repeat" as "rep" where abbreviated.
• Modernisation note: "Break off" is written as "fasten off"; "attach" is written as "join".
• Modernisation note: "Long dc" is not defined in the original; it is kept as printed. From context it is a dc worked over the stitch into the round below (our reading).
• Modernisation note: The original's motif counts (68 and 67, 135 in all) and strip layout are kept; 15 strips of 9 blocks is our arithmetic from those counts.
• Modernisation note: Metric conversions, the modern hook suggestion and the yardage estimate were added; they are not in the original.
• Modernisation note: Hook numbers from this period were not standardised to millimetres; the starting size given is a modern equivalent, and the gauge is what matters.

First motif (make 68)

1. Starting at center with White, ch 6. Join with sl st to form ring.
2. Rnd 1: Ch 3, 15 dc in ring. Join to top of ch-3. Fasten off.
3. Rnd 2: Join Scarlet to same place as sl st, 3 sc in same place, *sc in next 3 dc, 3 sc in next dc. Rep from * around. Join and fasten off.
4. Rnd 3: Join White to first sc, sc in same place, *at base of 3-sc group make dc, ch 2 and dc (2 long dc made); sc in 3rd sc of same sc group, (make a long dc over next sc, sc in next sc) twice. Rep from * around. Join and fasten off.
5. Rnd 4: Join Navy to corner sp, in same sp make sc, ch 2 and sc; sc in each sc and in each dc around, making sc, ch 2 and sc in each corner sp. Join and fasten off.
6. Rnd 5: Join White to corner sp, sc in same sp, make long dc in same sp; *(sc in next sc, long dc over next sc) 3 times; sc in next sc, in corner sp make long dc, 2 sc and long dc. Rep from * around. Join and fasten off.
7. Rnd 6: Join Scarlet to first sc, (yo, insert hook in same sc, draw loop through) 3 times; yo and draw through all loops on hook, ch 1 to fasten (puff st made), *make a puff st in each of next 5 sc, in next sc make puff st, ch 2 and puff st. Rep from * around, ending with puff st in same place as first puff st, ch 2. Join and fasten off.