Flower Garden 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: 34 oz Pearl Grey, 10 oz Yellow, 12 oz assorted flower colours.
• 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 motifs.
• Hook: Start with 4 mm (US G-6) and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sl st

slip stitch

dc

double crochet

hdc

half double crochet

sc

single crochet

cl

cluster

yo

yarn over

rnd

round

sk

skip

sp

space

rep

repeat

Notes before you start

• Source: "Flower Garden" (C-127), 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: 34 skeins (1 oz. “Tangle-Proof” Pull-Out Skeins) of No. 491 Pearl Grey: 10 skeins of No. 230 Yellow and 12 skeins of assorted colors.; Clark’s O.N.T. Plastic Crochet Hook No. 5.. Gauge: Each motif measures 3¼ 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: Check: the original does not say to fasten off Yellow after rnd 1 before joining the flower colour; you will need to fasten it off.
• 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.

Motif (make 266)

1. Starting at center with Yellow, ch 4.
2. Rnd 1: 15 dc in 4th ch from hook. Join with sl st to top of ch-3.
3. Rnd 2: Join desired color to same place as sl st, ch 3, holding back on hook the last loop of each dc, make 2 dc in same place, yo and draw through all loops on hook (cluster made), *ch 3, sk next dc, 3-dc cluster in next dc. Rep from * around. Join to tip of first cluster. Fasten off.
4. Rnd 3: Join Grey to any sp, ch 3, 4 dc in same sp, 5 dc in each remaining sp around. Join.
5. Rnd 4: Ch 5, dc in same place as sl st, *ch 1, sk next dc, hdc in next dc, (ch 1, sk next dc, sc in next dc) twice; ch 1, sk next dc, hdc in next dc, ch 1, sk next dc, in next dc make dc, ch 3 and dc. Rep from * around. Join and fasten off.