Indian Stripe Afghan (1951): vintage crochet pattern

Materials

• Worsted (#4) yarn. American Thread "Dawn" Knitting Worsted was a worsted-weight yarn; substitute any worsted yarn that matches the gauge.
• Colours: 48 oz Lt. Gray, 12 oz Cardinal, 4 oz White, 4 oz Black (White and Black are for embroidery).
• Original hooks: afghan hook size G (for the strips) and bone crochet hook No. 6 (for joining and edges).
• A 5 mm (US H-8) crochet hook for joining; tapestry needle for cross-stitch embroidery.
• Hook: Start with a 4.5 mm (US 7) afghan (Tunisian) hook and change size to match the gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms)

ch

chain

sc

single crochet

yo

yarn over

st

stitch

sts

stitches

sk

skip

rep

repeat

Notes before you start

• Source: "Indian Stripe Afghan", Beautiful, Beautiful Afghans (Star Book No. 82), American Thread Company, 1951. Public domain in the USA.
• As printed — materials: AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY “DAWN” KNITTING WORSTED, Article W 11 or W 15 or W 41 or W 42; 48 ozs. Lt. Gray; 12 ozs. Cardinal; 4 ozs. White; 4 ozs. Black; Afghan hook size G; 1 tapestry needle; Bone crochet hook No. 6. Gauge: Not given.
• Modernisation note: The original is written in US terms; abbreviations were updated to modern style (s c → sc, d c → dc, tr c → tr, s d c → hdc). "Row" is written as "Rnd" where the work is in rounds.
• Modernisation note: "Cut yarn" is written as "fasten off"; "attach" is written as "join"; "yarn over" as "yo"; "skip" as "sk".
• Modernisation note: "7th Row: Claw Pattern" is written as "Row 7 (claw pattern)".
• Modernisation note: The section heading counts (3 large strips; 4 Cardinal and 4 Gray narrow strips) summarise the printed instructions; the joining order in the original uses exactly these strips.
• Modernisation note: Printed counts (55 afghan sts, 219 and 217 complete rows, loops on hook) are kept from the original.
• Modernisation note: The suggested row gauge is our arithmetic from the printed size and row count; the original gives no gauge.
• 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.

Afghan stitch (as printed)

1. Afghan st: Ch for desired length, pick up and pull loop through each st of ch leaving all loops on hook, work back by drawing yarn through first loop (post), *yo and draw through 2 loops, repeat from * to end of row (1 complete row).
2. Row 2: Insert hook under 2nd post and pull loop through, *insert hook under next post and pull loop through, repeat from * across row and work back in same manner as before. Repeat 2nd row for length desired.