The Art of Crocheting (1890) – A Victorian Guide to Timeless Crochet Techniques
There is something deeply satisfying about picking up a crochet hook and following a pattern that was perfected more than a century ago. Victorian needlewomen were extraordinarily skilled, and the craft literature they left behind — particularly the guides published in the late nineteenth century — remains a treasure trove for anyone who loves fiber arts. One of the most enduring of these guides is The Art of Crocheting, published in 1890, a slim but authoritative volume that captured the full scope of crochet technique as it was practiced in parlors, drawing rooms, and workrooms across Britain and America.
If you have ever felt that modern crochet tutorials skip over the foundational wisdom that makes a piece truly beautiful, stepping back to 1890 is one of the best things you can do for your craft. This guide will walk you through the world of Victorian crochet — its history, its tools, its essential techniques, and the enduring patterns that continue to inspire makers today.
A Brief History of Crochet in the Victorian Era
Crochet as we know it today gained enormous popularity during the nineteenth century, particularly from the 1840s onward. Queen Victoria herself was a keen needlewoman, and her enthusiasm for handicrafts of all kinds helped elevate crochet from a cottage industry into a respectable and even fashionable pursuit for women of every social class.
By 1890, crochet had been refined into a sophisticated art form. The publication of guides like The Art of Crocheting reflected a growing middle-class appetite for clear, instructional literature on domestic crafts. Publishers understood that women wanted not just inspiration but practical instruction — step-by-step guidance that would allow them to produce the kinds of intricate lace collars, antimacassars, baby bonnets, and decorative edgings they admired in shop windows and fashion plates.
The 1890 guide arrived at a particularly interesting moment in the history of the craft. Irish crochet lace, developed in the 1840s as a form of poverty relief during the Great Famine, had by now become internationally fashionable. Filet crochet, with its elegant grid-based designs, was gaining ground among women who wanted to produce work that looked as complex as bobbin lace but was far more accessible to learn. The guide synthesizes these influences, presenting a curriculum that moves from the most elementary stitches to elaborate decorative techniques — all achievable with patience and a modest investment in materials.
Tools and Materials in 1890
One of the most charming aspects of reading Victorian crochet guides is encountering the tools and materials of the era described with such precision and care. In 1890, crochet hooks were most commonly made from bone, ivory, steel, or wood. Bone hooks were favored for their lightness and smooth finish; steel hooks, which came in a range of very fine sizes, were essential for the delicate thread work that characterized much Victorian lace crochet.
The guide recommends selecting a hook that suits the weight of your thread, a principle that remains the cornerstone of good crochet practice today. Victorian crocheters worked with a wide range of threads, from the finest cotton lace thread — sometimes barely thicker than a human hair — to heavier wool and silk yarns used for functional items like shawls, boot slippers, and household furnishings.
Cotton thread was almost universally preferred for lace and decorative work. The Victorians had access to high-quality mercerized cotton that produced a beautiful sheen and held its shape well after washing and starching, which was how virtually all Victorian lacework was finished. Starching was an essential finishing step: a freshly crocheted doily or collar would be pinned out, dampened, and stiffened with starch solution until it held the crisp, structured form that we associate with Victorian needlework.
If you want to recreate the authentic Victorian look at home, sourcing a fine cotton crochet thread in size 10 or higher and pairing it with a fine steel hook is your starting point. The work will be finer and more time-consuming than modern worsted-weight projects, but the results are extraordinary.
The Foundation: Stitches Taught in The Art of Crocheting (1890)
The 1890 guide is built on a logical progression of stitches, beginning with the chain and building systematically toward complex lace patterns. Understanding this hierarchy helps modern crocheters appreciate the craft’s inner logic.
The Chain Stitch
Every crochet project begins here. The Victorian guides describe the chain stitch with particular emphasis on even tension — perhaps the single most important skill a Victorian crocheter was expected to develop. An uneven chain produces an uneven foundation, and in fine thread work, inconsistency is immediately visible. The 1890 guide advises beginners to practice long chains before attempting any pattern, working until the chain lies perfectly flat and each link is identical in size.
The Slip Stitch
Used to join rounds, to move yarn across stitches without adding height, and to create surface embellishments, the slip stitch was as fundamental to Victorian crochet as it is today. The guide employs it extensively in the construction of Irish crochet motifs, where individual roses, shamrocks, and leaves are joined seamlessly into a lace ground.
Single Crochet (Double Crochet in UK Terms)
The guide introduces what it calls “plain crochet” or “double crochet” in the British terminology of the period — the short, dense stitch that produces a solid fabric. Victorian crocheters used this stitch for functional items like bags, slippers, and children’s garments, where durability and warmth were required. The guide notes the importance of inserting the hook through both loops of the previous row’s stitch for a firm, even result — advice that is still given in beginners’ classes today.
Half Double Crochet and Treble Stitches
The taller stitches — what we would call half double crochet, double crochet, and treble crochet today — are introduced progressively. The Victorian terminology can confuse modern readers: what the 1890 guide calls a “treble” is what American crocheters now call a double crochet. Despite the naming differences, the underlying mechanics are identical, and the guide’s descriptions of how to wrap the yarn and draw through loops are surprisingly clear and easy to follow once you decode the period terminology.
Picots, Chains, and Loops
For lace work, the guide devotes substantial attention to decorative elements: picots (tiny looped embellishments at the edge of a piece), chain loops, and the long bar stitches used in filet work. These elements transform a simple crocheted fabric into something that mimics the airy elegance of needle lace, and the Victorian guides treat them with corresponding seriousness.
Signature Victorian Techniques
Beyond the basic stitches, the 1890 guide introduces several techniques that define Victorian crochet as a distinct aesthetic tradition.
Irish Crochet Lace
Perhaps the most celebrated of all Victorian crochet traditions, Irish crochet is characterized by three-dimensional floral and leaf motifs worked separately and then joined by a hand-crocheted mesh or net ground. The effect is lavish and sculptural — quite unlike the flat fabric produced by other crochet methods.
The guide provides instructions for several classic Irish crochet motifs: the five-petaled rose, the shamrock, the lily, and various leaf shapes. Each motif is typically worked over a padding cord — a thick bundle of threads held inside the work — which gives Irish crochet its characteristic raised, padded appearance. The mesh ground connecting these motifs is worked by hand around the arranged motifs, a method that allows for an organic, flexible composition rather than a rigid geometric grid.
Irish crochet experienced a dramatic revival in the early twentieth century and has continued to attract dedicated practitioners ever since. Many of the finest examples of historical Irish crochet survive in museum collections, where their extraordinary complexity continues to astonish textile conservators.
Filet Crochet
Filet crochet is the art of creating images and patterns by alternating filled and open squares in a regular grid. The technique was particularly popular in the Victorian and Edwardian periods for household linens: tablecloths, curtains, pillowcase edgings, and fire screens. A simple filet grid can be used to render anything from a geometric border to a realistic portrait, depending on the complexity of the charted design.
The 1890 guide introduces filet with elegant, relatively simple patterns — acanthus leaves, geometric medallions, scrolling borders — and explains clearly how to read a filet chart and translate it into stitches. Working filet crochet requires disciplined tension and careful counting, and the Victorian guides treat it as an advanced technique that rewards patience and precision.
Crochet Lace Edgings
One of the most practical applications of Victorian crochet skill was the production of lace edgings for household linens and clothing. A plain linen pillowcase or handkerchief was transformed by a delicate crocheted border, and the guides of the period include dozens of edging patterns of varying complexity.
The 1890 guide is particularly strong in this area, offering edgings that range from a simple one-row picot border suitable for a beginner to complex multi-row insertions with scalloped edges, fans, and points. Many of these edgings are worked lengthwise — meaning the pattern runs perpendicular to the edge of the fabric — which produces a naturally scalloped lower border.
Granny Squares and Motif-Based Construction
The iconic granny square, now one of the most recognizable symbols of crochet worldwide, has clear Victorian antecedents. The 1890 guide includes several square and hexagonal motifs worked in rounds from the center outward, designed to be joined into larger pieces: afghans, bedspreads, shawls, and bags. The Victorian versions tend toward finer thread and more restrained color palettes than the vivid, multicolored squares of the 1970s revival, but the construction logic is exactly the same.
Reading Victorian Crochet Patterns
One of the challenges — and pleasures — of working from nineteenth-century crochet guides is learning to read the patterns as they were written. Victorian pattern-writing conventions differ from modern standards in several ways that are worth understanding before you pick up your hook.
First, Victorian patterns use British stitch terminology, which differs from American terminology in ways that can cause significant confusion. What an 1890 guide calls a “double crochet” is what American crocheters now call a single crochet. A Victorian “treble” is an American double crochet. Always establish which terminology a pattern is using before you begin working.
Second, Victorian patterns are often written in dense prose rather than the abbreviated, symbol-based notation used in modern patterns. A single sentence might contain instructions for an entire complex row, requiring you to read carefully and parse the meaning before touching your hook. With practice, this style becomes intuitive, and many experienced crocheters find they actually prefer the precision and completeness of written-out instructions.
Third, gauge is rarely specified in Victorian patterns. The guides generally assume that an experienced crocheter will adjust hook size and tension to achieve the desired effect, and that the specific dimensions of a piece are less important than its proportions and character. For modern makers accustomed to specific stitch-count gauges, this can feel disorienting at first, but it is also liberating.
Why Victorian Crochet Still Matters
The craft techniques described in The Art of Crocheting (1890) have not been superseded — they have been extended. Every stitch in a modern crochet pattern traces its lineage directly back to the methods described in guides like this one, and the principles of good tension, even stitching, and thoughtful construction are as relevant now as they were in a Victorian parlor.
Beyond technique, Victorian crochet offers something that modern pattern libraries sometimes lack: a philosophy of making. The 1890 guide treats crochet not merely as a productive pastime but as a genuine art form requiring skill, judgment, and aesthetic sensitivity. The maker is expected to understand why each technique works, not merely how to execute it mechanically. This approach produces crocheters who can adapt, improvise, and innovate — rather than simply following instructions.
There is also a sustainability argument for revisiting Victorian techniques. The Victorians worked with natural fibers, produced objects designed to last generations, and valued fine handwork precisely because of the time and skill invested in it. In an era of fast fashion and disposable goods, the Victorian crochet tradition offers a genuinely countercultural model of making: slow, intentional, and built to endure.
Getting Started with Victorian Crochet Techniques
If you are inspired to explore the world of Victorian crochet, here are some practical suggestions for beginning your journey.
Start with a simple edging pattern from a facsimile or digital copy of an 1890s crochet guide — many are now freely available through Project Gutenberg and similar archive resources. Choose a fine cotton crochet thread and the appropriate steel hook, and give yourself time to practice the chain and basic stitches until your tension is consistent and relaxed.
From there, attempt a small Irish crochet motif — a single rose or shamrock. Work it over a padding cord as the Victorian guides instruct, and notice how the raised, three-dimensional quality of the motif emerges. It is a genuinely magical moment for any crocheter, and it will give you an immediate appreciation for the skill of the women who produced entire garments in this technique.
If you find filet crochet appealing, begin with a simple charted border — a geometric repeat that you can practice in sections. Graph paper is your friend here: sketching your design before you begin crocheting helps you understand the structure of the piece and anticipate how the filled and open squares will translate into stitches.
Join a community of fellow enthusiasts. Victorian and heritage crochet has a devoted following online and in person, and the shared knowledge in these communities — about sourcing period-appropriate materials, decoding old pattern terminology, and finishing work in the Victorian manner — is invaluable.
A Living Tradition
The Art of Crocheting (1890) is not a museum piece. It is a working document, as useful today as it was when it was first published, and its techniques continue to produce work of extraordinary beauty in the hands of makers who are willing to slow down and learn them properly.
Victorian crochet is a reminder that the most enduring skills are those that reward patience, attention, and genuine craft knowledge. The women who crocheted Irish lace collars, filet curtains, and granny-square bedspreads in the 1890s were not simply filling idle hours. They were practicing an art form with deep roots and wide branches — an art form that continues to grow and flourish more than a century later, in the hands of a new generation of makers who understand that the best techniques never go out of style.
Whether you are a seasoned crocheter looking to deepen your practice or a beginner curious about where your craft came from, the Victorian crochet tradition has something to offer you. Pick up a hook, choose a fine thread, and let the patterns of 1890 teach you what they have been teaching makers for more than a hundred years.
