Crocheted American Beauty Rose Doily
Identifier
2024.004 A-D
Title
Crocheted American Beauty Rose Doily
Creator
Thompson, Suzann
Date
2019 and 2020
Format
Ranging from 13.75 inches (34.5 cm) to 16.5 inches (42.5 cm) across by 12.5 inches (32.5 cm) to 15.5 inches (39 cm) tall
Description
In the 1980s, a friend loaned me her copy of The American Beauty, No. 17, a crochet pattern book published by Novelty Art Studios, Chicago, IL, in 1919. I photocopied the pattern for the stunning “American Beauty” Cluny lace-inspired centerpiece trim designed by Rose J. Dvorak.
Around forty years later, I found the photocopy in one of my many collections of patterns, notes, and papers. The time was right to give the pattern a try, but not the whole trim, because we don’t use fancy centerpieces at my house. I decided to crochet the rose motif as a doily, with the possibility of updating the pattern and making it available as a free pattern for members of the Center for Knit and Crochet.
A pink version (not shown here) was my first attempt at working through the written instructions. I wrote updated instructions and crocheted the cream, yellow, and pink-burgundy versions of the doily to check and refine the new instructions. All were worked in No. 10 crochet cotton.
That was going to be the end of it, but I happened to notice a jumble of thread in various qualities of red in my crochet cotton container. They were the inspiration for the last American Beauty Rose Doily I made. The border color was more difficult to decide. Orange? Green? Black? On July 24, 2020, I asked for advice from CKC’s Facebook and Instagram followers. Among CKC social media followers, friends, and family, black was the favored border color.
A pdf version of the American Beauty Rose Doily pattern is available for CKC members to download free of charge
As of 12/01/2024, you can download the entire pattern book, where the original American Beauty centerpiece trim appeared, from Antique Pattern Library, www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/Dvorak17AmericanBeauty.pdf
Around forty years later, I found the photocopy in one of my many collections of patterns, notes, and papers. The time was right to give the pattern a try, but not the whole trim, because we don’t use fancy centerpieces at my house. I decided to crochet the rose motif as a doily, with the possibility of updating the pattern and making it available as a free pattern for members of the Center for Knit and Crochet.
A pink version (not shown here) was my first attempt at working through the written instructions. I wrote updated instructions and crocheted the cream, yellow, and pink-burgundy versions of the doily to check and refine the new instructions. All were worked in No. 10 crochet cotton.
That was going to be the end of it, but I happened to notice a jumble of thread in various qualities of red in my crochet cotton container. They were the inspiration for the last American Beauty Rose Doily I made. The border color was more difficult to decide. Orange? Green? Black? On July 24, 2020, I asked for advice from CKC’s Facebook and Instagram followers. Among CKC social media followers, friends, and family, black was the favored border color.
A pdf version of the American Beauty Rose Doily pattern is available for CKC members to download free of charge
As of 12/01/2024, you can download the entire pattern book, where the original American Beauty centerpiece trim appeared, from Antique Pattern Library, www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/Dvorak17AmericanBeauty.pdf
Provenance
Suzann Thompson
Collection
Citation
suzannthompson, “Crocheted American Beauty Rose Doily,” Center for Knit and Crochet Digital Repository, accessed July 19, 2026, https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/35560.
Added by suzannthompson
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