This vintage style bookmark pattern has a beautiful flowery design that is perfect for spring! It features simple lines and delicate crochet stitches, and it would make a sweet gift for the book lover in your family. Find the free crochet pattern instructions below, or purchase a print-optimized, ad-free PDF by clicking here.
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Reading was one of my favorite past-times in my younger years. Some of my favorite stories were set in the 1800’s. I loved them partly because of the beautiful handmade items that were often described in the stories–beautiful quilts, embroidered pillowcases, lace hankies, doilies, bookmarks, and so much more!
I’ve always wanted to crochet something with #30 thread because it’s so dainty and pretty, but tablecloths and bedspreads are a little out of my reach time-wise. So, instead, I’ve to come up with a simple crochet bookmark pattern that is useful and won’t take weeks to make! #30 crochet thread is the best yarn to use for crocheting bookmarks because it is so fine and it won’t distort your pages like thicker yarns might. You can sometimes find #30 thread in craft stores, but if you can’t, you can always pick up a skein online. This pattern uses only a few yards of Aunt Lydia’s #30 thread, so one skein should let you create quite a few bookmarks!
I chose this stitch pattern because of the little floral details–you can never have too many flowers in your life! (Ok, well, at least I can’t.) 😁 It’s a variation on the stitch pattern I used in my Bible cover design a few years ago, and this bookmark pattern would match that beautifully if you wanted to crochet a set.
The stitch pattern is really quite easy, but because the edges of the bookmark require a bit of “eyeballing” and I do not give precise spots to work your stitches I’ve labeled it “intermediate”. Don’t let that scare you off though. Take a look at the stitch tutorial video and that may give you a better idea of what is involved.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
Materials Needed:
15-20 yards #30 Extra Fine Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread in Natural or color of your choice
(Optional) 3-4 yards of Embroidery floss in color of your choice for accent trim
1.15mm steel hook
Fine embroidery needle
Scissors
Pins
Stitch markers
Starching spray of your choice
Blocking board
Stitches Used (US Terms):
sl st = slip stitch
ch/chs = chain/chains
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
Additional Terms:
Puff Stitch (abbreviated “puff” in pattern): yo, pull up a loop 3 times in same st, yo, pull through 6 loops, yo, pull through final 2 loops.
V-stitch: (dc, ch 1, dc) in same st
Picot = ch 3, sl st back into first ch
st/sts = stitch/stitches
sp/sps = space/spaces
sk = skip
prev = previous
Gauge:
18 sc in 1.5”, each row 2-5 repeat adds approximately 3/4” of height.
Measurements:
1 3/4” wide, by 6” or 7″ tall after blocking
Additional Notes:
-Ch 1 at beginning of row does not count as stitch.
-Turning chains counted as first st of next row will be included in the next row’s stitch count.
-It is possible to crochet this pattern using #20 thread and a 1.4mm hook, or #10 thread and a 1.5mm hook. Your bookmark will end up quite a bit larger than mine if you do this however, so you will need to adjust how many pattern repeats you do.
-This pattern is made with shells consisting of 3 puff stitches with chains in between each, and v-stitches. Each row will be a variation of either these shells, or v-stitches.
Evidence of Hope Bookmark Pattern (US Terms):
Ch 18,
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, *ch 1, sk 3 sts, ([puff, ch 2] 2 times, puff, ch 1) in next st, sk 3 sts, sc in next st, this will create a “shell”; repeat from *, ch 3 (counts as first dc of next row), turn. (3 sc, 2 shells)
Row 2: dc in first st, ch 3, sk to top of first “shell” in prev row (this is the second puff of the “shell”) sc, ch 3, sk to sc between shells, v-stitch, ch 3, sk to top of next “shell” in prev row, sc, ch 3, skip to sc at end of row, 2 dc in final st, ch 3, (counts as first dc of next row), turn. (4 dc, 2 sc, 1 v-stitch, 4 ch-3 sps)
Row 3: (puff, ch 2, puff) in first st, ch 1, sk 3 chs, sc in top of sc from prev row, ch 1, sk 3 chs to ch-1 sp at center st of V-stitch from prev row, ([puff, ch 2] 2 times, puff, ch 1) in ch-1 sp, sk 3 chs, sc in top of sc from prev row, ch 1, sk 3 chs, (puff, ch 2, puff, dc) in final st (top of ch-3 from prev row), ch 1, turn. (1 shell, 2 half-shells, 2 sc, 2 dc)
Row 4: sc in first st, ch 3, sk to sc between shells, v-stitch, ch 3, sk to top of next shell in prev row, sc, ch 3, sk to sc between shells, v-stitch, ch 3; sc in final st (top of ch-3 from prev row), ch 1, turn. (4 ch-3 sps, 2 v-stitches, 3 sc)
Row 5: sc in first st, ch 1, sk to ch-1 sp at center of v-stitch from prev row, ([puff, ch 2] 2 times, puff, ch 1) in ch-1 sp, sk to next sc, sc in top of sc from prev row, ch 1, sk to ch-1 sp at center of V-stitch from prev row, ([puff, ch 2] 2 times, puff, ch 1) in ch-1 sp, sk to final st of row, sc, ch 3 (counts as first dc of next row), turn. (2 shells, 3 sc, 4 ch-2 sps, 4 ch-1 sps)
Repeat rows 2-5, 4 times, or until your bookmark is approximately 5 1/2″ long, or 5 times or until your bookmark is approximately 6 1/2” long, then repeat row 2, omitting the ch-3 at the end, instead, ch 1, turn. You are welcome to repeat these rows as many or as few times as you wish to adjust the length of the bookmark. Once your bookmark is about a half-inch to an inch shorter than you’d like your finished size to be, continue to the edging rounds.
Bookmark Edging
When working along the sides of your bookmark in round 1, make note of your stitch counts. Try to have them be a multiple of 6, minus 2 if you want your picot edge to match mine. For example, my longer bookmark had 76 sc along each side edge, and my shorter bookmark had 58. In the second edging round you will be adding 2 stitches due to the increase that happens at the corners, so if you stick with my counts you will have 78, or 60 stitches along each edge. Both 78 and 60 are divisible by 6.
Round 1: sc in next 2 sts, 3 sc in ch-3 sp, sc in next st, ch 1, sk 3 chs ([puff, ch 1] 4 times) in ch-1 sp, sk 3 chs, sc in next st, 3 sc in ch-3 sp, sc in next 2 sts, ch 1, place stitch marker, (this is your first corner), continue working sc evenly down the side of the bookmark, ch 1, place stitch marker, continue working sc evenly across bottom edge, there should be a total of 17 sts: 3 sc in each ch-3 sp, a sc in the bottom of each shell, as well as the 2 sc on each end, and the one in the very middle of the row, ch 1, place stitch marker, continue working evenly up the other side of the bookmark, make sure your stitch count matches what you got on the other edge, at end of row, ch 1, place stitch marker, join with sl st to first sc of round.
The following round is not an exact science. You will probably need to do a little bit of eyeballing to make sure things stay even.
Round 2: ch 1, sc in next 5 sts, sk st, 3 sc in each of next 5 ch-1 sps, sk st, sc in next 5 sts, (sc, ch 1, sc) in corner, sc in next 2 sts, picot, *sc in next 6 sts, picot* repeat * to * to end of side, (sc, ch 1, sc) in corner, sc in next 2 sts, picot, sc in next 7 sts, picot, sc in next 6 sts, picot, sc in next 2 sts, (sc, ch 1, sc) in corner, sc in next 2 sts, picot, **sc in next 6 sts, picot** repeat ** to ** to end of row, (sc, ch 1, sc) in corner, join with sl st to first sc.
For a little variation, you may use a contrasting color to work the following round, or you can stick with your original color,
Round 3: working between rounds 1 and 2: sl st across next 5 sts, sl st in sc stitches at top of 4-petaled lily at center top of bookmark, working between rounds 1 and 2: sl st across next 5 sts, continue working sl sts down edge, across bottom and up the other side.
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Block, and stiffen with starch, glue or stiffening spray of your choice, then move on to creating the cord once the bookmark is dry.
Cord and Tassel Instructions
First, you will create the cord:
Twist 6 12″ lengths of thread into a cord following these directions below,
- Make sure the threads are not tangled up–you want them laying as flat as possible before you begin twisting.
- Tape one end of the threads to a table.
- Start twisting your threads in one direction. After you have twisted the threads for a while your cord should start to tighten up and twist back over on itself. The more twisting, the tighter the twists in the finished cord will be. It’s up to you how tight you want the twists to be.
- Once you have the desired amount of twist in your cords, thread the cord through the flower at the top of your bookmark, then fold the strands in half, you’ll get a mess of twisted knots, but use your fingers to stretch the twists out until they are even.
- Knot the ends together using an overhand knot so the cord does not come undone.
Now you will create the tassel:
- Cut 8″ piece of thread and thread it half-way through your embroidery needle. This will give you 4″ of double thickness thread. You will want this double thickness since it will be tying the middle of your tassel strands together. Set this aside and move to next step.
- Wrap thread around a 2″ piece of cardboard (a credit card works great for this step too) until your tassel is as thick as you want it. I wrapped my thread until it was about an inch and a half to 2″ in width.
- Thread your 4″ piece of thread through the bundle of threads wrapped around the cardboard or credit card. Tie the 4″ piece of thread tightly around the bundle of threads at the top, then snip the bottom.
- Thread your bundle of threads through the cord just above the knot at the end. You will probably need to gently untwist it a little to get the bundle through. Do not undo your knot to accomplish this step though!
- Once the bundle is half-way through the cord, fold it in half. Make sure the 4″ piece of thread you used to tie the center together is on the inside of the bundle so that knot doesn’t show.
- Wrap another piece of thread around the tassel several times about 1/2″ from the top. Fasten this off securely since it is what will hold your tassel together.
- Use scissors to trim ends of tassel so they are all the same length.
.sdg.
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PATTERN TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
You are welcome to share the link to this pattern, using one image of your choice, on your site, but please do not share the written patterns themselves, this includes my Ravelry downloads or translations of these patterns, or use additional images. You do not have permission to use my images by themselves to create pinnable graphics for Pinterest, however they may be included in a roundup pin if there are 4 or more other patterns. If you sell finished items online, please do not use my pictures for your listings. I’m positive that your work is of high enough quality for you to sell the finished piece. Have confidence in your abilities! <3 Thank you!
This pattern was made to be used by individuals, and small business crocheters alike. Selling your finished pieces in boutiques, at farmer’s markets, craft shows, and other local events is encouraged! The only thing I require is that this pattern not be used commercially to produce hundreds of thousands of copies.
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