Autumn Doily Tutorial

Inspired by the colors of the autumn leaves and the intricate patterns of vintage doilies, I decided to make an attempt to design my #autumndoily.

I made this doily using Scheepjes Cotton 8 4-ply yarn and a 3mm hook. This doily has a diameter of approximately 34cm. At the end of this tutorial, I would suggest blocking your doily though not necessarily.

Notes:

For this tutorial, I have excluded the details on how to begin with the new round. It is up to you decide on whether you would like to start the new round with chain stitches or standing stitches.

Special Stitches:

Dc2tog:

• *Yarn over, insert hook into space, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops.*
• Repeat *to* one more time.
• Yarn over, draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Dc3tog:

• *Yarn over, insert hook into space, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops.*
• Repeat *to* two more times.
• Yarn over, draw through all 4 loops on hook.

Abbreviations:

The steps are written in US terms:

ch = chain
dc = double crochet
sc = single crochet
sl = slip stitch
sp = space
st = stitch
tr = treble crochet
dc2tog = double crochet 2 together
dc3tog = double crochet 3 together

For crochet terms conversion, please click here.

Steps:

Round 1:

• Start with a magic ring. Work 16 dc into the ring.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 2:

• Start the round in any st.
• Work (1 dc, ch4, skip 1 st) all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 3:

• Start the round in any ch sp of round 2. 
• Work *(3dc, ch1, 3dc) in ch space. Ch2.* Repeat *to* all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 4:

• Start the round in any ch1 sp of round 3.
• Work *(3dc, ch1, 3dc) in ch1 space. Ch5.* Repeat *to* all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 5:

• Start the round in any ch1 space of round 4. 
• Work *(3dc, ch3, 3dc) in ch1 space. Ch3. Long sc in ch2 space of round 3. Ch3.* Repeat *to* all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 6:

• Start the round in any ch3 space(i.e. the tip of any petals) of round 5.
• Work *1sc in tip of petal. Ch5. 1 v-stitch (i.e. 1tr, ch1, 1tr) in the long sc st. Ch5.* Repeat *to* all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st sc of this round.

Round 7:

• Start the round in the ch5 sp on the left of any sc.
• Work *(4dc, dc2tog) in next ch5 space. Ch2. 1dc in ch1 space of v-stitch. Ch2. (dc2tog, 4dc) in next ch5 space. Ch1.* Repeat *to* all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 8:

• Start the round in the 2nd stitch of round 7.
• Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in next 3 stitches.
• Work *Ch3. 1sc in ch2 sp. 1sc in next stitch, 1sc in ch2 sp. Ch3. 1dc in next 4 st. Ch2. (Skip 2dc st. 1dc in next 4 st).* Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 9:

• Start the round in the 2nd st of round 8. 
• Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next 2 st. 
• Work *1 dc in ch3 sp. Ch2. Dc3tog in next 3sc st. Ch3. 1dc in ch3 sp. 1 dc in next 3 st. Ch2. 1dc in ch2 sp. Ch2. (Skip 1 st. 1dc in next 3 st.)*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 10:

• Start the round in the 3rd st of round 9.
• Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next st.
• Work *2dc in ch2 sp. Ch2. 1sc in top of dc3tog. Ch3. 2dc in ch3 sp. 1 dc in next 2 st. Ch3. 1sc in ch2 sp. 1sc in next st. 1sc in ch2 sp. Ch3. (Skip 2 st. 1dc in next 2 st.)*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 11:

• Start the round in the 3rd st of round 10.
• Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next  st.
• Work *3dc in ch2 sp. Ch1. 3dc in ch3 sp. 1dc in next 2 st. Ch4. Dc3tog in next 3 st. Ch4. (Skip 2 st. 1dc in next 2 st.)*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 12:

• Start the round in the 2nd st of round 11.
• Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next 3 st.
• Work *1dc in ch1 sp. 1dc in next 4 st. Ch2. 1dc in ch4 sp. Ch3. 1sc in top of dc3tog. Ch3. 1dc in ch4 space. Ch2. (Skip 1 st. 1dc in next 4 st.)*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 13:

• Start the round in the 3rd st of round 12.
• Work 1dc in the same st. 1dc in the next 4 st.
• Work *Ch4. 1sc in ch2 sp. 1sc in next st. 1sc in ch3 sp. Ch5. 1sc in ch3 sp. 1sc in next st. 1sc in ch2 sp. Ch4. (Skip 2 st. 1dc in next 5 st.)*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 14:

• Start the round in the 2nd st of round 13.
• Work dc3tog in current and next 2 st.
• Work *Skip the next dc st. Ch8. Dc3tog in next 3sc st. Ch3. 1sc in ch5 space. Ch3. Dc3tog in next 3 st. Ch8. (Skip 1 st. Dc3tog in next 3 st).*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the top of dc3tog of this round.

Round 15:

• Start the round in the 1st dc3tog of round 14.
• Work 1 dc in the same stitch.
• Work *Ch4. 1dc in ch8 sp. Ch4. 1dc in top of dc3tog. Ch3. 1dc in ch3 sp. Ch3. 1dc in next ch3 sp. Ch3. 1dc in top of dc3tog. Ch4. 1dc in ch8 sp. Ch4. (1dc in top of dc3tog.)*
• Repeat *to* all the way round, omitting () on the last repeat.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 16 and 17:

• Start the round in any ch sp of round 15.
• Work (1dc in ch sp, ch4) all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 18:

• Start the round in any ch sp of round 17.
• Work (4dc in ch sp, ch1) all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st dc of this round.

Round 19:

• Start the round in any ch sp of round 18.
• Work (1sc in ch sp, ch4) all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st sc of this round.

Round 20:

• Start the round in any ch sp of round 19.
• Work (sc, hdc, dc, tr, dc, hdc, sc) in each ch space all the way round.
• Sl into the 1st sc of this round.

PS: It has taken me the longest time so far to finalize a pattern. I spent several late nights creating many versions of this pattern as I was very determined to make it work. Even though it might be far from a perfect design in the eyes of some, I'm glad that I didn't give up on trying.

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." - Joseph Chilton Pearce