I just found out about this website and thought I’d share. They have patterns from as far back as the 1880’s. And for several different techniques (crochet, knitting, beading, etc.)
Antiquepatternlibrary.org
What a fascinating site. Thanks very much for posting the link.
Yeah, I found this a while back and posted a link to the site here, too. (Of course, there’s lots of new folks, so another post with another link is always good).
I really enjoyed looking at all the crochet patterns, and it inspired me to make boudoir caps for several friends (http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110513&highlight=boudoir).
Have you found anything you’d like to make yet?
Only took a glance at it, but it looks fascinating. Thanks!
I spent lots of hours looking through all the crochet books–a definite time drainer (for me anyway).
I found it fascinating to see what people wore during those time periods and not just the outer clothes either. Okay, I think I’d better stop there lest I get myself in hot water. I’ll just say that some of those nightgowns are amazing–the detail work that went into them is mind-boggling! Obviously some people (and it wasn’t the pioneers) had some time on their hands.
One of these days I’m going to try Irish crochet, but I intend to simplify my designs quite a bit and make them a lot less cluttered and gaudy looking!