I can’t remember now exactly when and how I found out about Irish Crochet Lace, but it was love at first sight. The detailed, imaginative crocheted flowers and leaves amazed me, and they are the original inspiration for Crochet Bouquet.
This piece used to be a jacket. At least I think it was, because the armholes are so ragged. It looks like someone cut away the sleeves. It’s still a great piece. The heavily textured flowers contrast so nicely with the lacy background.
Here’s a photo with a tape measure, to give you an idea of the scale of these flowers. The main flower in the photo is about 2-1/2 inches across, and it has hundreds of tiny stitches in it. And to make it even more impressive, the people who made the Irish Crochet that was sold were often children. They probably copied the motifs from a sample—no written patterns!
You can download old Irish Crochet patterns from the Antique Pattern Library. There’s also a Yahoo group by the same name: Antique Pattern Library on Yahoo. If you prefer to have a book, some publishers, including Dover Publications, have reprinted some of the old books. You can find Irish Crochet Lovers groups on Yahoo and Ravelry.