Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. I turned up my nose at the green beer and contemplated Irish crochet instead. I wonder how many Irish immigrants came to America and found their way to Bangor using money earned by crocheting lace? That statistic, I fear, is lost in the mists of history.

In Ireland of the 1840s, during the potato famine, the fate of many families hung, quite literally, by a thread – an Irish crochet thread.

Irish crochet is characterized by individual motifs, such as roses or shamrocks, on an openwork background, often embellished with 3-chain loops called picots. The effect is lavish, lovely and lacy.

Irish crochet lace is believed to have been developed in the early 1800s in France by Mlle. Riego de la Blanchardiare, who figured out a way to adapt old-style needle and bobbin lace designs into crochet patterns.

Crochet was done in convents in France in the 18th century and the craft is thought to have been introduced at an Ursuline convent in County Cork before 1846. At that time, crochet was known as “nun’s work.”

During the potato famine, the Ursuline sisters responded to the crisis by establishing “crochet centers” where they taught people to crochet as a way to create a marketable product, thereby staving off starvation.

In 1847, Mrs. W.C. Roberts of County Kildare, known for her philanthropic endeavors, sent 24 of her best-trained crocheters out into the countryside to train more people in the art. Each person taught to crochet was required to teach 30 others. One of Mrs. Roberts’ skilled workers came to Cassandra Hand, in County Monhagen. Mrs. Hand helped enlarge the market for Irish lace and establish the School of Clones. Within two years, 1,500 workers were employed.

Irish crochet was sought by people of means and even Queen Victoria bought Irish crochet lace, which she wore at royal functions, in order to encourage others to purchase it.

The Clones style of crochet included roses, daisies, shamrocks, ferns, vines and grapes, motifs common to the Irish countryside. The work was done in homes and finished motifs were delivered to a central location where other workers constructed them into garments, trims and table linens.

Workers used their own ingenuity and the materials at hand to make crochet hooks – a piece of bent wire, or a sewing needle with one side of the eye snipped out. The hooks, stuck into a piece of wood for a handle, became known as “famine hooks.”

Constant hunger and illness often made men too weak to work in the fields and they learned to crochet, too, as did children of both sexes.

Patterns were not written down because many people could not read. Instead, they learned patterns by looking at samples or at pictures of motifs. Crochet patterns were handed down in families using the “show me” method, instead of written instructions.

By 1989, Irish crochet was a dying art and two Clones, Ireland, women, Mamo McDonald and Marie Treanor, formed the Clones Lace Guild. Older workers passed on their crochet skills to younger ones.

Information about Irish crochet abounds on the Web. Try www.victoriancrochet.com, ivillage.com or irishlacemuseum.com. These sites were helpful in providing information for this column.

The Bangor Museum and Center for History, the Maine State Museum, and the Maine State Historical Society kindly checked their databases for me, but were unable to determine if their textile collections contain examples of crocheted Irish lace.

Snippets

The Maine Army National Guard is collecting fabric donations for making “guardian bears” to give to the children of deployed Guard members. Volunteers also are needed to stitch the bears. To learn more, to volunteer or to make fabric donations, call 947-4168.

Learn the entrelac knitting technique, which gives a woven look, 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at Cityside Yarn Co. Bring 1/2 skein of yarn and a 16- inch circular needle. Cost for the class is $12 and is open to all skill levels. To learn more, call the shop at 990-1455.

Rebecca Diamond will teach “Needle Tatting for Beginners,” 1-3 p.m. Thursday, March 20, at Rainbow Books, Crafts & Gifts in Caribou. The cost is $15 and includes all supplies. Preregistration is required. To learn more, call 493-3165.

Ardeana Hamlin can be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.