A little more than a year ago, a group of ladies in my area started taking crochet lessons from me, with the goal that they eventually wanted to make an altar cloth. Most of these women had never crocheted before, or had just a few basics down, but not enough to follow a pattern.
We started with yarn. There are four basic stitches in crochet. “If you learn these four stitches, you can make almost anything!” I told them. There are of course, fancier stitches, but most everything you make is a combination of chain, single crochet, double crochet or triple crochet. There’s also a slip, that hardly counts as a stitch at all. That’s it. Four stitches.
The first pattern we tried was a traditional granny square: 
We made a lot of granny squares, and put them together in afghans. Some of the ladies got a little more creative with their granny squares, but the basic idea was the same. Squares. A basic granny square requires a chain stitch and a double crochet. That’s it. Not too hard.
After our granny square afghans were completed, we started a new project with one size smaller yarn, and a modified granny square. We discovered a need for NICU baby blankets to help preemie babies at the hospital. This time, armed with baby yarn, we were making baby blanket granny squares. Almost the same pattern, just a little smaller.
We met at the park and made NICU baby blankets all summer. When we were confident with that size thread… we started a new project. Size ten thread lace squares:
The lace thread was a larger jump than going from yarn to baby yarn had been, but with a little practice, many of us are getting it. We decided to start an altar cloth. 
It’s a work in progress! So far, seven sisters are participating in the making of this lace. We’re calling it the “Sister’s Lace”. Each square is only six rows, not very much different than a granny square. This is great practice for an altar cloth. If you are looking for a pattern that is simple and elegant, this is a good one to try.
The secret is, if you can make granny squares, and have the will to practice, you can make lace.
Where do you find patterns for the altar cloths. Went to my temple and got instructions, but they didn’t have any patterns.
Many thanks for your help.
Neva Richey
Neva, When I am looking for a new lace pattern, I search for words like motif, crochet, lace, table runner, table cloth, etc. You can find free patterns online, pinterest has them, various crochet magazines on ebay and amazon have motif patterns. I’ve collected some of my favorite patterns and ideas here: https://www.pinterest.com/rockwoodfamily/crochet-lace/ there is also a book called “101 Motifs for Thread Crochet” that is a good place to start.
Just make sure whatever pattern you choose gets approved by your temple matron before you get too far into it.
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I want to give this motif a try, but you have two different pictures of instructions, and the instructions seem to be slightly different instructions for the same thing. Which one do I follow? One seems to have corrections that have been added. I’m confused.
And also, do you have instructions for joining?
Colleen, for joining, on the last row of the pattern, you decide where you want the motifs to connect, and then choose the type of stitch you want to connect them with. Then, as you’re going, you take your sc or dc or cluster or whatever you’re connecting with and simply put it in the adjoining motif instead of the one you’re working on. Then continue with your pattern on the motif you’re working on until the next join point. That’s basically how you join in lace patterns.
Yes, the pattern evolved a smidge as we went. The last is the most recent.
I made this little square! I used size 20 thread so it is pretty small but looks delightful. Thank you for sharing this pattern–Maybe this will be coming to a temple near me!
Carrie, I’m so glad the pattern was useful to you! We love our altar cloth with that pattern here. It’s simple, but beautiful, and it is a good durable pattern with not many holes to catch buttons.