Knitting Caps, stockings and the shirt King Charles died in--all to come.

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Monmouth Cap The Gunnister Man Find Gunnister Man's Welsh Wig Smeernberg Cap Monmouth Cap The Monmouth Cap is of a type worn throughout Europe from the medieval period through the Thirty Years' War.  I have based my pattern on an SCA website as well as the site of a Welsh museum containing one of the earliest Monmouth caps. Monmouth caps are mentioned in Act 4, Scene 7 of Shakespere's King Henry V: Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty know, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service These directions are given for an average sized (meaning my sized) person.  The caps I've made for grown men usually need a few extra stitches cast on (so that the total equals 65-70 sts).  If you can, measure the person that will be wearing the cap, and multiply that measurement by three to find the necessary number of stitches.  Make sure that how ever many stitches you decide to cast on is evenly divisible by some number.  Twelve, ten and eight usually works well, because otherwise the point decreases too slowly or too fast and gives the wrong shape. Yarn: 1 skein Brown Sheep Co.'s Lamb's Pride Bulky.  I've used grey, white and natural brown.  My inclination is to stick with natural colors, as I've seen no evidence that Monmouth caps were colored. Five size 8 American double pointed knitting needles. Gauge: 3 sts. per inch x 5 rows per inch Cast on 60 stitches leaving a three inch tail, distributing so that there are fifteen stitches on each needle.  Work in sts for about an inch and a half, or 7 rows. Transfer these stitches to a holder or other piece of yarn (a contrasting color works well) so that they won't fall off while you're making the band and cut the yarn.  At the beginning of your knitting, where you cast on, pick up sixty stitches (or however many to equal what you cast on) on the purl side of the knitting, distributing as before.  Knit these in sts so that the purl sides are facing for seven rows or however many equals an inch and a half for your yarn. At the end of the seventh row, flip the stitches on your holder up so that the purl sides are touching (I pin mine in place while I work with size three knitting needles).  Being careful not to twist the knitting, match up the stitches and knit one from each end of the knitting together.  When you have sixty stitches at the end of the row instead of 120, continue in sts for three to five inches, or however wide the palm of the person who will wear it is. If you cast on 60 sts, begin decreasing thus:  *k11, k2tog, repeat from * to the end of the row, k one row plain, *k10, k2tog, repeat from * to end of row.  Continue like this, knitting one row of decreases and one row plain until you have eight stitches left, and then cut your yarn and pass it through the remaining stitches, drawing them tight. To make the loop characteristic of monmouth caps, wrap the tail you left when you cast on in the manner shown in the photos.  (I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to describe the process.) Attach the end of this loop to the base of the loop where it attaches to the hat.  I'm not sure yet how to make the button characteristic of Monmouth caps, but I will post this when I figure it out. top The Gunnister Man Find I haven't made this hat yet, but these are the directions I've drafted for when I have to time to start.  These directions are drafted from the Scottish Antiquarian's Society's description of the Gunnister Man find, a man found in a bog with most of his clothing left as well as several wooden items.  He's dated to about 1680, based on the coins found in his pockets. Yarn: a fingering to sportweight wool that felts well. Ten American size three double pointed needles. Guage: 9 sts and 12 rows to the inch.  This is after felting.  I think the pre-felting guage should be somewhere around 6 sts and 9 rows to the inch, but I'm not sure. Cast on 216 sts. Row 1:  *k2tog, k1, YO, k1, repeat from * around. Rows 2-4: K sts around Work rows 1-4 five times. P 1 row. K in sts for another 3-5 inches, depending on how wide the wearer's palm is. Begin decreasing for the crown as follows: k2tog, k6, ssk, k44, k2tog, k6, ssk, k44, k2tog, k6, ssk, k44, k2tog, k6, ssk, k44. K 1 row. k2tog, k6, ssk, k43, k2tog, k6, ssk, k43, k2tog, k6, ssk, k43, k2tog, k6, ssk, k43. K 1 row. Continue in this pattern until 12 sts remain.  Pull the yarn through the remaining sts and pull closed. Felt well to size and clip felting close along the patterned brim to expose the pattern and flip this brim up. top Gunnister Man's Welsh Wig A welsh wig is an elusive little hat that I've been having trouble finding documentation for.  From what I've been able to find, a welsh wig is a relativly unfelted hat with bits of unspun fleece knitted into the cap.  Gunnister man's welsh wig is lightly felted, probably from wear.  Guage:  8 sts and 11 rows per inch.  Yarn:  probably slightly heavier than a sport weight and slightly lighter than a bulky.  A worsted might be just a little too small. Knit in the same manner as the Monmouth cap, without the double-thickness brim, button, or loop at the bottom, while knitting in short (an inch long) lengths of clean, unspun fleece, or possibly short teased lengths of a loosely spun yarn like Lamb's Pride Bulky. top Smeernberg Cap This cap is based on a Swedish 17th century burial find, and would be good for someone working for Gustav Adolf.  Yarn: 1 skein Brown Sheep Co.'s Lamb's Pride Bulky for the main color.  I've used grey, white and natural brown.  My inclination is to stick with natural colors.  You will also need about 50 yards of a similar weight of yarn in a complimentary or contrasting color. Five size 8 American double pointed knitting needles. Gauge: 3 sts and 5 rows per inch Cast on 65 sts or more, as for Monmouth cap.  Begin by knitting in sts for 2 rows with your main color, but know that the purl side will be the side that shows.  At the end of the second row, cut the main color and knit in sts for two rows.  Continue like this until you have 12 rows, alternating color every two rows.  End on an contrasting color row, then knit one row in main color.  I suppose any kind of colored pattern would be acceptable, but the extant cap I saw had this pattern.   The inside of the cap.    The visible side of the cap. Place the 65 stitches onto a holder and pick up the same number of stitches on the knit side of the brim, just above where you cast on.  Knit 13 rows, with the purl side of this flap facing the knit side of the flap with the colored stripes.  I usually use the contrasting color on the inside, but that's personal preference.  Taking stitches from the holder one at a time, knit the two flaps together. Knit five rows in sts.  Decrease for the crown as follows: Row 1:  *k2tog, k12, repeat from * around. Row 2:  Knit in sts. Row 3:  *k2tog, k11, repeat from * around.  Row 4:  Knit in sts. Continue, reducing the number of sts between k2togs until about 20 sts remain.  At that point, k2tog in every row, ommiting the rows like Rows 2 and 4 above. Weave in ends. top