crochet cap in grey wool

[Pleater]

In a bid to reduce the stash of yarns, I am offering a round cap similar to those worn in the TV series Outlander - or as close as I can make the shape.

The top is domed so the cap is deeper than a beret, and the fabric is fairly soft so it will take different shapes. The caps have been machine washed but they can, if worked on, be felted a little more. I can do that if required. The texture of the stitches will remain visible. The yarn, although soft to the touch is not one which felts easily, and the crochet technique also acts against felting.
The band is adjustable as it has a drawstring threaded through eyelets and knotted.

The cap is about 12 inches across, though the actual measurement across the surface of the dome is an inch or so larger.

Price ten pounds and postage at cost. I can do a PayPal invoice.




These photos show the effect of the extra processing on the appearance of the cap, but please note that the hobbyist rules allow for the sale of one item per month through an ad in this section.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[KimM]

Hi Pleater. Would you mind telling me what kind of yarn that you used and how much shrinkage that you got when you felted? I recently crocheted a slouch hat/large tam with Lions Brand Fishermans Wool and was considering felting it but it already fits the intended recipient snugly and I was told that shrinkage would be about 50%. :-o This is the first item that I have made from wool so I haven't experimented with felting at all.

Thank you.

[frank_a]

Very nice! Best of luck to you Anne!

Frank

[Pleater]

Thank you Frank.

KimM, I can't tell you the brand. I have a stash of gargantuan proportions and a lot of it is not named. There are many hanks of yarn and lots of huge balls wound from them, either by hand or more recently on the large ball winder I invested in.

Some yarns felt easily and items knitted in them can shrink considerably - but the looseness of the stitches plays a part, also the amount of processing. The grey yarn I used is fairly resistant to felting and to get it to close up further after the machine washing required soap, agitation, then a temperature shock, hot, then cold and then hot rinses.

Felting is a dark art and can take some time to master.

One trick to try is to make the disk of the cap first, slightly oversized and then run a non feltable thread through the loops of the last round measure it and then felt it by hand. Measure it when it is dry and remove the thread, then if it is the right size for the cap you are making, complete the work and felt it, or if it needs to be made larger add more rounds and felt again until it is large enough.

Looser work will felt more easily than something made with a smaller hook, so making the cap disc and ring with a large hook then making the band on a smaller one might help you to create a cap to a particular size - the caps I made were all sized to fit me by that method or by making a chain through the last two or three rounds, so filling up the spaces and preventing shrinkage. I pulled that out and redid the bands to make them adjustable as a preparation for selling.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[KimM]

Great information Pleater. Thanks much.