Documentation submitted for Guild of St. Severus apprentice level paneling at Birka 1/2007

Monmouth Cap Created 8/06

The Monmouth Cap gets its name from a Welsh town of Monmouth.  These caps were knitted from as early as the middle of the 15^th Century of thick coarse wool.

This is a picture of an original Monmouth Cap that is in the Monmouth Museum dated from the 16^th century.

And this is my version: (click on thumbnail at the top of the page for a larger picture)

Directions:

To get the correct gauge (3 1/2 stitches per inch)  to duplicate the extant piece I used size 10 1/2 double pointed knitting needles and Brown Sheep Bulky yarn (I purchase it a cone at a time).  It is a great yarn to use especially if you are planning on felting the cap after you are finished.

Before casting on make sure to allow enough yarn so you will leave a 10 inch tail after the cast on is finished.

Cast on 60 stitches.

The cap is knitted in the round, so connect the end to the beginning in which ever way you are comfortable doing so.  I like to slip the last stitch over the first so that the last stitch is now the first stitch and the first stitch is now the last stitch.

Knit 10 rounds.

Purl one row.  There is some discussion about if the purl stitch had been used in period (600 to 1600 CE) so if you want to make sure that you are authentic in your knitting, reverse your work and knit one row.  When you are finished that row reverse back so that you were knitting in the direction that you began knitting in.

Getting back to the long tail that you left when casting on: Weave the tail up to the purled row. Move the tail yarn to the front of the work. There are many ways of finishing the loop, but I like to twist the yarn so much that it twists on itself and then I secure both ends to the backside of the work.  Other suggestions of what you can do is crochet a chain or make an i-cord for as long as you would like your loop to be. Secure the loop from the backside of the work.

Knit 10 rounds.

During the next round connect the cast on edge to the current round by folding the work in half. Knit one stitch from the left hand needle and one stitch from the cast on edge together, making sure to line up each column so that the work does not get skewed.

Knit 15 rounds

(Knit 4, knit two together)  repeat to end of round.

Knit 3 plain rounds.

(Knit 2, knit two together)  repeat to end of round.

Knit 3 plain rounds.

(Knit 1, knit two together)  repeat to end of round.

Knit 3 rounds.

Knit 2 together until there are only 5-7 stitches left.