Most exciting of all, it features my handspun, from our own flock. The design is intended to showcase the handspun. The base layer can be made of a softer blend, or even an acrylic, and then the handspun is layered on top in a lace pattern.
You don't have to spin to make this hat. You can use any yarn combination you want. The hat on the left is knit with commercial yarns for both layers. I wanted to experiment with how a handpainted yarn would look under a natural-colored lace.
The entire cap is knit in one piece, starting at the top of the base layer and ending at the top of the lace. You'll have to trust me on this. I got the idea from a letter published in the May 1843 issue of The Magazine of Domestic Economy and Family Review. The anonymous writer was responding to a plea in the April 1843 edition of the magazine from correspondent "Eliza," who was in search of a pattern for a gentleman's nightcap. The pattern started at the top of the nightcap with a few stitches, which were then increased to the diameter of the cap. The cap was to be knit until it was "a sufficient length, say 24 to 28 inches" then decreased to match the other end and folded inside itself to produce a toasty double thickness. Duplice is constructed slightly differently, but with the same basic idea of knitting two layers in one long tube.
You still have plenty of time to make this as a Christmas gift! It is a very quick knit, because the stockinette base goes very quickly in the round and only two plus repeats of the lace are required.
I just found this wonderful lace hat. I so need a hat and this one will be one from some of my old yarn. it maybe such a nice warm hat from a friend who makes me feel so much better after the surgery. Thanks, Cooperworth, shetland, and friends.
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