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Knit a
Broad Brimmed
Monmouth Cap
‘Peter the Great Cap, Dutch Cap, Boat Cap’
With a short commentary and sources on Broad Brim Knitted Caps
Pattern is worked on five double pointed needles. No fancy stitches are required.
This cap is particularly suitable for use with late Sixteenth
through Eighteenth century costume
Sally Pointer
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
Broad Brim Knitted Caps:
There has always been a certain amount of confusion as
to precisely what to call these hats, and despite them
having been made in their thousands at the height of their
popularity, only a very few examples now survive to help
inform us as to their construction.
Frequently linked with Monmouth in the early part of
their history1, they ceased being made in that area after a
plague some years prior to the English Civil War, and
later became largely associated with Bewdley in
Worcestershire, although their manufacture would have
occurred in other areas as well.
Sturdy knitted caps were essential equipment for
seventeenth century soldiers and sailors, and most men
wore a cap of some description throughout this period. The remain popular particularly as
sailors caps right through the eighteenth century, with many references suggesting that the
Dutch sailors were particularly fond of them, to the extent that they are often called ‘Dutch
Caps’. Other references refer to them as Ship or Boat caps, and they may be a variation on
the Mild or Knit Cap. Robert Morris2 debates whether they may even be the same as the
Montero often referred to as being issued to troops
during the English Civil War of 1642-6.
That notable as well as common men wore these hats is
attested by a number of surviving portraits.
The National Portrait Gallery for example, has a portrait
and several engravings of the martyrologist John Foxe3
and which show him wearing what is in most cases
appears to represent a dark coloured broad brimmed
knitted cap with a band. Even the earliest version
preserves the slightly floppy edge common to this style
of hat.
The sketch here is based on one of these dated c1641.
1
There were cap makers in Monmouth in 1449, but the knitted-cap industry in the area reached its height during the Tudor
period. The earliest surviving example of the use of the term 'Monmouth Cap' is in a letter dated 1576. By the mid sixteenth
century other towns had taken up the manufacture, supported by legislation protecting the knitted woollen cap industry.
2
Morris, Robert: “Monmouths and Monteros, A Confusion of Caps 1570-1660”’
Stuart Press 2008 ISBN 978-1-85804-233-6
3
1516-1587, the earliest portrait is from the last year of his life and were widely repeated through the next couple of
centuries as engravings for publications.
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
Monmouth Caps:
Special mention should be made at this point to the ‘Monmouth’ labourers cap: Known to
most knitting historians merely as ‘The Monmouth Cap’, recent research by Morris suggests
that this may not in fact be the type of Monmouth cap referred to in documentary evidence at
all, despite its location in Monmouth itself4.
Its relatively light weight and lack of a broad brim makes it incompatible with period
descriptions of the Monmouth caps issued to troops, and it has been suggested that it is in
fact a labourer’s cap. Nonetheless, it’s an important part of the story, not least because it, and
the background to capping in Monmouth, has been well studied5 and can give us many clues as
to the likely methods of manufacture used in other coarsely knit hats and caps.
A sketch is included here to enable a comparison to be made between the general shape of
the crown and those of the broad brimmed versions discussed on the next page. The
distinctive cast off edge is also seen on the edge of some broad brimmed caps.
4
The cap itself may be seen at the Nelson Museum, and a good clear image can be found on the following website:
http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/large/item/GTJ01788/
5
Buckland, Kirstie. “The Monmouth Cap.” Costume 13. 1979. pp. 23-37
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
Extant Hats:
Two extant hats are briefly described and illustrated here. These both informed the pattern
offered in this booklet.
The ‘Peter the Great’ Hat:
When Tsar Peter visited the shipyards of
England and Holland around 1697, and certainly
no later than the first quarter of the eighteenth
century, he bought a complete sailors outfit
including this well known example of this hat. It
is now housed in the Hermitage Museum, St
Petersburg, Russia6.
This hat is probably the most well known
example of this style of cap, with a broad, flat
brim, and a high crown, all knit from heavy
wool. Many examples of this type of cap would
have been lined as well, adding an additional
layer of warmth and structure.
The DeBraak Cap, late eighteenth
century:
HMS DeBraak was a British built cutter sailing
under Dutch ownership and which sank off
Delaware in 1798. More than 26,000 artefacts
were recovered from her wreck site, including a
sailor’s hat of the brimmed Monmouth type.
Today, the brim is rather frayed, but it still clearly
shows the distinctive chained edge of a cast off at
the edge of the brim.
These are now housed in DiscoverSea Shipwreck
Museum, Delaware, USA7.
6
7
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/ A search on ‘sailor’ should being up the correct image
http://www.discoversea.com/H.M.S-DeBraak.html offers a short overview of the De Braak and her contents
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
Choosing materials:
Yarn
Morris notes that the Monmouth Caps sent to troops in Ireland during the 1940’s weighed on
average approximately 1lb each. That’s approximately 485g which in yarn alone represents a
weighty hat. Lining helps add weight, but it’s likely that a modern knitter using commercially
prepared yarn is going to find their cap comes out rather lighter than this, mine usually come
out about 250-300g depending on yarn used.
We know from the list of processes associated with the capping industry8 that the yarn is
likely to be woollen spun rather than worsted, but even so our modern preferences for soft,
lofty woollen spun yarns tends to make most yarn commercially available rather light in
overall weight, even if the yarn is bulky enough to give an appropriate gauge. This can be
partially compensated for by using two strands of aran weight yarn held together to
approximate the bulk and gauge of the original yarns, but if you spin your own yarn, it would
be worth experimenting with more densely spun yarn as an option. If using aran doubled, you
will need to have approximately 460-500 yards of yarn available. Choose a yarn that can be
fulled, ‘superwash’ will not work well.
Needles:
Whilst modern versions of these hats can certainly be made using circular needles, these were
not around at the time so the instructions in the pattern are for double pointed needles. I find
it easiest to work the hat on four needles, with one extra as working needle. I suggest 8mm
needles for most knitters, if you know you knit very tightly or loosely you may wish to go a
size either way, but as most sizing is done by fulling, the majority of knitters will be fine with
8mms and no firm gauge is required.
Processes and Structure:
It is possible to make a convincing version of this hat by several methods. In researching this
pattern I have experimented with working the hat from the brim up, from the crown down,
have picked up the brim separately to give a firm bind-off on the outer edge of the hat, and
have also tried a single layer brim with a firm lining.
After fulling, nap raising, shearing and finishing, all these methods gave an acceptable finish and
can certainly stand more experimentation, and I have chosen in this instance to offer a version
worked from the top of the crown down, expanding outwards to the brim and then picking
up and knitting the underside of the brim before using a three needle bind off to create a firm
brim edge. After finishing any ends, the hat is vigorously fulled, brushed, and trimmed.
8
Fuller, in ‘Worthies of England’ pre 1661 lists “Carders, Spinners, Knitters, Parters [sorters] of wool, Forcers, Thickers,
Dressers, Walkers, Dyers, Battelers, Shearers, Presers, Edgers, Liners, Bandmakers; and other exercises.” Whilst not all of
these will have been involved in the manufacture of these particular caps, a fair number will have been and it gives an
insight into the range of processes considered a normal part of the hat manufacturing trade at the time.
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
For those who like to work in a different weight of yarn, the pattern is essentially formulaic in
nature. Should you wish to knit this hat at a markedly different gauge, your critical measuring
point is to work the crown increases until you have sufficient stitches to provide the correct
head size. From there, the brim can be worked until it is the right width.
Pattern:
Notes: Increases can be by any convenient method that isn’t too disruptive to the surface of
the finished hat. I favour using a ‘make one’ formed by making a stitch into the bar behind and
below the stitch to be worked, then knitting the stitch as normal, but working into a twist of
the bar between stitches or even a ‘knit front and back’ can all work, though kfb is not as
‘invisible’ as the other two. Decreases are usually just a simple knit two together.
The first few rounds can feel as if you are knitting with a hedgehog in your hands, so go slowly
if you are unfamiliar with working on four needles!
Cast On:
Cast on four stitches, one per needle.
Round one: Increase into each stitch to give two stitches per needle.
Round two: Increase into each stitch to give four stitches per needle.
Round three: Knit plain
Round four: Increase twice per needle, space any increases well apart and on future rounds
always try to place them so they don’t line up with any close above them. This helps ensure a
smooth finish to the crown without any obvious lines as can happen when increases are
stacked.
Repeat rounds three and four until you have12 stitches per needle.
Next round, knit two rounds plain
Increase as before, (twice per needle, spaced well apart)
Repeat these three rounds; you should now have 16 stitches per needle (64 in total)
Knit plain until the hat is the desired height, this is usually approximately 8 or 9 inches from
crown to base, but you may modify this to suit the effect you desire from your hat. Knit one
more round, marking the start of the round with a scrap of thread so that you can find this
point easily when you come to work the inner brim later.
Now work the upper brim:
Round one: Make two increases per needle spaced well apart (8 increases per round in total).
Round two: Knit plain
Repeat these two rounds, altering the position of your increases each time so that they do
not line up, until you have 30 stitches per needle (120 total- or until the brim is as wide as
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
you wish it to be).
You will be casting the edge off later in conjunction with the lower brim, so for the moment
you need to secure the stitches so that you can continue to use the needles for the lower
brim. Run a length of yarn through the live stitches, taking them off the needle as you go, and
lightly tie the ends of the holding yarn together.
Lower brim:
Find the marked stitch on the inside of the hat at the base of the crown. Pick up 64 stitches
from the inside of the hat, taking care not to drift across into a different round of knitting.
You will be knitting the lower brim so that the purl (bumpy) side of the knitting is face to face
with the purl side of the upper brim, so take a moment before you start knitting to check that
you have the work facing the right way in your hands.
Work the lower brim identically to the upper one, stopping when you reach the same
number of stitches. Check that the upper brim appears the same width as the lower one.
Casting off:
You will be casting off using a three needle bind off, you don’t necessarily need an additional
needle for this, but if it helps, slip a section of stitches off the holding thread and onto a spare
needle of any size.
To cast off, insert the working needle into a stitch from the upper brim and the
corresponding stitch from the lower brim. Knit these together. Repeat once more, then pass
the first stitch over the second, so binding off.
Check as you begin to cast off that the chain effect
created by the cast off is visible on the upper side of
the brim. This may mean you have to turn your work
before casting off so that the upper brim is facing
towards you.
Repeat until you have worked right round the brim.
The knitting part of your hat is now complete, next
we need to full it to shrink and tighten the knit and
generally increase the weather resistant qualities and
structural firmness of the hat.
Image shows hat before fulling.
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com
Fulling:
You can put the hat in the washing machine to full it, but this is not for the faint hearted as
you have very little control over how much it will felt and shrink. If you decide to do this, try
a relatively short, gentle wash cycle to start with, as it is always better to have to repeat the
process to get the right size hat than it is to have it felt too far and come out too small.
If you prefer to felt by hand, the process is a little slower but is much more controllable. The
aim is to swell and open the scales on the wool by using hot soapy water, then using friction
and pressure, tangle these fibres together causing the whole hat to shrink and tighten.
Start by soaking the hat in water as hot as you can safely stand it, then rub it all over with
soap and start kneading, wringing and pummelling it. Rubbing the hat against a textured
surface can also be helpful. Keep changing direction and concentrate on different areas of the
hat. Periodically, plunge the hat into cold water then back into hot, the thermal shock can be
very useful in accelerating the felting process.
Keep working the hat all over until it has shrunk and firmed up to the size you require.
Rinse out any soap very thoroughly, squeeze out excess moisture, and arrange the hat to dry.
If you can contrive a hat block to support the hat in the correct shape, so much the better. Be
inventive here, an upturned bowl, a flowerpot, a child’s ball, all can be very useful for
supporting a wet hat.
Finishing:
When the hat is almost dry, take a while to pull and stretch it into the most perfect shape you
possibly can. Give it an extra 24 hours to dry.
Using a stiff clothes brush or fine wire brush, raise a nap on the cap by brushing it firmly.
Work from the top of the crown down, and then from the hatband area out to the edge.
If desired, crop the nap by using a large pair of shears help flat against the cap to trim away
any very fluffy sections leaving a neat pile effect.
The hat is now essentially finished. You might choose to add a hatband, or to line the inside
or under the brim (period illustrations sometimes show dark hats with contrasting colour
under-brims).
©Sally Pointer 2009, all rights reserved. This pattern is licensed for personal use only.
www.sallypointer.com