Skip to main content

April’s Newsboy Hat knitting pattern w/ @KnitPicks Dishie

Chautona Havig is one of the twelve authors participating with me in the Christian Contemporary Romance anthology, Save the Date, which releases September 15. Chautona’s novella in the anthology is titled Adoring April.

In celebration, I wrote a knitting pattern for the Newsboy Hat used by Chautona’s heroine, April!

(In case you missed it, here are the links for my interview with Chautona part 1 and part 2, and an excerpt of one of Chautona’s other books, Blessing Bentley.)



Chautona’s heroine April wears a casual blue cotton Newsboy Cap. I knit it with Knit Picks Dishie, which is a sturdy cotton yarn. I specifically designed this to only use one ball of Dishie.

The hat is knit in the round, making the lace part of the crown very easy. I have charted the pattern below. Just double click on the chart to see the larger version, which you can right-click to save on your computer.

The pattern for the crown is a combination of the pattern Figure 47 Block for Counterpane in the Priscilla Cotton Knitting Book, published in 1918, and the pattern #66 Pretty Small Pattern Diamond of Four Holes from pages 158-159 of The Lady's Assistant, volume 2 by Jane Gaugain, published in 1847, 5th edition. (If you’re interested, you can download a free scanned .pdf of each of these antique books by clicking on the links.) I changed both patterns slightly and charted the patterns.

The brim is stiffened with strong interfacing rather than anything more solid. (I had tried using a cut up plastic bottle for the brim, but that ended up being just a bit too uncomfortable, so I went with the interfacing instead.)

(In case you were wondering, I stuffed a pillowcase into the hat so it would fit on my bear’s head. I apologize that it’s a little lumpy.)


Yarn: Knit Picks Dishie Multi, (100% cotton, 190 yards/100 grams, worsted weight), Deep Blue Sea Multi colorway, 1 ball

Needles:
US 7 (4.5 mm)

Dimensions:
24” circumference. NOTE: You can make the circumference smaller by inserting elastic or a ribbon into the ribbed band, see instructions below. To make the circumference larger, when you bind off the band, use a stretchy bind off like sewn tubular bind-off instead of a normal bind-off (which is what I did to get the 24” circumference).
55” long, 7” wide open ended tube

Gauge:
4.5 stitches and 6 rows per inch in stockinette stitch using US 7 needles.

NOTE: The cap is knit from the top of the crown down to the band, then the brim is knitted.


Pattern:
Cast on 8 stitches in the round.
Knit one round.
Commence chart from round 1.
Follow chart until round 53. The hat should be about 8” from the cast on. (128 stitches)
If you’d like the hat to be taller, repeat rows 46-53 until the hat is the height you desire.
If you’d like the hat to have a wider circumference, then after round 31, continue adding a stitch every other row, knitting the extra stitches, and then when you’ve added 6 stitches, incorporate another 6-stitch repeat of the 8-round stitch pattern #66 Pretty Small Pattern Diamond of Four Holes.


Ribbed band:
Set-up round: [(k1, k2tog) 5 times, k1] repeat around the needles (88 stitches)
Band: K1,p1 ribbing for 6 rounds (about 1”).


Brim:
Bind off except for 38 sts. Knit those 38 sts, place marker, then cast on 38 stitches and join in the round, placing a second marker for the beginning of the round.

Round 1: knit all around
Rounds 2-16: k1, ssk, knit to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1

Kitchener stitch, like the toe of a sock, the remaining stitches.


Place brim down on a piece of paper and trace around it. Cut out the paper tracing, then cut two pieces of interfacing from the paper tracing.

Turn brim inside out and iron interfacings to insides of brim. Remove paper layer, turn brim right side out and position the two layers evenly, then iron outside of brim to seal interfacings to each other.

NOTE: I saw a pattern that cut a plastic bottle instead of interfacing and slipped the plastic inside the brim. I tried it, but I found the plastic too stiff and uncomfortable. However if you desire a stiffer brim, that might be something to try.

Sew cast on sts to underside and slightly inside band so brim curves down a little.


Finishing: Weave in all ends.
Optional: sew yarn in a zigzag pattern on the inside of the ribbing of the band so that whoever wears the hat can cut a piece of ribbon or elastic to fit their head, then string it through the zigzag and sew the ribbon or elastic closed, so the hat will fit more snugly.

The hat is featured in Chautona’s novella, Adoring April. She gave me permission to post the short excerpt where the hat appears!


Excerpt:

Halfway to Mrs. Nesbit’s cottage on Bedford Street, April Moran realized she’d shoved her newsboy cap on her head before she’d left her duplex—a habit she had considered breaking more times than she could count. Each time, she’d decided against the destruction of an innocent habit that did no one any harm. No one but my hair.

Never graceful enough for such delicate things as butterflies, wooly caterpillars crawled about her innards in a desperate bid to ensure she did not forget to be nervous. Dinner at Mrs. Nesbit’s cottage … with him. How do you spell nervous? Let me count the ways …

You only need one.


If that wasn’t the truth. To say April had fallen in love with Jesse Stallard would have been a gross exaggeration. She had, however, dived headfirst into the closest thing you could have for someone you hadn’t actually met. Tonight would change all that. Mrs. Nesbit had set her up on the equivalent of a blind date with the man of her dreams.

Lord, I’m not saying we’ll hit it off, fall in love, get married, and have three kids by the end of the month or anything, but if You could arrange at least one of those by the end of the year …

A warm light glowed in the windows of the Nesbits’ house. A tall silhouette reached for something on a top cabinet shelf. But he isn’t that tall. Just compared to her. Laughter reached the door at the same moment she did, soft and muffled but heartwarming.

Palm warming too. They began to sweat the moment she reached for the doorbell. Aw, man, really? She rubbed them on her jeans before jabbing her finger at the old bell. A less muffled “I’ll get it!” told her that Mrs. Nesbit hadn’t exaggerated. Jesse Stallard had a voice to melt hearts and grow flowers. Oh boy.

Of its own volition, her hand stole up to rip off the hand-knitted newsboy cap. Of her own volition, she grabbed it and shoved it back down in place. Can’t meet him with my hair standing on end! Ugh!

White teeth flashed as the door swung open. Jesse unlatched the storm door and pushed it back to let her in. April just stood there. Blinking. Mesmerized.

Some might say that Jesse was a bit odd looking. Not quite six feet tall (five foot eleven and a quarter if you asked Mrs. Nesbit—and she had), warm skin tone, and eyes that felt out of place Ssomehow, but that smile …

Her vocal cords finally kicked in at the exact time he said, “Hello? April?”

“You must be Jesse.” The inanity of her statement hit her at the very second she finished making it. Really, April? Really?

“Would you …” He stepped back farther. It was the first time she’d noticed he’d moved at all. “… care to come in?”

“Oh, sure.” Like some kid from the fifties, April snatched her hat off her head, froze, stared at him in horror, and shoved it back down. “Nice to meet you.”

Again, that grin. Save me from myself, Lord. But don’t kill me yet. This guy. He’s actually as nice as Mrs. Nesbit said. Some might argue with her reasoning. After all, how could she possibly know in one “hello”? But in April’s estimation, he hadn’t laughed at the utter fool she made of herself. Ergo, he was amazing.

While she babbled internally, Jesse shut the door and reached for a paper-wrapped bouquet lying on the entry table. He passed them over and whispered, “They’ve been in water until about five minutes ago. Mrs. Nesbit insisted.”

Flowers? May the swooning commence.

Copyright 2021 Chautona Havig

***

Camy’s knitting patterns inspired by the novellas in Save the Date:
Ashlyn's Yoga Bag knitting pattern w/ @KnitPicks Dishie
Cleo’s Drawstring Purse knitting pattern w/ @KnitPicks CotLin
Kate’s Tube Scarf knitting pattern
April’s Newsboy Hat knitting pattern w/ @KnitPicks Dishie

Get 12 novellas in Save the Date, a Christian Contemporary Romance anthology. Preorder now for only 99 cents! Releases September 15th.

Comments

  1. How does the 6 stitch pattern repeat work? You have 128 stitches at the end of the original lace chart, but then you switch to a 6 stitch chart. 6 doesn't go into 128 evenly. You would have an extra 2 stitches each round.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Becky, I’m so sorry, I only just saw your comment now.
      I’m sorry, I realize I wasn’t clear in the pattern, so I revised it:
      Follow chart until round 53. The hat should be about 8” from the cast on. (128 stitches)
      If you’d like the hat to be taller, repeat rows 46-53 until the hat is the height you desire.
      If you’d like the hat to have a wider circumference, then after round 31, continue adding a stitch every other row, knitting the extra stitches, and then when you’ve added 6 stitches, incorporate another 6-stitch repeat of the 8-round stitch pattern #66 Pretty Small Pattern Diamond of Four Holes.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Laura’s Apricot Shell Shawl knitting pattern

I usually have a knitting project in mind when I write it into one of my books, but Laura’s apricot-colored shawl just kind of appeared upon the page as I was writing the first scene of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer , and it surprised even me. I immediately went to my yarn stash to find a yarn for it, and I searched through my antique knitting books to find some stitch patterns. I made her an elegant wool shawl she could wear at home. The shawl ended up tagging along with Laura into the next book, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 5: Prisoner , where it imparts some comfort to her in her trying circumstances. The two stitch patterns are both from the same book, The Lady’s Assistant, volume 2 by Mrs. Jane Gaugain, published in 1842 . A couple excessively clever and creative knitters might have knit these patterns in the Regency era, but they would have only passed them around by word of mouth or scribbled “recipes” to friends or family, and it wouldn’t have been widely use

Phoebe’s Muffatees knitting pattern

In Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer , Phoebe wears a pair of lace muffatees, or gauntlets/arm-warmers that hide a rather deadly surprise. :) I actually got the idea of having her wear muffatees because I saw a lace manchette pattern in Miss Watts’ Ladies’ Knitting and Netting Book , published in 1840, page 20. However, after doing some research, I found that they were called muffatees in the Regency era, and the term manchette did not arise until a few years later. They were essentially arm-warmers worn under those long sleeves on day dresses, which were usually made of muslin too thin to be very warm. I decided to knit Phoebe’s muffatees using a Leaf Pattern originally suggested for a purse in Mrs. Gaugain’s book, The Lady’s Assistant, volume 1, 5th edition published in 1842, pages 234-237. I think there was an error and row 36 in the original pattern was duplicated erroneously, so I have adjusted the pattern. The original manchette pattern called for “fine” needles a

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

One-Skein Pyrenees Scarf knitting pattern

I got into using antique patterns when I was making the scarf my hero wears in my Regency romance, The Spinster’s Christmas . I wanted to do another pattern which I think was in use in the Regency period, the Pyrenees Knit Scarf on pages 36-38 of The Lady's Assistant for Executing Useful and Fancy Designs in Knitting, Netting, and Crochet Work, volume 1, by Jane Gaugain, published in 1840. She is thought to be the first person to use knitting abbreviations, at least in a published book, although they are not the same abbreviations used today (our modern abbreviations were standardized by Weldon’s Practical Needlework in 1906). Since the book is out of copyright, you can download a free PDF copy of the book at Archive.org. I found this to be a fascinating look at knitting around the time of Jane Austen’s later years. Although the book was published in 1840, many of the patterns were in use and passed down by word of mouth many years before that, so it’s possible these are

Year of the Dog serial novel, chapter 13

I’m posting a Humorous Christian Romantic Suspense serial novel here on my blog! Year of the Dog is a (second) prequel to my Warubozu Spa Chronicles series. Year of the Dog serial novel by Camy Tang Mari Mutou, a professional dog trainer, is having a bad year. While renovating her new dog kenneling and training facility, she needs to move in with her disapproving family, who have always made her feel inadequate—according to them, a job requiring her to be covered in dog hair and slobber is an embarrassment to the family. She convinces her ex-boyfriend to take her dog for a few months … but discovers that his brother is the irate security expert whose car she accidentally rear-ended a few weeks earlier. Ashwin Keitou has enough problems. His aunt has just shown up on his doorstep, expecting to move in with him, and he can’t say no because he owes her everything—after his mother walked out on them, Auntie Nell took in Ashwin and his brother and raised them in a loving Chri

New contest!

I haven’t had a contest since October! Here’s new one just in time for Christmas. I’m picking 3 winners to each be able to choose 10 books from my Christian book list! And yes, that list includes my books! 1) You get one entry into the contest when you sign up for my email newsletter at http://www.camytang.com/ . If you already belong to my email newsletter, let me know! 2) You get a second entry into the contest if you Like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CamyTangAuthor . If you already Like my Facebook page, let me know! 3) You get a third entry into the contest if you join my Goodreads group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/49078 . If you already belong to my Goodreads group, let me know! 4) You get a fourth entry into the contest if you follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/camytang . If you already follow me on Twitter, let me know! 5) You get extra entries into the contest if you get someone else to join my email newsletter. Just email camy {at] c

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou

ひとり寿司第36章パート1

「ひとり寿司」をブログに連載します! ひとり寿司 寿司シリーズの第一作 キャミー・タング 西島美幸 訳 スポーツ狂のレックス・坂井 —— いとこのマリコが数ヶ月後に結婚することにより、「いとこの中で一番年上の独身女性」という内輪の肩書を「勝ち取る」ことについては、あまり気にしていない。コントロールフリークの祖母を無視するのは容易だ —— しかし、祖母は最終通告を出した —— マリコの結婚式までにデート相手を見つけなければ、無慈悲な祖母は、レックスがコーチをしている女子バレーボールチームへの資金供給を切ると言う。 ダグアウトにいる選手全員とデートに出かけるほど絶望的なわけではない。レックスは、バイブルスタディで読んだ「エペソの手紙」をもとに「最高の男性」の条件の厳しいリストを作った。バレーボールではいつも勝つ —— ゲームを有利に進めれば、必ず成功するはずだ。 そのとき兄は、クリスチャンではなく、アスリートでもなく、一見何の魅力もないエイデンを彼女に引き合わせる。 エイデンは、クリスチャンではないという理由で離れていったトリッシュという女の子から受けた痛手から立ち直ろうとしている。そして、レックスが(1)彼に全く興味がないこと、(2)クリスチャンであること、(3)トリッシュのいとこであることを知る。あの狂った家族とまた付き合うのはごめんだ。まして、偽善的なクリスチャンの女の子など、お断り。彼はマゾヒストじゃない。 レックスは時間がなくなってきた。いくら頑張っても、いい人は現れない。それに、どこへ行ってもエイデンに遭遇する。あのリストはどんどん長くなっていくばかり —— 過去に掲載済みのストーリーのリンクはこちらです。 *** 36 誰かと結婚するとしたら、きっと駆け落ちだ。 クスクス笑うマリコのブライズメイドの後をついて、レックスはよろめきながらパゴダブリッジ・レストランに入った。泣きわめくティキの隣で四時間立ちっぱなし——マリコはレックスを列の最後に入れてくれたから、ありがたい——抜歯と同じぐらい喜ばしい経験だった。ノボケインなしで。 (ウェディングそのものは一時間だけ。よかった)リハーサルも終わり、あとはオリバーを見つけ、四時間ぶりに椅子に座って、祖母のおごりで高価なリハーサルディナー(結婚式リハーサ

Year of the Dog serial novel

About Year of the Dog : A month or two ago, I remembered an old manuscript I had completed but which hadn’t sold. It was a contemporary romance meant for Zondervan, titled Year of the Dog . The book had gone into the pipeline and I even got another title ( Bad Dog ) and a cover for it, but eventually my editor at the time decided she didn’t want to publish it, for various reasons. She instead requested a romantic suspense, and so I cannibalized some of the characters from Year of the Dog and thrust them into the next book I wrote, which was Protection for Hire . Honestly, I didn’t take a lot from Year of the Dog to put in Protection for Hire , aside from character names and a few relationship ties. I was originally thinking I’d post Year of the Dog as-is on my blog as a free read, but then it occurred to me that I could revamp it into a romantic suspense and change the setting to Hawaii. It would work out perfectly as (yet another) prequel to the Warubozu series and introduc

Quiz from Lady Wynwood's Spies #6 - question 5

The latest volume in my Christian Regency epic serial novel just released, so I thought I’d post a few of my favorite passages from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 6: Martyr . “There is no need for you to apologize.” A sliver of her normal self seemed to return to her, and she lifted an eyebrow at him. “Yes, well, you should not have interrupted my argument with the tree.” “I could not stand by and watch you bully a defenseless beechwood.” QUIZ: Who is Keriah speaking to, Michael or Mr. Benjamin? EXTRA CREDIT: Why was Keriah apologizing to him? This exchange was an unexpected point of levity in an otherwise pretty heavy scene. It surprised me when I was writing it. Start the series with Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer ! A Christian Historical Adventure set in Regency England with slow-burn romance and a supernatural twist Part one in an epic-length serial novel She met him again by shooting him. After four seasons and unmarried because she is taller than mos