I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter
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.
***
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
If you like romance novels, please check out my list of free short stories, novellas, and novels available on my blog! I write Christian contemporary romance and romantic suspense as Camy Tang, and Christian Regency romance as Camille Elliot. Click here to knit the antique scarf pattern from my Regency romance novel, The Spinster's Christmas.
Comments
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.