Story:

Over the 2020 Shelter-In-Place, we reached out to friends to make products to both keep idle hands busy and for us to share "products with a story". This is one of them.

Friend of the shop Philip Horne has a strong interest in historic knitting patterns and techniques from the earliest surviving knits garments done before the common era in Sumeria and Egypt to late nineteenth and early twentieth century knits.  He is also interested in the natural undyed wool of heritage sheep breeds. During this years lockdown he kept himself busy knitting us some wonderful Watch Caps. 

The History of the Knit cap is a long and interesting one. But I won't bore you with historical knits of the 1500s in Wales or fun facts about British soldiers during the Crimean War. As far as we're concerned the modern definition, not only in construction and material, but also in style of wear is WWII. The watch cap found a following thanks to Life Magazine photos of Navy men in dark wool rolled up above the ears. Think wearing beanies high and at a jaunty angle is a new hipster invention? Think again! Granddads from the 1940s were stylish way before Third Wave Coffee. My intro to Knit Watch caps came from my father's collection of Jacques Cousteau books. Despite him being a member of the Marine Nationale he went with a wonderful orangey-red that solidified for me it's place as the cap for adventure. 

These WWI and WWII caps were knitted from Red Cross knit patterns.  As one way to do their part for the war effort, women would go to their local Red Cross office, pick up the yarn, the knitting needles and the pattern, and with a minimum of know-how quickly knit caps for their soldiers overseas.These modern caps are knitted precisely from the early 20th century patterns using finely spun Shetland wool which is particularly shiny and sturdy.  With proper care, a fine Shetland woolen cap or garment should last a lifetime. 

Care of the cap:  wash by hand in cold water with light detergent, rinse thoroughly, squeeze out as much water as possible and set out on a towel to dry.  Or for better fit, wear cap damp until dry.  If the cap stretches out and no longer holds well on the head, just wash in hot water with minimum agitation, rinse in cold and then lay out or wear to dry.

Features:

• Hand Knit 
  
• 100% Shetland Wool
• Made in the USA

Fabric:

100% Shetland Wool