 |
 An example of a Monmouth cap | |
| Type | Hat |
|---|---|
| Material | Wool |
| Place of origin | Monmouth, Wales |
The Monmouth cap (Welsh: Cap Trefynwy) was an item of woollen headgear fashionable between the 15th and 18th centuries, and associated with the town of Monmouth in South East Wales. The knitted round caps were used by both soldiers and sailors, and they were widely exported.
In the early 14th century, the area immediately north of Monmouth, known as Archenfield, became known for the high quality of its wool, produced from Ryeland sheep. The wool was ideal for the production of high quality felt, and the location of Monmouth, on the River Wye some 18 miles (29 km) inland from the Severn estuary, allowed the produce of the area ready access to wider markets. The industry of cap manufacture by hand knitters in and around Monmouth was well established by the 15th century, when court records show Capper as a common surname in the town. [1] The cappers or knitters, generally men, were attached to the Weaver's Guild and may have been governed by a Council of Master Craftsmen. [2] The trade is thought to have flourished particularly in the Overmonnow area, known at one time as "Cappers' town". [3] However, antiquarian sources state that much of the trade moved from Monmouth to Bewdley in Worcestershire at some point, following an outbreak of plague at Monmouth. [4]
| Hats and Caps Act 1488 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | Hattes & Cappes. |
| Citation | 4 Hen. 7. c. 9 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 27 February 1490 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Continuance of Laws, etc. Act 1623 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Caps Act 1571 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for the making of Caps. |
| Citation | 13 Eliz. 1. c. 19 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 29 May 1571 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Continuance, etc. of Laws Act 1597 |
Status: Repealed | |
Worn by upper and lower classes in England, [5] the headgear reached the height of its popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries. Monmouth caps were essential equipment for soldiers, sailors and labourers of the period, so familiar and widely used that they were taken for granted. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, they were at one time "worn by a large portion of the population of England and Wales." [6] The Hats and Caps Act 1488 (4 Hen. 7. c. 9) forbade, on penalty of a fine, the wearing of foreign-made caps in England and Wales. The Caps Act 1571 (13 Eliz. 1. c. 19), during the reign of Elizabeth I, stated that every person above the age of six years (excepting "Maids, ladies, gentlewomen, noble personages, and every Lord, knight and gentleman of twenty marks land") residing in any of the cities, towns, villages or hamlets of England, must wear, on Sundays and holidays (except when travelling), "a cap of wool, thicked and dressed in England, made within this realm, and only dressed and finished by some of the trade of cappers, upon pain to forfeit for every day of not wearing 3s. 4d." This legislation was intended to protect domestic production, as caps were becoming unfashionable and were being challenged by new forms of imported headgear. It was repealed in 1597 as unworkable. [1] [7]
The earliest surviving reference to a "Monmouth Cappe" dates from 1576, in a letter from Lord Gilbert Talbot of Goodrich Castle to his father, the Earl of Shrewsbury, accompanying a new year's gift of a cap. By that time, the caps were popular enough to have their own name, and considered to be suitable gifts between noblemen. [1] [8] King Henry V was born in Monmouth, [9] and there is a reference to such a cap in Shakespeare's play, Henry V , written around 1599:
Fluellen: "Your majesty says very true: if your majestie is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty knows, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service; and I do believe your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Davy's day.
In the 1620s, the sponsors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered Monmouth caps - described as "thick, warm, fulled by hand- and foot- beating and much favored by seamen" - as part of the outfitting of the settlers. [1] Daniel Defoe, in his 1712 Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain , described Monmouth caps as being worn predominantly by Dutch seamen. Peter the Great of Russia wore one when working for the East India Company in 1697; it is preserved in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. [2]
As the caps were increasingly made outside Monmouthshire, the term "Monmouth cap" came to mean the style of cap, rather than any location of manufacture. Areas, such as Coventry, produced other varieties of cap, and similar caps were known simply as knitted caps, Kilmarnock cauls, Scotch bonnets, or watch caps. [10]
The earliest surviving example is held by Monmouth Museum and was knitted from coarse two ply wool. The cap was made by casting on at the lower edge and knitting in the round towards the top. The crown consists of a classic rounded top, with the last remaining stitches cast off. The yarn tail was wrapped around just below the cast off stitches to gather them, leaving the little lump commonly, but inexactly, referred to as a button. The doubled brim was formed by picking up stitches inside the body of the cap, and worked down to the original cast on. The cast on loops were picked up, and a three needle bindoff worked to finish and join the inner brim to the outer cap, ending with a little loop.
Each hat was made weatherproof by felting, a process which reduced its size. [10] The distance from the centre to the hem in this example varies between 5 inches (130 mm) and 6 inches (150 mm). [11]
Thousands of Monmouth caps were made, but their relatively low cost, and the ease with which the knitting could unravel, means that few remain.
Similar caps are now produced for historical reenactment organisations. [2] [10]
Patterns that attempt a stitch for stitch reproduction sometimes result in a cap that is slightly too narrow, after felting, due to the different felting characteristics of modern knitting yarn. [12]
The Monmouth Cap Inn was a coaching inn located on the main road between Abergavenny and Hereford, just north of Llangua on the River Monnow, Wales. The river marked the boundary between Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. The inn was the property of the Kentchurch estate, and adjoined a ruined priory. [2] Although the inn has closed, the name Monmouth Cap remains in use for the locality. [13]
Knitting is a method for production of textile fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.
A knit cap, colloquially known as a beanie, is a piece of knitted headwear designed to provide warmth in cold weather. It usually has a simple tapered shape, although more elaborate variants exist. Historically made of wool, it is now often made of synthetic fibers.
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head covering". Over time, the word has evolved and changed its meaning, but it still retains its association with headwear. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal settings, and are seen in sports and fashion. They are typically designed for warmth, and often incorporate a visor to block sunlight from the eyes. They come in many shapes, sizes, and are of different brands. Baseball caps are one of the most common types of cap.
A top hat is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or sometimes grey, the top hat emerged in Western fashion by the end of the 18th century. Although it declined by the time of the counterculture of the 1960s, it remains a formal fashion accessory. A collapsible variant of a top hat, developed in the 19th century, is known as an opera hat.
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechanical features, such as visors, spikes, flaps, braces or beer holders shade into the broader category of headgear.
In New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, a beanie is a head-hugging brimless cap, sometimes made from triangular panels of material joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides. Beanies may be made of cloth, felt, wool, leather, or silk. In many US regions and parts of Canada the term "beanie" refers to a knitted cap, alternately called a "stocking cap" or a "toque".
A tam o' shanter or "tammie" is a name given to the traditional Scottish bonnet worn by men. The name derives from Tam o' Shanter, the eponymous hero of the 1790 Robert Burns poem.
The Aran jumper, also called a fisherman's jumper or a gansey, is a style of jumper that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A traditional Aran Jumper usually is off-white in colour, with cable patterns on the body and sleeves. Originally the jumpers were knitted using unscoured wool that retained its natural oils (lanolin) which made the garments water-resistant and meant they remained wearable even when wet.
Knitting is the process of using two or more needles to pull and loop yarn into a series of interconnected loops in order to create a finished garment or some other type of fabric. The word is derived from knot, thought to originate from the Dutch verb knutten, which is similar to the Old English cnyttan, "to knot". Its origins lie in the basic human need for clothing for protection against the elements. More recently, hand knitting has become less a necessary skill and more of a hobby.
A pillbox hat is a small hat with a flat crown, straight, upright sides, and no brim. It is named after the small cylindrical or hexagonal cases that were used for storing or carrying a small number of pills.
The custodian helmet is a type of helmet worn predominantly by male police officers in the United Kingdom and within certain other places around the world. First used by the Metropolitan Police in London in 1863, the BBC labelled the custodian helmet a "symbol of British law enforcement". They are worn by male constables and sergeants on foot patrol. A cultural icon, it has featured in films, TV series and other media involving British police.
In knitting, steeking is a shortcut used to knit garments such as sweaters in the round without interruption for openings or sleeves until the end. After completing a tube, a straight line is cut along the center of a column of stitches, in order to make room for an opening or place to attach another piece. The steek itself is a bridge of extra stitches, in which the cut is made, and is usually 6-10 stitches wide. This technique was developed by the knitters of Shetland and is particularly associated with Fair Isle sweaters, although it can be used for solid colors as well.
The jeep cap, sometimes referred to as the jeep hat, originally the US Army issued Cap, Wool, Knit, M1941 is a knit cap with a short visor made mostly from knitted yarn, originally wool, but now typically acrylic. Also sometimes referred to as a "skull cap" due to its popularity with skateboarders, or a "Radar cap" due to the cap being made famous by the character Radar O'Reilly from the hit US TV sitcom M*A*S*H.
A knitting club is a social group in which knitting and crochet enthusiasts gather to do needlework together. They are a feature of the 21st-century revival of hand knitting which began in America and has spread to most of Europe. Despite the name, knitting clubs are not limited to knitting; both crochet-centered and knit-centered clubs are collectively called "knitting clubs." While knitting has never gone away completely, this latest reincarnation is less about the make-do and mend of the 1940s and 1950s, and more about making a statement about individuality and developing a sense of community.
Hand knitting is a form of knitting, in which the knitted fabric is produced by hand using needles.
Cowichan knitting is a form of knitting characteristic of the Cowichan people of southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The distinctively patterned, heavy-knit Cowichan sweaters, popular among British Columbians and tourists, are produced using this method. Cowichan knitting is an acculturated art form, a combination of European textile techniques and Salish spinning and weaving methods. From this union, new tools, techniques and designs developed over the years.
The blue bonnet was a type of soft woollen hat that for several hundred years was the customary working wear of Scottish labourers and farmers. Although a particularly broad and flat form was associated with the Scottish Lowlands, where it was sometimes called the scone cap, the bonnet was also worn in parts of Northern England and became widely adopted in the Highlands.
A shepherd's hat is a head covering, used by a shepherd to ward off the sun and the elements. Along with a crook, it is an important tool for the shepherd.
Twined knitting is a traditional Scandinavian knitting technique. It refers to knitting where two strands of yarn are knitted into the fabric alternatively and twisted once and always in the same direction before every stitch. The technique is called tvåändsstickning in Swedish, tvebandsstrikking in Norwegian, and tvebinding in Danish. Their literal meaning is "two-end knitting", referring to the traditional way of knitting with both yarn ends from one ball of yarn.
John of Monmouth.
