My friend Mairtin, who works as a tour guide here in Ireland and who is an expert in Neolithic history, recently published images of sherds of a Bronze Age pottery food vessel found at an excavation site at Fourknocks in County Meath by Mr. P. J. Hartnett in 1950 – 1952. In his publication, Mairtin had worked a drawing of what the completed pot should have looked like if it was complete.
I was so fascinated by the detail on this beautiful piece that I decided to translate it into a knitting pattern.
I turned Mairtin’s drawing upside-down and designed a simple knit/purl pattern with 4-stitch cables, to be worked in the round and top down from the centre of the crown. I used locally produced alpaca yarn held together with a strand of mohair for a pottery-like mottled colouring, to give the fabric a stiffer body, and to prevent the hat from stretching out of shape. I finished with an i-cord edge, which mimics the rolled edge of the pottery piece. The vessel is approx. 12 cm in height, so this hat is a relatively close life size reproduction.
I designed a 1-colour and 2-colour version in stranded colourwork for you to choose from. The hues I picked for the 2-colour hat are a chocolate brown as background and a caramel for the “cogwheel lines” or ribs. The colours are quite similar, so the lighter ribs appear as if light reflects on the pottery ridges.
The result is a very comfortable hat with an excellent fit and a shape that stays in place. I would recommend this hat to intermediate knitters. I hope that each step is thoroughly explained here, and I am happy to help with any questions; simply contact me via my website or on Ravelry.
For more information about the vessel please go here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25506253
- experience level: intermediate
- techniques used: knit, purl, cable stitch, i-cord edge
- gauge: 23 stitches x 32 rows = 4 inches / 10cm² in on 2.5 mm (US 1.5) and 3.25 mm (US 3) needles
- size:
- Size S: 21.6” / 54 cm circumference, 8” / 20 cm height; Size M: 22.8” / 57 cm circumference, 8” / 20 cm height; Size L: 24” / 60 cm circumference, 8.4“/ 21 cm height.
- yarn:
- 100g of Woll Millen alpaca yarn from Curraghduff Farm in Oughterard, Co. Galway, Ireland (https://www.curraghduffalpacas.com/) in Chocolate (C1) and Caramel (C2); any 4-ply yarn in either 1 or 2 colours (C1 and C2) is suitable
- Drops Kid – Silk (230 yds / 210 m, 0.9 oz / 25 g, 75% mohair, 25% silk). 1 hank in 01, Off White (used throughout as second strand)
- notions:
- Needle to secure yarn ends, cable needle, stitch markers
Please go here: https://linktr, Ravelry and LoveCrafts or contact me for a pattern download.
Anja Sammon 