Fox Posted February 9, 2006 Posted February 9, 2006 I've been talking to a UK hat maker about monmouth caps. She hand knits the caps from natural wool. She normally leaves the wool its natural colour, but the caps can also be made from naturally dyed wool. She's not sure on price yet but she reckons £25-30 ($43-52), but probably nearer £25, dyed hats a couple of quid more. Anyone interested? Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk
greenighs Posted February 9, 2006 Posted February 9, 2006 I'm very in'erested in gettin' a monmouth cap, but me neice has already offered t' knit one when I get her th' pattern. I'd wanted a green one, is that a color that can be made with natural wool an' natural dyes? Anyone ever see natural green wool? I imagine it be mighty difficult t' find a green sheep. Not that there aint a lot of them, but they're just hard t' find , what with all that grass an' shrubbery about 'em. Anyway, if my neice can't find th' wool, I'll add me order t' th' rest.
capnwilliam Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Very nice...but I'm a bit leery about spending in the neighborhood of $50 for a knit cap. Capt. William "The fight's not over while there's a shot in the locker!"
JoshuaRed Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Little bit too hot for my head here in Florida! But very nice work! If I was still in New England I'd definitely take one!
bailang Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 tis to hot here also but the craftmanship looks very good to bad i'm allergig to wool
Slopmaker Cripps Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Josh, I've worn a knit cap down here for a long time, and I must say it's more comfortable than the tricorn. It just takes getting used to it in the summer time. You find it on my head during windy days here on the island. Greenighs, You would get green from an indigo wash and a yellow wash. Cheers, Adam
JoshuaRed Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Interesting! I'll have to give it a shot.
Fox Posted February 10, 2006 Author Posted February 10, 2006 The cost reflects the work really. If anyone can find hand-knitted, 2 ply monmouths caps made from hand spun for less I'd love to hear about it. Kirsty Buckland's, for example, start at £40ish (about $70). I guess it comes down to preference. People will pay $80 for a basic "Jack Sparrow" hat, I'd reather be authentic and save $30 BTW through force of habit I posted this here instead of Plunder - would some kind mod move it by any chance? Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk
greenighs Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 I guess it comes down to preference. People will pay $80 for a basic "Jack Sparrow" hat, I'd reather be authentic and save $30 An' here was I, all giddy 'bout finally getting a "real" pirate hat from the MacKay. Guess I'll never get it right, if I use the yardstick around here. Wish my bubble coulda lasted at least until the hat arrived.
Slopmaker Cripps Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Foxe, I have a shipmate whose girlfriend makes AWESOME knit caps and is thinking of retailing them later this year (again, I already have a monmouth, or else I'd get one). They're are unbelievably warm and she's looking at about $40 for hers. The market price for monmouths was running around $35 a few years ago, so it's about time for the $5 rise in cost. Either way, hand knit caps are warmer than modern ones, which is why I always wear my hand knits in the winter while on patrol or working on the lighthouse instead of the normal military issue knit caps. Josh, Go ahead and give it a try. It'll take getting used to, but you will eventually. I've been wearing mine all year round (summer mostly due to high winds) for a few years now, so it doesn't bother me. Just wear it around as everyday wear for a month or two, break it in, and you'll get used to the hat on your head. On a side note, if you're ever in the Jacksonville/Amelia Island area, feel free to swing by (well until I move to St. Augustine in September for the fall semester). Cheers, Adam C.
Fox Posted February 10, 2006 Author Posted February 10, 2006 Greenighs, I was just using it as an example, some of his hats are good, some are less so - just depends which you go for. Adam, $40 for a proper monmouth is pretty darn good. Was she getting the wool at a cheap price? Considering the work that goes into spinning the wool then the hand knitting I think £25 is erging on the "underselling" side of reasonable. Of course, if only enough people were interested make a run of them made by an Indonesian child sweatshop viable we could get them MUCH cheaper... Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk
Pirate Petee Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Forgive me if I am wrong, but they kinda look like wool beanies. Is there something that I am missing?
Fox Posted February 11, 2006 Author Posted February 11, 2006 For the purists the way the knitting is gather into the top is completely different, giving it that distinctive "button" on the top. Otherwise, yes, it's an 18thC beanie. The big difference is they these are hand-knitted from 100% natural hand-spun natural colour wool. Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk
Slopmaker Cripps Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 Foxe, I have no clue about her wool source. Rob just walked up and slapped his on my head (and it was pretty cold that night) and I immediately warmed up. Then I spent 5 minutes gawking over how finely it was knitted. Needless to say the rest of the convo he was just to con me into making him some patterns, which I'll have to get to eventually.... Cheers, Adam
Gentleman of Fortune Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 Foxe and Adam (and the few others that may care) I just had a friend visit me here in Germany (she lives in the UK) and, since she is a knitter, wanted to go to the local knit shop in top. She was amazed at how "cheap" the wool was here (Germany). She bought about 60 Eruos worth at about $3.25 per skien/ball and she said that the exact same wool would have been over $200 ($10-15 a ball) in the states or uk. Hand died, hand spun wool should be expensive. At the price that you pay in the UK or States, I would imagine that there is at least $10-20 in yarn alone. The problem that these hats have is that they don't peg out your "average" pirate re-enactors "sexy" meter. Its not going to look great with bucket boots and poet shirt..... But could you imagine trying to sell this list on a thrum cap? Image above from Quality Caps GoF Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
Patrick Hand Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 Hey... I might not be the best authority on this... just learning how to knit and such....... But it take me over 9 hours to knit a cap (I'd guess that she can knit one much quicker than that......and much better than I can do....... ) To buy the wool yarn cost me about $8.50........Maybe she can get it at a better price....... SO......... You can knit yer own, or just buy one..... that isn't a bad price for the work that goes into makeing one......
Fox Posted February 11, 2006 Author Posted February 11, 2006 Thrum hats are so much sexier when they're multi-coloured. I love mine Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk
greenighs Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 Problem I'm having with wool is that the handspun, natural dyed 2-ply I'm finding is fancier than you'd find in the GAoP. It's "beaded" or nubby, or has little felt bits spun into it. Pretty, but not period. The handspun 2-ply undyed is gray or brown. Maybe I'll have to get some gray and dye it myself.
greenighs Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 Thrum hats are so much sexier when they're multi-coloured. I love mine If I could make or buy a green one, I'd wear it with my peacoat and Doc Martens in my regular life! I think it looks pretty cool, AND warm.
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