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The Nightcap

So it is the eve of another of Paul's birthdays.  Last year I made him a pair of socks and he has carefully worn those socks whenever the weather requires it.

This year I decided to knit him a nightcap, you know, like the one from Twas the Night before Xmas.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

 The adventure began with a search for the pattern.  I wanted one of those old-fashioned type with a long tassel and the extended decreasing top.  I found a 1840 Nightcap by Franklin Habit, author of the blog named The Panopticon.  He is a wonderful photographer and now the redesigner of Paul's birthday nightcap.

The 1840 Nightcap pattern originally appeared in the 1840 edition of The Workwoman’s Guide, By a Lady.  Habit corrected the pattern and translated it for the modern knitter.  You might be interested in what he has to say about lace on men's wear and other knitting history.  If so click on the link for 1840 Nightcap.

Habit in his 1840 Nightcap

I started the gift a few weeks ago thinking I'd have plenty of time to finish it off, but I was wrong. The pattern calls for a cotton thread, but I thought I'd step it up a notch for Paul.  It is made with a Madelinetosh Merino Light, a 100% superwash merino wool in fingering weight.  (Fingering weight is very fine and the needles required to knit with it are very small, size US 0 or 2.25mm.)

The lacy start of the cap makes it comfy to wear.  The lace will help to keep the cap on Paul's head, and it was a very easy to knit yet complicated looking design element.  The wee openings on the forehead will allow the cap to breathe and once beyond those three vertical lines of openings I have to do 160 rounds of knitting to get the thing decreased down to only 4 stitches.  I have to admit it wasn't for a lack of trying, to get this cap done on time.  There were 5 hours spent on a flight going from Vancouver to Toronto last week:

On the plane heading to Toronto

While there attending a networking event for a day and one-half, the evenings in the hotel room were spent knitting:

The Holiday Inn Express International near the airport in Toronto

Then when the event was finished I headed back to the airport and knit waiting for my plane:

Knitting at YYZ


And finally I knit the 5 hours back to Vancouver and still didn't complete the thing.

Hard to get good photos in such tight quarters
No, I won't get the nightcap done for the birthday boy on time, but he'll have it completed soon.  Happy Birthday, Paul!
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