HANDSPUN GALLERY Horseshoe Caps Editor’s note: In the Fall 2009 issue of Spin.Off, we published Janet Wray’s Horse- shoe Cap pattern on our website, spinoffmagazine.com, and invited you to spin and knit your own version. We received many wonderful caps and selected ten to show you. Here is Janet’s original pattern and the winning caps. anet Wray spun a soft and squishy (total of 3 complete patterns), then knit JPolwarth yarn that just begged one round. to be knitted up into this lace cap. She loves the way the natural color Crown shows off the lace pattern. Rnd 1: *Yo, sl 1, k2tog, psso*; repeat from * to * around and end k1 = 67 FINISHING sts. After spinning yarn, wind into a Rnds 2, 3, and 4: Knit. skein and then soak yarn in warm Rnd 5: Repeat Rnd 1 to last 2 sts, yo, water using wool wash. Rinse, spin k2tog = 45 sts rem. Project Notes dry in washing machine, and hang to Rnds 6, 7, 8, and 9: Knit. complete drying. Rnd 10: Repeat Rnd 1 = 30 sts rem. With smaller dpn, CO 100 sts; Rnds 11, 12, and 13: Knit. Fiber: 2 oz Polwarth roving. join, being careful not to twist cast-on Rnd 14: K2tog around. Rnd 15: Knit. Preparation: Predrafted. row. Work in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing for 10 rounds. Rnd 16: K2tog around. Drafting method: Semiwoolen, Thread yarn through remaining sts. American long draw. Next rnd: Change to larger dpn and begin horseshoe pattern. Pull tight and sew in end. Block the hat Wheel: Lendrum. over a hat form or stuff with towels, Wheel system: Scotch tension. Horseshoe pattern (multiple of 10). steam lightly, and then allow to dry. Ratio (singles/plying): 8:1 (both). From Barbara G. Walker’s A Treasury of Janet Wray is a retired nurse-practitioner and a Knitting Patterns (Pittsville, Wisconsin: longtime knitter. She has owned a yarn shop for Singles direction spun: Z. Schoolhouse Press, 1998, page 209.) several years and is now a partner in JWrayCo Twist angle: 30°. Reprinted with permission from Handpainted Yarns & Fibers in Nevada, Missouri. Number of plies: 2. Schoolhouse Press. Start pattern, placing markers Plied direction spun: S. between each pattern repeat. Plied twists per inch: 6. Rnds 1 and 3: Knit. Plied wraps per inch: 10. Rnd 2: *Yo, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, kl; repeat from *. Total yardage: 138. Rnd 4: *Kl, yo, k2, sl 1, k2tog, Yards per pound: 1,100. psso, k2, yo, kl, pl; rep from Yarn classification: Worsted. *. Rnds 5 and 7: *K9, p1; rep from Yardage used: 111. *. Needles: U.S. size 5 dpn for ribbing; Rnd 6: *K2, yo, kl, sl 1, k2tog, U.S. size 7 dpn for pattern. psso, kl, yo, k2, p1; rep from Gauge: 4½ stitches and 6 rows *. = 1". Rnd 8: *K3, yo, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yo, k3, p1; rep from *. Finished size: 7½" by 9½". Repeat these 8 rnds 2 times 1 Spin.Off ■ spinoffmagazine.com ©Copyright Spin.Off® magazine, Interweave Press LLC. Not to be reprinted. All rights reserved. guilds. When she returned home, spin- ning this roving was one of her first pri- orities. Then, when Betty saw Janet Wray’s Horseshoe Cap pattern in Spin. Off, she decided this was the fiber she wanted for this project. Betty found that knitting the cap was fun and rewarding. She has made several other variations of this pattern in heavier handspun yarns. While each cap has its own personali- ty, this one is Betty’s favorite because it helps her remember the great opportu- nities she had at the Ashford Retreat to learn, to meet spinners from four differ- ent countries, to visit her spinning sis- ter and friend Bev, and also to meet and spend time with a sister guild. To prepare the fiber for spinning, all Betty had to do was predraft the excep- tionally clean roving. After spinning the singles, she transferred the singles to the ball winder and plied from the center- pull ball. After plying, she set the twist by gently washing the skein in a shampoo and conditioner bath and hung it to dry. Project Notes Fiber: 3½ oz of 80% alpaca, 20% Meri- Plied direction spun: S. My Fond Memory no dyed roving. Plied wraps per inch: 16. Preparation: Predrafted. Horseshoe Cap Total yardage: 207. Drafting method: Short backward Betty Barry of Fort Wayne, Indi- Yards per pound: 950. ana, obtained this colored alpaca/Me- draw. Yarn classification: Worsted. rino fiber as a gift from Adrienne and Wheel: Ashford Traveller. Neville Warsaw when she visited their Yardage used: 100. Wheel system: Single drive, scotch alpaca farm, Kinvarra Alpacas, West tension. Needles: U.S. size 4 dpn (ribbing), U.S. Melton, Canterbury, New Zealand, in size 6 (pattern). March of 2009. She had been at the Ratio (singles/plying): 5.5 (both). Gauge: 5 sts and 7 rows = 1". Ashford Retreat in Ashburton, New Zea- Singles direction spun: Z. land, and was visiting her friend Bev Til- Notes: Betty cast on 110 stitches rath- Singles twists per inch: 8. son in Christchurch. Adrienne and Bev er than the 100 called for in the original are members of the same spinning guild, Singles wraps per inch: 24. pattern. Wigram Spinners, in Christchurch. Wi- Twist angle: 30°. Finished size: 8" length by 19½" gram Spinners and Fort Wayne Flax and circumference. Number of plies: 2. Fleecers (Betty’s local guild) are sister 2 Spin.Off ■ spinoffmagazine.com ©Copyright Spin.Off® magazine, Interweave Press LLC. Not to be reprinted. All rights reserved. Fireball Horseshoe Cap Gina House of Londonderry, New Hampshire, was very excited to see the call for entries for this gallery in the Fall 2009 issue of Spin.Off. She says that she tends to be an all-or-nothing spinner—spinning a whole day or two, joyfully and productively, and then other times, not spinning for months. She loves lit- tle projects such as this because the yarn takes such a short amount of time to spin up, and they are fun to knit. She found this cap to be especially enjoyable to knit up and was so pleased with the way the yarn and the cap turned out. The pattern was super easy to follow, and she actually had a hard time tearing herself away from the project. She can’t wait to make another one. Gina divided the roving in half and saved 2 ounces for another project. She then divided the remaining 2 ounces four more times lengthwise to create four long vertical strips. She predrafted the strips slightly before spinning, hoping to get a nice block of each bright color of the handpainted roving. Gina had in- tended to ply the yarn originally but liked the singles so much that even though it was a thinner weight than called for in the pattern, she went ahead and knit- ted it up. The Corriedale fiber was a joy to spin. Project Notes Fiber: 2 oz Corriedale roving from Ivy Brambles, www.ivybrambles.com, in the Fireball colorway. Preparation: Predrafted. Drafting method: Short forward draw. Wheel: Ashford Joy. Wheel system: Scotch tension. Ratio (singles/plying): 8.1 (both). Singles direction spun: Z. Singles twists per inch: 9. Singles wraps per inch: 13. Twist angle: 45°. Total yardage: 160. Yards per pound: 1,280. Yarn classification: Sportweight. Yardage used: 106. Needles: U.S. size 5 (for ribbing), U.S. size 7 (for body). Gauge: 5 sts and 8 rows = 1". Finished size: 7" length by 17" cir- cumference (after blocking). 3 Spin.Off ■ spinoffmagazine.com ©Copyright Spin.Off® magazine, Interweave Press LLC. Not to be reprinted. All rights reserved. according to the instructions. Nan- cy loves the hat, but because she didn’t sample before starting, she didn’t re- alize that, when the cap is worn, the scalloped edge would pretty much dis- appear when the ribbing stretches, so it doesn’t add anything special to the orig- inal hat. Nancy spun her yarn social- ly and reports that it is less consistent than the yarn she is capable of spin- ning. Normally she attenuates even the nicest preparations, but this alpaca top barely needed it. It spun up beautifully, and the soft hand and beautiful colors made a luscious yarn. After plying, she wound it on a niddy-noddy, removed the skein and immersed it in warm wa- ter, blotted it in a towel, and hung it to dry over a doorknob. To apply light ten- sion to the skein while it dried, Nancy put a washcloth around the bottom of the skein, looped an ACE bandage over the washcloth, and then tensioned the bandage under a book (in a plastic bag to keep it dry). Project Notes Fiber: 2½ oz alpaca dyed roving from Number of plies: 2. Little Pine Traditional Crafts, Lancaster, Plied direction spun: S. Scalloped Edge Cap Pennsylvania. Nancy Mudloff of Belvidere, Illi- Plied twists per inch: 9. Preparation: Predrafted. nois, left earlier than expected on a Plied wraps per inch: 12. long trip. All too quickly, she gathered Drafting method: Short forward draw. Total yardage: 160. up the necessary supplies for knitting Wheel: Louet. the Horseshoe Cap. She only brought Yards per pound: 1,000. Wheel system: Scotch tension. the suggested U.S. size 5 and 7 double- Yarn classification: Worsted. pointed needles but decided she would Ratio (singles/plying): 5:1 (singles), 7:1 make the hat anyway, correct gauge (plying). Yardage used: 130. or not. Thinking that a scallop edge Singles direction spun: Z. Needles: U.