Aviator cap -- scrutinize it!

[msmcknittington]

Hi, everybody! I've been lurking in this community for a while. I run the steampunk group on Ravelry, which is called Steamy Stitches. We have a thread there with steampunk pattern suggestions for both knitting and crochet, and those suggestions are condensed in a group page. It's a great resource, and I really enjoy moderating there, because

Comments

[felishumanus]

I like it and suspect it will be added to my long list of things to knit!

[msmcknittington]

Thanks. It's really a very simple thing to knit. You could probably crank one out in a night or two.

[emilytheslayer]

Hmm, I see what you mean. It's definitely cute, but right now, something about the shape and the decreases reads more as "village girl cap" than "aviator cap." But I just woke up, so my brain's not ready to think about technical stuff yet. I'll try to come back to this later, though. :) And hey, good job for a pattern you worked out yourself! It's really cute and it's almost there, clearly!

[msmcknittington]

The shape is based on medieval/renaissance coifs, because aviator caps are a similar shape. Compare these pictures with this one. They have the same seam lines.

Looking at these pictures after sleeping a little bit, I think I might need to narrow the center panel a bit as well as juggle the shaping. It might just be that's stretching on my head, though. The fabric patterns for similarly shaped caps usually have shaping along the back of the head going into the nape of the neck, but I thought the ribbing would take care of that.

I wonder if the texture is not helping things. The ribbing helps it fit closely to the head, but the iconic aviator's cap is made of leather, which has a smooth texture. The garter rib is a lot rougher.

[emilytheslayer]

Yeah, I get what you mean, and I think you may be right, the texture might be a bigger part of the issue.

I still say it's damn cute on you, though.

[msmcknittington]

Blah. I borked the link to the coif. You can see the seamline here, though it's not on a head. Three-part coif pattern.

So, anyway, I like the texture for all it's not leathery. I wonder if things would improve if I made the center decrease section on the panels in stockinette and kept the ribs on the side as trim, while making them narrower. So many ways to go.

[oddlystrange]

I think it looks GREAT.

If it's missing anything, it would be some crochet rounds on the side. this is the one I made and (hey! I'm flying the airship bathroom too!)

Yours seems a much better quality, but I think doing some rounds in black would make it really nifty.

(worth noting and I thought I'd updated this in Ravelry, that I used the pattern from the Punks Not Dead book for the Red Baron hat)

[emilytheslayer]

Oh wow, the contrasting really, really works!

[msmcknittington]

Ha ha, the airship bathroom. HMAS Commode. The little air pirate's room.

Thanks! I do think it's cute enough to keep plugging away at it.

I do really like the contrast you used on yours. It makes the seams pop nicely.

I'm not sure I like the idea of crocheted rounds, because I'm going for something very streamlined and slick. Which raises the question again of why I chose garter rib. Obviously my brain did not know itself when I made that choice.

Speaking of the Red Baron, I had a serious Snoopy moment earlier today while walking around with this hat on my head. I felt the need to get out a typewriter.

[sknowite]

That is ADORABLE! It's amazing how much your bathroom does look like the bathroom of an airship. ;)