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Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch (1918): vintage crochet pattern
A round child's cap in cream Shetland floss worked in bean stitch from the crown, with an sc headband, a bean-stitch turn-down border finished with small pointed blue scallops, and a crochet-covered button at the crown. Originally published as "Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch" in Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet by Needlecraft Publishing Company, Augusta, Maine in 1918.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Yarn weight | Fine (#2) |
| Yardage | the book gives 1 skein of Shetland floss and a little Saxony; weights and yardage are not stated. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 3.5 mm |
| Gauge | No stitch gauge printed. Printed check: fits a child of three years. |
| Finished size | Fits a child of about 3 years (as printed); easily enlarged. The border may be turned down over the ears. |
| Time | about 6 hours |
Materials
- Fine (CYC #2) wool yarn — the original was cream-white Shetland floss, 1 skein
- A little super fine (CYC #1) wool in light blue — the original was Saxony
- Crochet hook (original: medium-sized bone hook)
- 1 button to cover
- Tapestry needle
- Hook: Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; change size so the cap fits a 3-year-old's head (no gauge is printed)
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #2 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Lion Brand Coboo · 50% Cotton, 50% Bamboo
232 yds per skein · Silky breathable drape, lovely stitch shine
2 skeins required
approx. $$12.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- single crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- space
- repeat
- round
- increase
- decrease
- yarn over
- loop
- slip stitch
Notes before you start
- Source: "Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch", Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet, Needlecraft Publishing Company, Augusta, Maine, 1918. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: Materials required are one skein of cream-white Shetland floss and a little light-blue Saxony yarn, with medium-sized bone hook.. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitches converted by the book's own definitions ("A Lesson in Crochet"), not by name. The book uses the older names it calls "in general use", which are one step taller in name than modern US terms: its single crochet ("insert hook in work, take up the thread and draw it through the work and the stitch on the needle at the same time") = modern US sl st; its double (draw through, "giving you two stitches on the needle; take up thread and draw through the two") = sc; half-treble or short-treble = hdc; treble (thread over, insert, draw through, then through two loops twice) = dc; double-treble (thread over twice) = tr; triple-treble (thread over three times) = dtr. Its slip-stitch (drop the loop, insert the hook where you wish to join, pull the dropped loop through) is a joining stitch and is written as "join" or sl st. So every "double" in the original is written here as sc and every "treble" as dc.
- Modernisation note: Period wording modernised: "miss" written as sk; "widen" as inc; "narrow" as dec; "vein" of a stitch as loop ("back vein" = back loop only, "both veins" = both loops); "take up thread/wool" and "over" as yo; "needle" (the crochet hook) as hook; "wool"/"thread" as yarn; "fasten in" as join yarn; "break and fasten wool" as fasten off; "fasten"/"catch" (to a stitch) as sl st; "armscye" as armhole; "repeat" as rep; numbered rows written as Row/Rnd n.
- Modernisation note: Long printed paragraphs split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation.
- Modernisation note: The book gives almost no hook sizes (one design names "bone hook size 4"); otherwise it says to use a hook "large enough to carry the yarn", and explains that "no two manufacturers use like numbers for the same sizes". The modern hook given is an approximate starting point for the yarn weight only.
- Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed for any crocheted design in the book; work a swatch and match any printed lengths (given in the modern gauge line) before starting.
- Modernisation note: 1918 yarn names have no exact modern equivalent. Approximate modern CYC weights used: fourfold (4-fold) Germantown wool/zephyr/worsted as light (CYC #3); knitting-worsted as medium (CYC #4); Shetland floss (a soft, lofty yarn) as fine (CYC #2); 2-fold Shetland zephyr as fine (CYC #2); Saxony as super fine (CYC #1); eiderdown wool and "very heavy Germantown worsted" as medium (CYC #4); Angora wool is a fluffy trim yarn used with worsted. The book gives skeins, hanks or balls only — never yardage or skein weight — so no yardage is given.
- Modernisation note: Sizes are given only loosely (e.g. "child", "three years"); vintage sizing and ease differ from today's — compare the printed lengths with a garment that fits before starting.
- Modernisation note: "Bean-stitch" is the book's name and is defined in Rnd 1; kept.
- Modernisation note: "Fasten in next space with a single" converted by the book's definition to "sl st in next sp".
- Modernisation note: "Break the yarn" written as "fasten off".
- Modernisation note: Check: "decrease by working off 3 loops instead of 2" presumably means drawing up a loop in each of 2 sts and working off all 3 loops together (like sc2tog). Left as printed.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 7 done (0%)
Crown
0 of 7 done- Foundation: Ch 5, join.Mark row complete
- Rnd 1 (bean stitch): Draw up the lp ¼ in (6 mm) long, yo, insert hook in ring, draw a lp through, yo and draw through the 3 lps now on the hook; *ch 1, draw up a lp in the ring, yo, draw up another lp in the ring, yo, draw through all 4 lps; rep to make 4 more bean stitches, 6 in all, with ch 1 between, and join the last ch 1 to the top of the first st.Mark row complete
- Rnd 2: Draw the lp up long over the first bean stitch, yo, insert hook in the same st, draw through, yo and draw through all the lps (this is the first st of each round). Ch 1, bean stitch in the following sp, ch 1, bean stitch in bean stitch; rep around, join.Mark row complete
- Rnd 3: Bean stitch in first st, in each sp and in every 3rd bean stitch, with ch 1 between, join.Mark row complete
- Rnd 4: Same as Rnd 3, with bean stitch over every 4th bean stitch.Mark row complete
- Rnds 5–10: Same as Rnd 4, with an additional sp between incs: in Rnd 5 make a bean stitch in every 5th, and so on, with a bean stitch in every 10th in Rnd 10.Mark row complete
- Rnds 11–13: Bean stitch in each sp.Mark row complete
Working on:
Foundation: Ch 5, join.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch (1918) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Headband and Border
- Button
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch pattern from?
It was published as "Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch" in Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet by Needlecraft Publishing Company, Augusta, Maine in 1918. The publication is in the public domain in the United States; this version is transcribed and modernised by crochetpatterns.io.
What yarn or thread do I need for the Child's Cap in Bean-Stitch?
fine (#2) yarn. Not printed — the book gives 1 skein of Shetland floss and a little Saxony; weights and yardage are not stated.
What hook should I use?
Start with 3.5 mm (US E-4) — approximate; change size so the cap fits a 3-year-old's head (no gauge is printed) Gauge: No stitch gauge printed. Printed check: fits a child of three years.
