Free preview · full pattern in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Child's Neapolitan Cap (1914): vintage crochet pattern
A long, pointed stocking cap for a small boy in fawn Saxony: a folded treble-crochet hem, a single crochet band striped with white, and a tapering crown of trebles gathered to a point and finished with a tassel. Originally published as "Neapolitan Cap" in Priscilla Juniors' Crochet Book (Belle Robinson) by The Priscilla Publishing Co., Boston in 1914.
By the crochetpatterns.io editorial team · Updated · Editorial policy · pattern testing in progress
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Easy |
| Yarn weight | Super fine (#1) |
| Yardage | the book gives 2 skeins of fawn Saxony and a little white; skein weight and yardage are not stated. (as printed; yardage not given) |
| Hook | 3 mm |
| Gauge | No stitch gauge printed. |
| Finished size | Child size (worn by a small boy in the book's photograph); measurements not printed. Starting chain 137. |
| Time | about 4 hours |
Materials
- Super fine (CYC #1) soft wool yarn — the original was three-thread Saxony: 2 skeins Fawn and a little White
- A 4 in (10 cm) piece of card for the tassel
- Tapestry needle
- Hook: Start with 3 mm (US C/D) — approximate; no gauge or size printed. Check the first round fits the head loosely enough to fold up as a hem
Yarn Kit & Substitution Options
This pattern calls for 350 yards of weight #1 yarn. Select a suggested yarn to see required skeins and estimated cost:
Knit Picks Stroll Sock · 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon
231 yds per skein · Durable stitch definition, machine washable
2 skeins required
approx. $$13.98 total
Abbreviations (US terms)
- chain
- slip stitch
- single crochet
- double crochet
- stitch
- stitches
- skip
- round
- repeat
Notes before you start
- Source: "Neapolitan Cap" (No. 514), Priscilla Juniors' Crochet Book (Belle Robinson), The Priscilla Publishing Co., Boston, 1914. Public domain in the USA.
- As printed — materials: fawn-colored Saxony (three-thread), two skeins; enough white to make six rounds; a small bone or amber crochet-hook. Gauge: Not given.
- Modernisation note: Stitches converted by the book's own definitions (pages 3–6), not by name: chain stitch (“ch”) = ch; slip stitch (“sl” — “made with the needle in the loop, a loop pulled through the work and through the loop on the needle”) = sl st; double crochet (“d” — “made with the needle in the loop, a loop drawn through the work and another loop drawn through both”) = modern US single crochet (sc); treble crochet (“t” — “another loop over the needle, a loop drawn through the work (making three loops on the needle), then a loop is drawn through two on the needle, leaving two loops on the needle; another loop drawn through these two finishes the treble”) = modern US double crochet (dc); double treble crochet (“d t” — “two loops over the needle, one loop drawn through the work, when there will be four loops on the needle”, then worked off two at a time three times) = modern US treble crochet (tr). The 1914 names are one step taller than modern US names (they match modern UK usage), so every printed “d” is written sc, every “t” dc and every “d t” tr.
- Modernisation note: The book's words and letters are written as modern US abbreviations: ch = ch, sl = sl st, d = sc, t = dc, d t = tr; “needle”, “crochet-needle” or “hook” = hook; “thread over needle (hook)” = yo; “draw thread through (the work)” = draw up a lp; “miss” = sk; “over ch” or “over each chain” = in the ch-sp; “fasten the thread” = fasten off; ordinal names (“1st row”, “2d round”) = Row 1, Rnd 2. Repeats between stars are written “*… ; rep from *” as printed; the book's own rule: “When you see the little stars before and after any directions, whether long or short, the work directed is to be repeated once, or more times.”
- Modernisation note: The book's running paragraphs are split into one row, round or step per line; stitch order and counts unchanged. Section headings added for navigation. Cross-references to other pages of the book are replaced by the stitch lesson itself, copied at the start of the design.
- Modernisation note: Hooks are printed as 1914 steel crochet-needle numbers (the book: “from No. 1 (a very large hook, almost as large as a medium-size bone hook) to No. 14, which is very fine”) or as bone, rubber and amber hooks of “small” or “medium” size, with no diameters. The modern hook given is an approximate starting point only, chosen for the thread or yarn and tied to any printed measurement.
- Modernisation note: No stitch gauge is printed anywhere in the book; work a swatch and match any printed finished measurement.
- Modernisation note: Saxony (three-thread) is a 1914 fine wool with no exact modern equivalent; super fine (CYC #1) is an approximation.
- Modernisation note: Yardage is never printed; the book gives balls, skeins, spools or hanks only (or nothing), so no yardage is estimated.
- Modernisation note: “Narrowed” is written as decrease; the book's method (skip 1 st after every 10 sts) is kept.
- Modernisation note: Check: “When making the second of the 2 rounds of white, fold up the hem” is printed after “2 rounds of white … 3 rounds of fawn, 2 rounds of white”, so it may mean the second round of either of these White stripes; fold the hem where its edge reaches. The three White stripes (6 rounds) match the printed quantity (“enough white to make six rounds”).
- Modernisation note: Check: the book does not say whether the decrease rounds are counted from the first of the 30 dc rounds; they are read so.
- Modernisation note: Metric conversions added.
Row progress: 0 of 4 done (0%)
Stitches (the book's lessons)
0 of 4 done- Chain (ch), the book's lesson: the hook, first through a loop, is caught under the thread over your left forefinger, and catching a loop there it is pulled back through the loop on the hook. Repeat as long as the chain is to be made.Mark row complete
- Slip stitch (sl st; the book's “sl”): with the hook in the loop, pull a loop through the work and through the loop on the hook. A single sl st is often made to fasten tightly.Mark row complete
- Single crochet (sc; the book's “double crochet”, “d”): with the hook in the loop, draw a loop through the work, then draw another loop through both loops on the hook.Mark row complete
- Double crochet (dc; the book's “treble crochet”, “t”): yo, insert the hook, draw a loop through the work (3 lps on hook); draw a loop through 2 lps (2 lps on hook); draw another loop through these 2. When starting a row of dc, ch 3 to bring the hook to the top of the row.Mark row complete
Working on:
Chain (ch), the book's lesson: the hook, first through a loop, is caught under the thread over your left forefinger, and catching a loop there it is pulled back through the loop on the hook. Repeat as long as the chain is to be made.
Continue this pattern
The rest of the Child's Neapolitan Cap (1914) pattern is in the Vintage Crochet Hats, Bags & Accessories
Still to come in the full pattern:
- Hem (Fawn, dc)
- Band (sc)
- Crown (Fawn, dc)
- Finishing
Included with 202 patterns for $12 — $0.06 per pattern.
Errata
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the Neapolitan Cap pattern from?
It was published as "Neapolitan Cap" in Priscilla Juniors' Crochet Book (Belle Robinson) by The Priscilla Publishing Co., Boston in 1914. 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 Neapolitan Cap?
super fine (#1) yarn. Not printed — the book gives 2 skeins of fawn Saxony and a little white; skein weight and yardage are not stated.
What hook should I use?
Start with 3 mm (US C/D) — approximate; no gauge or size printed. Check the first round fits the head loosely enough to fold up as a hem Gauge: No stitch gauge printed.
