While the Netherlands stayed neutral throughout the duration of the war, that didn’t mean they didn’t contribute. They took in around 80.000 of Belgian refugees and built refugee camps to house them in Alkmaar, Amersfoort, Harderwijk, Groningen en Oldebroek.
courtesy of http://www.eerstewereldoorlog.nu
These camps included post offices, hospitals, churches, childcare, shops and even a library. Later, to thwart this, a 332km long fence was installed by German troups, something that ended up costing the lives of smugglers, spies and innocent people who got to close.
Committees to help were started as early as August of 1914, the most famous being ‘het Nederlandsch Comité tot steun aan Belgische en andere slachtoffers’ (translated: The Dutch comittee for the support of Belgian and other victims), later simply shortened to ‘het Amsterdam Comité’
In October, the Dutch women’s magazine ‘De Gracieuse’ (translated: The Gracious) published a few patterns for soldier’s comforts. Then again in November under the title ‘Verschillende Brei en Haakwerken voor liefdadige doeleinden’ (Translated: Various knit- and crochet works for charitable purposes) Among these is the pattern you’ll find below for a knitted cap.
There is a quirk in that half of the pattern is knit flat but the crown is knit in the round. I have made some adjustments so that the pattern can be knit entirely in the round.
Abbreviations and terms:
- K1; Knit one
- P1: Purl one
- k2tog: Knit 2 stitches together
- Knitting plain: knit stitch
- garter stitch: Knit stitch on both back and front of the work
Materials and notes: .
- Aprox. 100g of dk weight yarn
- A set of five 4mm dpns or 4mm cable needles
- A pompom (yes really)
- This cap is originally partially knit flat, the crown knit in the round. For convenience sake, I have adapted it to knit entirely in the round.
Instructions:
Setting up – Cast on 120 stitches putting a stitchmarker at every 30 stitches or putting 30 stitches per needle
Knit 2, purl 2 for about 6 cm or 25 rows total
Knit in garter stitch for roughly 12 cm or 36 ribs
Decreasing – K2tog at the end of your needle/stitch marker, for a total of 4 decreases leaving 116 stitches,
Repeat these decreases for a total of 21 rows
22nd row – k4, k2tog until end of row
23 – 26th row – Knit plain
Repeat these 5 rows 2 more times
With the remaining stitches you k1, k2tog until the end of the row
Knit 1 round plain
k2tog until end of round and cut yarn
Finishing – Thread your tail through the stitches and pull tight. Add a small pompom to the top and weave in ends.
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