Helmet and Shawl in Shetland Wool

From Woman's Own, 3rd April 1915.

Helmet and Shawl in Shetland Wool

Shetland Helmet

Cast on 70 st. on No. 13 steel needles, knit ribbed 2 plain and 2 purl for 6 in., then cast off 20 st. at one side, then knit 12 in. more, still continuing ribbed with the 50 st. left.  Now knit off 30 st., knit 2 together.  Turn, and knit off 10, always keeping the ribs going on, knit 2 together again.  Turn, and knit back the 10 sts. again, knit 2 together, keep on doing same, always turning, knitting 10 st., and then knitting 2 together till there are only 12 st, left on the needle.  Then take the piece which was cast off at bottom round to the other side, and sew up to form the neck of the helmet. Now take 4 needles and pick up st. round the face, then set rib again, knitting 2 together every 3rd st. to make the face a proper size in the 1st row only. Now knit 3 inches more, and then cast off. This helmet can be knitted out of 1 cut of Shetland wool, cost 4d.

How to Make the Shawl

Shawls that will give warmth without being heavy are what everyone desires, and for this purpose there is nothing better than the real Shetland wool, which costs only a few pence per cut.  Because of their fineness few workers have attempted to make them outside the inhabitants of the isles, but the design shown here is very simple and quickly worked.

Only a small piece is worked of the centre pattern with the border completed, to show the effect of the design when the actual shawl is finished, which should measure 1 yard square.

For the Border.—Cast on 9 stitches on No. 14 needles.
1st row: Slip 1, knit 2, put up thread, knit 2 together, put up thread, knit 2 together again, put up thread, knit remaining 3.
2nd row: Plain.
3rd row: The same as the  1st, only knit off 3 before putting up thread.
4th row: Plain .
5th row : Same as 3rd, knitting each alternate row plain, always adding 1 stitch on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th rows till the number of 16 has been reached; cast off all the stitches except 9 (beginning at the side where the 3 stitches are), then start again, doing the same as has just been described.

Knit on till the border is long enough to count 160 stitches along plain side; then keeping the stitches on wire, pick up all the stitches along same side, including other end. Keep border same as at bottom, going up along both sides, and knit three rows plain along centre.

Next, when border has been knitted, do 2 more stitches, then put up thread, knit 3 together, put up thread, knit 1, and continue doing the same till end of row, putting up thread and knitting 3 and 1 alternately.

Next row plain.

3rd row: Same as 1st, only taking care always to put up thread and knit the 1 plain that was the centre of the three in the 1st row.

Go on knitting the same way with every alternate row plain till the centre is the length required. Then do a piece of border same length as at bottom, pick up stitches at side the same as when starting centre. Now take as much thread as can reach across shawl and put in a darning needle, keeping thread fast to border, then take the centre and border, and lay the knitting needles together; with darning needle pick first one stitch off centre and then off border, one of centre, and one of border, and so on till the whole have been picked off. The border and centre will then be joined together and the shawl complete.

NOTE.—When knitting border care should be taken always to slip tho first stitch on plain side, in that way making it more easy to pick up.

This design will take about 8 cuts of wool, costing 3d. or 4d. a cut.