Gipsy Bonnet by Lisa Jacobs

Gipsy Bonnet

Knitting
October 2015
Aran (8 wpi) ?
20 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches
in garter stitch
US 7 - 4.5 mm
297 yards (272 m)
20 (22, 24)" crown circumference. Sample shown measures 22"
English

“I shall wear a large bonnet, and bring one of my little baskets hanging on my arm… . There is to be no form or parade—a sort of gipsy party. We are to walk about your gardens, and gather the strawberries ourselves, and sit under trees;—and whatever else you may like to provide, it is to be all out of doors—a table spread in the shade, you know. Every thing as natural and simple as possible. Is not that your idea?”
—Emma, Chapter 42

Nouveau-riche Mrs. Elton might have chosen this fashionable straw Gipsy Bonnet decorated with ribbons and roses to match her walking dress on her visit to Box Hill. Gipsy bonnets, or hats, were typically made of straw with a full circular brim, decorated and secured under the chin with ribbons. Sitting in the shade beside the strawberry beds, Mrs. Elton would have kept her cool and protected her complexion wearing the large brim. Trios of knitted roses on either side echo the red of the strawberries on the lawn before her.

Individual pattern for sale here: http://www.interweavestore.com/gipsy-bonnet