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Yarmulke Pattern

anneelsberry | Posted in Patterns on

Has anyone seen a pattern for a yarmulke/kippa either in fabric or crocheted? I’d like to make an elaborate embroidered one for a friend’s wedding and haven’t had much luck googling.

The other night I ate at a real family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.

Replies

  1. ElonaM | | #1

    There are instructions for both crocheted and knitted yarmulke at this site:

    http://home.earthlink.net/~saraleah/judaicrafts.html#patterns

  2. sarahkayla | | #2

    Dear Pomona -

    making a yarmulke is fairly easy. If you want to make a standard skull cap type just dissect a give-away one from a barmitzvah or a wedding and use one of the pie shapes as a pattern. If you plan to embroider it I would  trace the pattern shape and embroider before you cut out the pattern pieces. Ihave been making lots of them this winter for my son.. you should line this style of kippah ( I make mine reverseable because that's what my son loves) - I did a google search on yarmulke patterns and found one rainbow colored felt one.. don't do it.. it is a bad pattern. It doesn't matter if you do a 4 wedge pie or a 6 wedge pie kippah - the 6 wedge fits a bit better.. but you can whip one up in about 20 minutes - not counting embroidery.

    if you want to crochet a kippah there are books out there with directions as well as books with the border patterns.. they used to be made entirely by mom's and girlfriends .. but now they are made by machine for the most-part.

    If you want to do a pie-pan/pillbox style of kippah there are patterns out in the universe as well. I have sort of fudged patterns for those. measure a band for around the head and make a lid. Some of these bukharan style kippot have a wedge taken out of the top. they are too expensive to dissect though.

    let me know how it goes...

    sarah kayla

    1. anneelsberry | | #4

      Thank you so much. I'm planning on doing a six-wedge, since I hate the way most 4-wedge kippa's fit. I guess I'll just have to make a muslin and see what works best. I love the bukarin style, that's probably not my friend's style.

      1. sarahkayla | | #5

        I know that you probably have this fugured out.. but assemble the kippah in this order.. assemble into each half and then put the halves together - completing the pie -

        I have found that being sure that if the seams in body and the linind do not line up it sews up a bit easier...

        btw.. I love the idea of using an iron as a pattern - i will try that next. My kippot fit like blackvelvet ones but are in a pretty goofy array of fabrics.. they totally amuse me (and my son.) My current fave is a NovaScotia tartan - it reminds me of the plaid kippot worn by my classmates in the mid 1960's - but minus the little beltbuckle) My 6 yearold wears a uniform to school - he likes to wear bowties so with his buzz cut, he looks like an accountant from 1962

        sarah kayla

  3. Michelle | | #3

    Comming from a 'black yarmulke' wearing family (from the center of Jerusalem,) I have fond memories of my late grandfather (a highly skilled tailor,) tracing the front of his very old iron in order to use as a pattern for making yarmulkes that fitted absolutely beautifully (using 5 segments) - I hope this helps!

    Good Luck,

    Shelly

    1. rjf | | #6

      What a great memory!   Five sections is an interesting symmetry.  I wonder how he discovered that that iron was the perfect size.  Do you suppose he learned it from his grandfather?         rjf

    2. joress | | #7

      I've never seen a Yarmulke with five sections. How interesting! Can't wait to try it with my iron--on paper, first. Your grandfather must have been a very creative thinker!

      1. Michelle | | #8

        After having checked my husband and some of my boys yalmukas, I notice that some have five and others have six - I personally would play around however, since I do draft patterns myself now,  I should imagine that it would depend on the sharpness of the angle of the iron - I think that over the years, the more modern irons have become a little more pointed, but one still has that lovely curve which would give one that rounded look.

        As far as my grandfather goes, I very much doubt that it was his invention - rather, that he was taught by other religious tailors, and that that is how it was done (and is possibly still done today) however, since he passed away 33 years ago, I am delighted that his memory has been revived!

        Warmest Greetings from Jerusalem,

        Shelly.

        1. Judygoeson | | #9

          Hi All...I am new to this Forum,but already on my second post.

          Two years ago there was a kippah pattern in Just Cross Stitch magazine.  It was a 4-section model  and I gave it a try.  I thought I had better not cut it out so I thread-traced it onto the fabric.  It was a good thing, too!  Since I like to do Yemeni embroidery, I traced lines on each section and hoped they would meet properly when the sections were joined.  As a matter of fact, I started and ended the embroidery beyond the "boundaries" about 1/4inch each side.  When the embroidery was finished, I placed the pattern on top of each section and there WAS some shrinkage! So I compensated where necessary and used the finished embroidered pieces as a lining pattern. 

          Well, it did take some manipulating, but the concentric circles matched up!

          I will save my pillbox kippah experience for another time...and since I do have an iron that belonged to my mother, (at least 40 or 50 years old), I think my next venture will be a 5-sectioner.

          Happy Sewing from

          Judy (go-j)

          1. Michelle | | #10

            I would really love to hear if anyone had any success with their 'yalmuka making' enterprises - (I must admit that I've really enjoyed this thread!)

            Regards from Jerusalem,

            Shelly.

          2. sarahkayla | | #11

            I made my six year old a stack of kippot that he wears  every day. I made three reverseable ones in vintage prited cotton upholstery velvet (the velvet needs a chrome couch) one in mix of striped silk shantungs on one side and ikat dyed silks on the other, one with the nova scotia taran on one side and an Indian cotton batik on the other and one with a coordinating floral and plaid (from samples from a decorator)

            constructing the kippot couldn't be simpler. (I can make on in about 20 minutes). Luckily my son has goofy taste so I can gp pretty wild. They do a pretty good job of actually sitting on the head without need for bobbypins or clips (which my son hated)

            I think that they must be comfortable on.. because they astay on and have not gotten lost - like his official school kippot.

            sarah in nyc

          3. Michelle | | #12

            Sounds like a lot of fun - in our circles tastes are somewhat confined to black velvet! (with or without the bias trim around the edge.)  Not too much room for expression except for the little boys who sometimes have some embroidery or fabric paint dotted in a few places.

            Drishat Shalom,

            Shelly.

          4. sarahkayla | | #13

            Dear Shelly -

            well.. maybe since a kippah shaped like black velvet but isn't, fails to fall into any political category.. the males in your family may be able to pull them off. It isn't a centrist Orthodox crocheted kippah, it isn't a lefty Bukharan kippah .. I don't know.. I like to keep people guessing about where i stand.

            l'hitraot...

            sarah in nyc

          5. rjf | | #14

            Could you line them with something really wild?      rjf

          6. Michelle | | #15

            Sure, like 'art-to-wear' inside-out!  ;)

            Seriously though, I do manage to find other means of espressing that meshuggah (wilder) side of my personality, and at the price of kippot in Jerusalem, it really doesn't  pay for me to make them myself.  I prefer devoting  the time to sewing for my daughters and (occasionly for yours truly) and  practising the piano (my teacher ought to be reading this! - LOL)

            Regards,

            Shelly

            Edited 3/10/2003 9:10:24 AM ET by shelly

          7. carolfresia | | #16

            This is an interesting discussion! What a great way to individualize yourself if you wear a uniform--and tracing the iron is very clever, though irons aren't all the same shape or width. I'm going to try it out for fun--though no one in the family wears kippot daily.

            Carol

          8. rjf | | #18

            Yesterday I rediscovered an old iron which used to decorate the hearth.  It looks like a good size for yarmulkes.  I think the angle needs to be a little less than 72 degrees but I'm not sure how much.  Think I'll give it try for size.      rjf

          9. Michelle | | #19

            Aha!

            Now isn't that a fine way to get good use from an old iron!  ;)

            Please let us know if you get any worthwhile results.

            Shelly :)

        2. joress | | #17

          I'm quite sure that snow melted almost immediately, right? What a sight that must have been! I hope you took pictures.

          My nephew wears kippot daily--I wonder if he'll like custom, reversible ones and if he can wear it with his uniform. That would be fun--and a never-ending source of Chanukah gifts!

          Best wishes. Our hearts and prayers are with you, especially these days.

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