Over the last few years I developed a love of women's fashion from the 1920s - specifically, cloche hats! Seriously, what's not to love about these??
I appreciate that the clothes from this era are feminine, yet practical and that's what I wanted in my next hat project - a truly warm hat that I could wear to church on Sunday or when I'm not wearing mommy-snow-pants-kind-of-clothes on my way to or from the school walking with the kids.
So, here is the final product!!
Since this was my first felting project, I did a test first.
This coffee cup cozy was knit from the same type of yarn (just a different colour) with the same size needles as the hat. I measured the height, width and the dimensions of the lovely purled "Ls" (my brother's initials) so I could compare the amount that the yarn would shrink for the purposes of my hat.
I used some grade 9 math to determine how much more knitting I should do to finish the hat for its height (I was past the brim at this point) and finished with a b-i-g hat.
Below you'll see the hat in three stages: prewashed, after one wash, and after a second wash.
I have the pattern half typed up from my hand scribbled notes, but since it's been a week or more since I last had the pattern and I'm now in the midst of a room reno project, I'm just going to post this now and add the pattern later if/when I find it!
I'm sure I'll make another one, probably of a solid colour, since it was easy and I LOVE that it fits my head perfectly (I've noticed most hat patterns for women are for a head circumference of 23 inches and I'm closer to 24 so hats often feel tight on me. Not this baby, though - it's perfect!)
UPDATE: here it is, 4 months later, for better or worse...
My Cloche 1920s Flapper Knit Hat
I worked this pattern out after looking at a bunch of different patterns online. My head is a circumference of 24 inches, which is larger than most women. Hats are always too tight on me, so that’s why I did this...
Used 10.5 circular needles and 10.5 DPNs at the end with Sean Sheep Armytage 100% wool (74 g - I think I used 2 balls with some left over with the second ball; Approx 108m/118yd; gage: 19 rows high, 14 stitches wide, 10 cm by 10 cm; 6.5 mm, 10.5 US, 3 UK)
Part A
Cast on 120 stitches
R1 knit
R2 purl
R3 knit
R4 purl
continue for 2.5 inches (end with a purled row)
Part B
After 2.5 inches:
R1 k2 tog, k58, k2 tog, k58 - 118 stitches
R2 purl
R3 k2 tog, k57, k2 tog, k57 - 116 stitches
R4 purl
R5 k2 tog, k56, k2 tog, k56 - 114 stitches
R6 purl
R7 k2 tog, k55, k2 tog, k55, - 112 stitches
R8 purl
R9 k2 tog, k54, k2 tog, k54 - 110 stitches
R10 purl
continue on in this manner for about 3.25 inches (so your hat will be 5.75 inches high at this point). For me that was when I got down to 100 stitches.
Part C
Switch to straight knitting and knit for 4 more inches.
Part D
Begin decreasing for the crown of the hat. The hat’s height for this decreasing section will be about 2.75 inches. So, assuming you have 100 stitches at this point...
R1 k8, k2 tog, k8, k2 tog, (repeat for a total of 10 sets of k8, k2 tog) - 90 stitches total
R2 knit
R3 you should have 90 stitches to start
k7, k2 tog, k7, k2 tog, (repeat for a total of 10 sets of k7, k2 tog)
R4 knit
R5 you should have 80 stitches to start k6, k2 tog, k6, k2 tog, (repeat for a total of 10 sets of k6, k2 tog)
R6 knit
continue on in this manner. Switch to DPN when it’s too irritating to continue with the circular needle. Assuming I did my math correctly (it’s actually been 4 months since I did this project and am now typing it up), you will get to the point where you have 30 stitches to start, so...
R16 k1, k2 tog, k1, k2, tog
R17 knit
R18 you should have 20 stitches to start
k2 tog, k2 tog, k2 tog, etc.
R19 you should have 10 stitches. Cut enough thread to be able to loop through these stitches then knot, thread excess yarn inside the hat and cut whatever yarn
remains.
Weave in/secure any loose ends of thread (from your cast on, etc.) and cut.
The finished product should be 12.5 inches high and 17 inches wide at the bottom of the hat (which should be the widest part of the hat). Lay the hat flat to measure and measure the width (or diameter), NOT the circumference of the hat’s bottom.
I have a front loading washing machine, so the only way I can felt is to let the hat run through a whole cycle. Felt the hat in whatever way you normally do your felting. I used the short cycle on hot water and the strongest agitation setting. I set in inside a pillow case that was tied up at the top. It took 2 or 3 short washings, I believe, to get to where it fit just so. Because my machine spins everything so well, it wasn’t very wet at all and I wore it around to let it dry and form to my head.
***Note, I think next time in Part B I will switch every second row (the purl rows) to knit rows. The felting reduced attention away from the fact that the type of stitching switched at the point where I stopped decreasing and went to straight knitting, but it still shows more than I would like. I knit a long i-chord which I also felted and hand sewed to the hat at the point where the “flap” (bottom part of the hat) ends and the top of the hat starts and I would like, next time, for the knitting below that point to follow the k1 row, p1 row pattern and the knitting above that to be straight knitting.
I hope this makes sense - especially to me when I try to make another one next year with a new colour!!
:-)
I worked this pattern out after looking at a bunch of different patterns online. My head is a circumference of 24 inches, which is larger than most women. Hats are always too tight on me, so that’s why I did this...
Used 10.5 circular needles and 10.5 DPNs at the end with Sean Sheep Armytage 100% wool (74 g - I think I used 2 balls with some left over with the second ball; Approx 108m/118yd; gage: 19 rows high, 14 stitches wide, 10 cm by 10 cm; 6.5 mm, 10.5 US, 3 UK)
Part A
Cast on 120 stitches
R1 knit
R2 purl
R3 knit
R4 purl
continue for 2.5 inches (end with a purled row)
Part B
After 2.5 inches:
R1 k2 tog, k58, k2 tog, k58 - 118 stitches
R2 purl
R3 k2 tog, k57, k2 tog, k57 - 116 stitches
R4 purl
R5 k2 tog, k56, k2 tog, k56 - 114 stitches
R6 purl
R7 k2 tog, k55, k2 tog, k55, - 112 stitches
R8 purl
R9 k2 tog, k54, k2 tog, k54 - 110 stitches
R10 purl
continue on in this manner for about 3.25 inches (so your hat will be 5.75 inches high at this point). For me that was when I got down to 100 stitches.
Part C
Switch to straight knitting and knit for 4 more inches.
Part D
Begin decreasing for the crown of the hat. The hat’s height for this decreasing section will be about 2.75 inches. So, assuming you have 100 stitches at this point...
R1 k8, k2 tog, k8, k2 tog, (repeat for a total of 10 sets of k8, k2 tog) - 90 stitches total
R2 knit
R3 you should have 90 stitches to start
k7, k2 tog, k7, k2 tog, (repeat for a total of 10 sets of k7, k2 tog)
R4 knit
R5 you should have 80 stitches to start k6, k2 tog, k6, k2 tog, (repeat for a total of 10 sets of k6, k2 tog)
R6 knit
continue on in this manner. Switch to DPN when it’s too irritating to continue with the circular needle. Assuming I did my math correctly (it’s actually been 4 months since I did this project and am now typing it up), you will get to the point where you have 30 stitches to start, so...
R16 k1, k2 tog, k1, k2, tog
R17 knit
R18 you should have 20 stitches to start
k2 tog, k2 tog, k2 tog, etc.
R19 you should have 10 stitches. Cut enough thread to be able to loop through these stitches then knot, thread excess yarn inside the hat and cut whatever yarn
remains.
Weave in/secure any loose ends of thread (from your cast on, etc.) and cut.
The finished product should be 12.5 inches high and 17 inches wide at the bottom of the hat (which should be the widest part of the hat). Lay the hat flat to measure and measure the width (or diameter), NOT the circumference of the hat’s bottom.
I have a front loading washing machine, so the only way I can felt is to let the hat run through a whole cycle. Felt the hat in whatever way you normally do your felting. I used the short cycle on hot water and the strongest agitation setting. I set in inside a pillow case that was tied up at the top. It took 2 or 3 short washings, I believe, to get to where it fit just so. Because my machine spins everything so well, it wasn’t very wet at all and I wore it around to let it dry and form to my head.
***Note, I think next time in Part B I will switch every second row (the purl rows) to knit rows. The felting reduced attention away from the fact that the type of stitching switched at the point where I stopped decreasing and went to straight knitting, but it still shows more than I would like. I knit a long i-chord which I also felted and hand sewed to the hat at the point where the “flap” (bottom part of the hat) ends and the top of the hat starts and I would like, next time, for the knitting below that point to follow the k1 row, p1 row pattern and the knitting above that to be straight knitting.
I hope this makes sense - especially to me when I try to make another one next year with a new colour!!
:-)
