Skip to main content

Retro Cloche Hat

Miriam Mack, retro clocheI was out shopping and couldn't help but stop into one of the local knitting shops that carries Malabrigo. I ended up with a skein of worsted in cypress, which though it looks black, in the sun light (and under the flash) takes on a deep green, varigated coloring. I also purchased a skein of Malabrigo Twist in red. I think I am going to make a hat out of that one, too.

I wanted to make another cloche because this is definitely my new favorite style of hat. I think it's suited to my face. Plus, I needed a plain, black hat that covered my ears. Living in the Ithaca, I now think that all hats should do this. Otherwise it's just too cold for my little earsies.

I searched Ravelry for a cloche hat pattern that met my gauge needs, and I finally came up with the Retro Cloche Stash Hat. It looked quite whimsical and comfy, not quite my vision of a cloche, but nice anyway. I was a little frustrated with the pictures on Ravelry as most just showed the back of the hat. While this is definitely a great design feature for this pattern I think the most important aspect about choosing a hat pattern is how it will potentially look on my head. Thanks to those of you who showed your face pic with the hat!

Most of the details on how I knit this pattern up are on my Ravelry page, here. I will say here that this hat definitely needs the ribbon to hold it on. Without it a strong breeze would lift the hat off my head.

On another note this is the first time I have ever had to go shopping for hat trimmings. I had a very Austen moment the other day as I realized this. I did, indeed, feel a little like a Bennet perusing the ribbons in Merryton. I'm not satisfied with the one I have. I'd like to get a two+ inch dark green, velvet ribbon. I'll have to wait until I find a fancy ribbon shop close by.













Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Cypress
Needles: #8 straights and #7 hat sized circulars
Thoughts: To have faith in what I am doing, to be thankful for what I have.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pattern: Ice Princess Panta

For a long time now I have been wanting for make something to match the fingerless mitts I made with Cayli's gorgeous home-grown, hand-dyed, handspun that she gifted me with the holiday season before last . I had some left over still but wasn't sure about the yardage. However, I had a vision of making a head band, as I find them cute and convenient for a gal that wears her hair up in the winter. And they hardly take any yarn. Originally I wanted to make a headband like the cabled panta I made before, but the gauge was all wrong. So I improvised something late the Saturday night. And here it is: I love the subtle blue striping and the feel is OMG soft. Cayli's yarn is truly amazing and was such a pleasure to knit up. Ice Princess Panta Yarn: Heavy worsted Handspun Needles: US 8 and a cable needle or DPN Gauge: not critical, but a row gauge of 5 rows/inch with make a nice fitting panta 18 inches in circumfrence. Special Stitches: FC (front cross) = Slip 2 stitches from ...

Cloches are Cool.

Since graduating this December I have had time to think about knitting again. While I was waiting to get my car towed in the middle of a snow storm I took shelter in a yarn store (was that lucky or what?). I was tempted into buying Boutique Knitting by Laura Irwin because of the photo on the front cover. I love cloche hats and I have always wanted to knit one. When I saw this book I knew I wanted to knit this one. I chose some random black yarn from scraps at home (Plymouth baby alpaca) and cast on. While I was knitting the ruffled band I also had a vision of hearts for this hat. So I found some Noro Kojaku that I was gifted a while ago and it seemed suitable. The result is a faux isle rainbow heart cloche. It looks better on. Front: Side: Other side: With the black yarn it's hard to see the ribbing on the band especially the top-most rib. It just melts in, but I suppose that's one of the hazards of using black yarn in an area that is supposed to show texture. Or maybe it has...

First Day of School

Sometimes things happen to let you know that you've made the right decision. Today was my first day back working in my after school program. I was having fun with the kids on the back playgound and they asked if we could go for a walk. I said wouldn't it be even cooler if we went to the falls? So we asked the-coolest-boss-ever if we could take our little jaunt and she said, "I love impromptu activities!" Cool or what? So off we went: (This would be the same place that I lost my shoe! Ahem!) I took half of the kids right up to falls. They got all misted. We looked at the fossil ripples in the exposed gorge walls. We threw a bunch of rocks. We headed back down stream with all of our shoes. While walking back one of the really sweet second grade boys said to me: This place is great! (then he punched his hand up towards the sky and said) It's the best day of my entire life! I suppose that he's only 7, but I helped him have his best day ever. I couldn't have do...