Caroline is a lightweight, summery cloche featuring a turned hem, pleat detail, and grosgrain hatband with bow. The shaping and color schemes are heavily influenced by 1920s summer fashion, and the hat borrows its name from Caroline Reboux, inventor of the cloche.
Gauge
24sts/40rws at 4” in Stockinette stitch on US 4 / 3.5mm needles
Sizes and Measurements
S (L) shown in size L
Actual Measurements (circumference)
19.5” (22.5”)
Materials
- Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold [45% wool / 35% silk / 20% nylon, 192yd / 176m per 50g skein]; color 015 Brick Yellow (or 008 Moss); 2 (2) skeins.
- US 4 / 3.5mm circular needle, 16 inch
- US 4 / 3.5mm double pointed needles
- 9 stitch markers
- Tape measure
- Tapestry needle
- Optional for hatband:
- Grosgrain ribbon (1.5 inch wide), 1.5 yards in Navy (or Moss)
- Sewing thread in Navy (or Moss)
- Sewing needle
- Safety pin
Directions
(Popknits uses knittinghelp.com''s standard abbreviations)
Hem
Cast on 178 (198) stitches using long-tail cast on. Place marker and join for working in the round.
Knit 14 rounds.
Next round: Purl.
Knit 14 rounds.
Now, knit up the hem by folding the hem along the purl row to the inside of the hat and lining up the cast on stitches with the live stitches on your needles.
On the next round, knit each live stitch together with the corresponding cast on stitch, being careful not to pull this round too tight.
This will effectively create a neat seam between the hem and the outer hat, and shouldn’t show from the outside.
Next round: Knit.
Pleats
*Slip six stitches to a double pointed needle, then slip next six stitches to a second double pointed needle. Fold the slipped sections to the inside to form a pleat.
Arrange the stitches on the two double pointed needles and the left hand needle so that they are all ready to work and knit one stitch together from all three needles. Repeat for next five stitches to form pleat.
Repeat from * three times more. Four pleats made.
Knit to end of round. 130 (150) stitches.
Crown
Next round: *K8, K2tog; repeat from * around. 117 (135) stitches.
Work in Stockinette stitch until hat measures six inches from lower edge of hem.
Next round: *K13 (15), place marker; repeat from * around. 9 sections.
Switching to double pointed needles when necessary, decrease as follows:
Round 1: *K2tog, knit to next marker; repeat from * around.
Round 2: Knit.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until 18 stitches remain.
Next round: K2tog around, removing markers. 9 stitches remain.
Break yarn and draw through remaining stitches and pull tight.
Finishing
Weave in ends and block as desired.
Hatband and Bow (optional)
After hat is blocked and dried, try on hat and measure around outside at top of hem.
Cut a length of ribbon one and a half inches longer than measurement taken.
Join this ribbon into band shape, being careful not to twist, and overlap one inch. Sew ends together around overlap.
For bow, cut a second length of ribbon 10 inches long. Fold into a loop and overlap half an inch. Center bow overlap over band overlap, and secure all layers with safety pin. Sew together all layers of bow and band.
Cut a third length of ribbon 4.5 inches long. Wrap this around the stitching you did in the last step, and fold the end under itself. Secure with safety pin. Sew this end down, being careful not to sew all the way through the bow, so that stitching won’t show from the outside.
Place the completed band on the hat, aligning bottom of band with top of hem, and centering bow over pleats. If desired, sew bottom of band to hat at several points, being careful to account for the stretch the hat will need in order to be worn.
About the Author
Hannah Ingalls lives in Chicago with her scientist boyfriend and an angora rabbit named Ruth. She quit her office job in 2008, and is now unemployed full-time. She can be found intermittently blogging at http://iknityouknot.blogspot.com/.
Credits
Photos by Hannah Ingalls and Leslie Webster
Models: Hannah Ingalls and Leslie Webster
From Flickr
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Errata
There are no reported errors in this pattern. Found something? Please Contact Us.
License
Caroline by
Hannah Ingalls is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at
http://www.popknits.com/index.php/patterns/page/caroline/.
