Nefret Knit Cloche

Cloche (Fr. “bell”) hats were invented by French milliner Caroline Reboux in 1908 and were especially popular during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. The name “Nefret” (accented on the second syllable) is an Egyptian girl’s name meaning beautiful. Though the cloche style is French in origin, it bears some resemblance to traditional headdresses like the turban and toque. The Nefret Cloche is a versatile beauty with several embellishment options, all included. The pattern for the “Daughter of the Sea” vest is available separately.

Yarn for Solid Hat: Cascade 220 Heathers, 100% Peruvian highland wool, 220 yd / 200 m, color 2422 (lavender) - 1 skein or about 220 (230, 245) yd / 201 (210, 224) m of worsted weight yarn.

Yarn for Multicolor Hat: Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian highland wool, 220 yd / 200 m, color 8010 (cream) and 8555 (black) and - 1 skein each or about 45 (48, 50) yd / 41 (44, 46) m of Color A (accent) and 125 (135, 145) yd / 115 (124, 133) of Color B (main) worsted weight yarn for hat plus approx. 35 yd / 32 m for each embellishment.

Notions: Stitch marker; yarn needle for weaving in ends; safety pins to attach embellishments (optional); bowl for blocking.

Skills: Knitted cast-on, knit, purl, knitting in the round, short rows, decreasing.

Construction: Bottom up, knit mostly in the round with short rows in brim. No sewing except on some embellishments.

Notes: Knitting is begun on circular needle. Change over to dpns when too few stitches remain to work comfortably. A quick knit - only 3 rows include purl stitches.