English Garden Wedding Hat by Annie Modesitt

English Garden Wedding Hat

Knitting
November 2013
Lace ?
18 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches
in St st
US 6 - 4.0 mm
1380 yards (1262 m)
17¾ (21¼ inches (45.1 [54.0] cm) head circumference; 55 (60) inches (139.7 [152.4] cm) outer brim circumference
English

As the early decades of the twentieth century ended, most hat crowns became deeper, more bell-like, and the “flower pot” chapeaux favored before World War I (1914–1918) gently transitioned into hats that sat closer to the head. This Wedding Hat is a transitionary piece from wide-crowned soufflé to head-hugging cloche. Using the same floral motifs and gridded geometric stitch pattern as the Wedding Kimono (see page 80), this hat is a simple circle shape with a “squared” crown and a flat tip (top of the crown). The embroidery on the hat must be worked carefully as it will be visible from both the upper and under sides of the brim. The shape of the hat is retained by the use of millinery wire, crocheted in place after a circle the correct size has been formed and joined. While not terribly difficult, it’s a good idea to practice the wiring and the embroidery on a swatch to perfect the techniques before attempting them on the actual finished hat.