A Cloche Hat Inspired by Julia Ormond in Legends of the Fall

Last Updated on November 17, 2017 by lydiaf1963

On the last Monday of each month, a group of bloggers participate in a #MovieMondayChallenge, hosted by C’mon Get Crafty! We decide on a topic, genre, or specific movie to use for inspiration and everyone gets free reign to create something wonderful!  This month’s challenge was. . . . Fall Movies. Everyone was allowed to choose their own favorite Fall themed film for this challenge. I chose Legends of the Fall a movie set in early 20th century Montana. The movie covers a couple decades so we get to see Julia Ormond in a variety of hats.

Legends of the Fall is the story of the three Ludlow brothers whose lives are forever changed when both war and Susannah enter their lives. The movie is brilliantly filmed (it won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography), with heartfelt performances and a musical score which supports the action. There are lots of pretty people in the movie. In addition to Julia Ormond; Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn and Henry Thomas star as the brothers with Anthony Hopkins as their father, Col. William Ludlow.

Susannah is engaged to the youngest brother Samuel (Henry Thomas) when we meet her. Over the course of the movie she ends up involved with the other brothers, too. She’s in love with Tristan (Brad Pitt), and eventually marries the oldest, Alfred (Aidan Quinn). If I were a snarky person I’d observe she tried on the brothers like she does her hats, but it’s not really true. It’s not her fault her fiance dies in WWI. It’s not her fault Tristan doesn’t love her or that she doesn’t return Alfred’s feelings for her. Nevertheless, her presence complicates things.

The inspiration for this month’s project came from the scene where Susannah visits Tristan in jail. She’s wearing a snazzy knitted cloche. It took some searching on Ravelry, but eventually I settled upon the Lucy Hat designed by Carina Spenser and available through Interweave.

This hat is worked from the bottom up and features an asymmetrical brim that’s created using short-rows. Don’t let that intimidate you. It’s not that difficult, and you’ll need to know how to make them if you want to advance in your knitting as it’s a necessary technique for shaping garments. There are different ways to make them, but this video demonstrates a basic short-row that will work well for the Lucy Hat. The brim can be tacked into place after finishing or you may choose to leave it as shown here.

The contrasting band is a pretty touch and features the woven stitch which alternates slip stitches and knits to good effect.

The designer used a superwash merino on 4 mm (US Size 6) needles. I used a wool and acrylic blend from DMC’s Mixto line. The pattern is easy to follow and is a good choice for knitters who are able to knit in the round and want to try the short-row brim.

While not as fancy as Susannah’s black and gold cloche, the Lucy hat would look wonderful paired with a wool coat for a stylish fall look.

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Now let’s see what everyone else was inspired to create for this month’s #MovieMondayChallenge!! If you’d like to join our Facebook group, you can request an invite here.

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