Java Cloche in Blue Sky Fibers Sport Weight & Melange - Downloadable PDF

Java Cloche in Blue Sky Fibers Sport Weight & Melange – Free Knitting Pattern by Grace Akhrem

The Java Cloche is a stylish, structured hat designed by Grace Akhrem and offered as a free downloadable PDF from Blue Sky Fibers (formerly Blue Sky Alpacas). This elegant cloche-style hat is knitted in the round and features a beautifully shaped brim worked through a series of decrease rounds, giving it the classic downward-sweeping silhouette that defines the cloche silhouette. The pattern is rated Intermediate in difficulty, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore colorwork and shaping.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a one-size-fits-all cloche hat — a close-fitting, brimmed style inspired by the iconic 1920s headwear. The brim is carefully shaped through strategic decreases, transitioning from a wider cast-on edge to a snugly fitted body that sits close to the head. The finished hat incorporates three colors — a main color (MC) and two contrast colors (CC1 and CC2) — worked in stranded and slip-stitch colorwork sections for visual interest and texture.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: Blue Sky Fibers 100% Alpaca Sport Weight or Blue Sky Fibers Melange — one 50 g / 110-yard hank each of MC, CC1, and CC2
• Colorway shown in the pattern: Natural White #500 (MC), Natural Streaky Brown #506 (CC1), and Cornflower #800 (CC2)
• Needles: Size 4 (3.5 mm) 16-inch circular needles and double-pointed needles (DPNs), or size needed to obtain gauge
• Notions: One stitch marker

The use of 100% alpaca fiber gives this hat exceptional softness and warmth, making it a luxurious accessory for cooler weather. Alpaca is naturally hypoallergenic and has a beautiful drape and sheen that enhances the stitch definition of both the ribbed brim and the colorwork sections. The Melange version of the yarn adds a subtly heathered, multi-tonal quality that gives the hat additional visual depth without requiring complex colorwork techniques.

Yarn Weight

The pattern calls for sport weight yarn, which falls between fingering and DK weight. Sport weight yarn knits up at a slightly finer gauge than DK, producing a fabric with crisp stitch definition — ideal for the structured brim shaping and the slip-stitch colorwork featured in this design. The pattern notes that Melange (a worsted-weight yarn) may also be used, offering knitters flexibility in their yarn choice and finished fabric weight.

Techniques Used

• Knitting in the round on circular needles and double-pointed needles — the entire hat is worked seamlessly from the brim upward
• Brim shaping with decreases — the brim begins with 140 stitches cast on and is reduced through two decrease rounds (using k2tog) to 126 stitches and then to 112 stitches, sculpting the characteristic cloche shape
• Slip-stitch colorwork — Round 22 introduces CC2 in a slip-stitch pattern (k1, sl1 with yarn in back), a technique that creates a two-color effect using only one yarn at a time per row, making it more accessible than traditional stranded colorwork
• Charted colorwork — the pattern includes two charts (Chart 1 and Chart 2) with 4-stitch repeats, guiding the placement of colors across the body of the hat
• Ribbing and textured stitch patterns — the brim features a k4, p1 rib pattern worked over multiple rounds, providing elasticity and a polished finish at the lower edge

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) and purl (p) — the foundational stitches