Cloche, black velvet, embroidered, 1920s, front view

1920s. Black velvet cloche over a buckram base.
The brim has more rigidity than the crown, possibly with an extra layer of buckram or because of multiple lines of stitching. It is finished at center back with two points which are turned up and overlapped, then stitched to the crown. The brim is machine-sewn with concentric rows of pale yellow thread on top, black thread beneath.
The crown has a rounded top and a seam joining it to the sides. It is covered in freeform machine straight stitch patterns of spirals, crescents, loops, and contour lines in yellow, orange, blue, and white threads. The decorative sewing was done prior to assembly.
The brim is lined with black velvet. The crown is lined with black glazed cotton. Machine-sewn.

The Irma G. Bowen Historic Clothing Collection digital catalog was produced by the UNH Library Digital Collection Initiative, supported in part by a grant from the Mooseplate program and New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the E. Ruth Buxton Stephenson Memorial Fund.

Photography copyright, Astrida Schaeffer.