About berets...

So I've been trying to make berets and hats for about 2 years now. What's taken you so long you ask? Well now it's more complicated than you think. First there's the sizing, then shrinkage, and then the right fibre not too stiff but not too floppy either.

Size and proportion of the beret to the size of the head it's going to fit. If you get this wrong it won't fit and or look like it's too small.

As with all felted products you must allow at least 20% extra for the fibres to shrink when you felt and full. I always do a test to check this but sometimes fibre has a mind of its own and shrinks more, or less, than expected!

Here I cut the hole too big! (and human error!)

And finally all fibre is not the same! Not only does it shrink differently, see above, but it feels and drapes differently. I like to use British fibre to cut down on air miles. I love working with Shetland fibre which is great for bags and cases, booties etc but no good for a beret as its too stiff and doesn't drape.

This one is Shetland and you can see it's a little blobby! I could use merino wool but that comes with lots of air miles.

So I've chosen to try alpaca. Around here there's lots of small farms and smallholdings who have a few alpaca but it's not economical for them to send such small quantities away to be processed. I've been experimenting with using this unwashed, raw fibre as its sooo soft. I'll post some updates when I've finished...

And here is the final beret. Made from carded, raw alpaca fibre from Sandy Place small holding. It drapes and isn't bulky and comeleted with a crochet band (thanks to my friend Lourdes for the lesson) made from 94% recycled plastic bottles. I'm happy 😊