This simple beret happened quite by accident. We were re-scaling our favorite beret in Shetland dk and it turned out comically large. Hey, we thought, might as well felt it! The result was pretty cool. And remarkably soft after all the washing. Then we thought, wouldn’t finer Spindrift be even nicer felted? And indeed it was. Lightweight. Lofty. Not too warm. We bet you won’t make just one.

We usually do our felting in the washing machine but when it came to felting this little beret we wanted to take a more hands-on approach. Our instructions for felting by hand in the sink will give you a nice smooth, even finish. And a wee workout, too.

Careful blocking is the other secret to a beautiful finish. Drying your beret over a plate—or in Shetland parlance, ‘dressing a tam’—will give your beret a perfect shape and give you a chance to control the size and silhouette. You can ‘dress’ your beret this way whenever you wash it.

Size
Medium adult: approx. 21”/53cm around band.

Yarn
2 skeins Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift (115 yds/105m each); shown here in Color 101 Shetland Black, and Color 232 Blue Lovat.
Or approx. 230 yds/210m of an equivalent fingering-weight Shetland yarn.

Needles
US 6 (4mm) 16”/40cm circular and double-points, or size to obtain gauge.
US 5 (3.75mm) 16”/40cm circular, or one size smaller than gauge size.

Gauge
22 sts/30 rows = 4”/10cm in stockinette stitch on larger needles, before felting.