A Churchmouse Yarns and Teas Pattern - Felted Shetland Beret (PDF)

From Churchmouse:

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.

Craft: Knitting.

Designer: Churchmouse Yarns

FINISHED SIZE
Medium adult: Approx. 21"/53cm circumference measured at band; approx. 7-7½"/18-19cm from band to center of crown, after felting and blocking.

YARN
2 skeins Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift (115 yds/105m each); shown in Color 232 Blue Lovat, Color 101 Shetland Black, and Color 198 Peat.
Or approx. 230 yds/210m of an equivalent fingering-weight Shetland yarn.
1 yd/1m of smooth, strong fingering-weight yarn for blocking.

NEEDLES & NOTIONS
US 6 (4mm) 16"/40cm circular and double-points, or size to obtain gauge.
US 5 (3.75mm) 16"/40cm circular needles, or 1 size smaller than gauge size.
6 stitch markers (1 in a different color to designate beginning of round).
Darning needle to finish.
10-11"/25-28cm dinner plate for blocking; mug to hold plate while drying.

GAUGE
22 sts/30 rows = 4"/10cm in stockinette stitch on larger needles, before felting.
Note: If gauge isn’t exact, you can control the size a little in the felting process.