A Single Step

Chinese philosopher Laozi wrote that, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." For this project, that single step was accomplished this weekend for Clothier's Seminar in the Shire of Cum an Iolar. To go with my current outfit, I created a quick bereta, or hat in the Venetian style. This is only the second hat I have made and the first of this style, but I am extremely pleased with the look overall.

Photo courtesy of Master Alan Smyith of Darkdale
Used with Permission.

The bereta is constructed of a black linen-rayon blend which matches the current pair of calze I am wearing. To stiffen the sides, I used a fusible interfacing that I had purchased for a project I was making for a friend previously.

I chose to cut out the brim as a single piece of fabric 4.5" wide and fused a 3.75" wide strip of interfacing before folding the whole brim in half and attaching to a simple crown of two layers of the fashion fabric cut in an ellipse. The edges of the brim strip were turned under and attached like a binding strip over the edge of the crown piece.

As this is the first attempt at this type of hat, I was wary of the size choices. I opted for a size which would cover a large portion of the head without looking too large. In portraiture, the bereta are shown with a large amount of hair surrounding them.