Tudor style berets are easy to make yourself
Sewing your own beret
NEW!! You can purchase our downloadble and printable Fleece Beret pattern with instructions and bonuses
Click Here for your Fleece Beret Pattern.
Sewing your own beret is pretty easy. This pattern is for a loose, Tudor style beret. You can adapt it for a smaller, closer fitting beret by making the circles smaller. What you need: about 1 yard (~ 1 meter) of fabric, one very large bowl or pot (about 16 inches/40.64 centimeters in diameter), and one smaller bowl or pot (about 11 inches/27.94 centimeters in diameter), or any other way of making a perfect circle, a measuring tape to make your hat band piece.
I've made my attempt at a printable pattern. The file is a zipped file. You download it, unzip it (use Winzip or whatever you use to decompress files) and in the file are four pieces that make up the big circle, four pieces that make up the donut piece, and two pieces that make up the band. Print the pieces in whatever program you use for printing pictures; they are all graphics files. You have to cut out the printed pieces and tape them together, then walla, you have a free beret pattern. Click on the image of the pattern to the left for your free download, or right click and choose "Save target as" to save the zip file.
Beret construction
- Take the big bread bowl and cut out two circles of fabric.
- Then in the middle of one of the circles take the medium mixing bowl and cut out a hole. This becomes the opening for your head later. Sew right sides together at outer edges.
- Cut a wide strip of cloth about 22 inches (for my head), double it over and sew along the length right sides together. Your final width will be half of the width you cut, minus the seam width. For instance, a 6 inch wide strip with a 1/2 inch seam allowance will end up being a 2 1/2 inch brim. Turn this right side out, now it's a long tube. Press.
- Okay, now pin the strip to the inner opening of the circles, gathering and tucking the circle as necessary: I pin the seam side of the strip to the right side of the inner circle. Here is where it gets into your personal taste. Too much gather, and it the hat stands up a bit more, not any gather, and the hat is very flat and not much character. You'll see what you like. Try it on cheap remnants first to check out styling.
My favorite fabrics for these berets are velvet and cotton gauze. The velvet makes a lovely dress up beret. I use a sequin/stud applicator, The Dazzler, to apply decorative studs and rhinestones. The cotton gauze berets are the most comfortable summer head covering, since they breathe well. Below are pictures of the hat process.
This is what the big piece looks like sewn to the piece that has the center cut out. This hat was sewn some years ago.
This is what the other piece looks like sewn on. The whole thing is still inside out.
The arrow points to the brim piece where it is sewn to the bottom of the beret.
This is a view of the back of the beret, decorated with rhinestones and studs.
How to Wear a Beret
Try the beret on at different angles. I'm particularly fond of pulling most of the extra fabric to the side. You may want to leave out your bangs, or pony tail, you may want the beret centered on your head. Try a few different ways of wearing it to find the one just right for you.
Here are some pictures of a friend wearing a more snug fitting beret, like the Parkhurst berets.
I hope this was helpful for anyone interested in knowing how to sew a beret. Personally, I like the snood style better, as it stays put on my head better. However, for many years I sewed my own berets and even sold the velvet ones occasionally. They are truly simple to make, so have fun!
NEW!! You can purchase our downloadble and printable Fleece Beret pattern with instructions and bonuses
Click Here for your Fleece Beret Pattern.
Other beret patterns online (I go to Covering Our Hair for great links to hair covering pages):
To buy berets online, visit The Village Hat store:
Or visit our page on
buying berets online.
Or check out the berets available on eBay.com where you can always find a bargain:
