‘Salut Cheri’ beret in Malabrigo Rios

For my birthday this year, I was given two beautiful skeins of Malabrigo Rios. One was in the shade ‘Aniversario’, a crazy blend of pinks and greens, and the other was in the shade ‘Hojas’, a rich greeny blue. I’m saving the ‘Aniversario’ skein for the Aquamarline I’m planning on making- most of the stash yarns I’ll be including are blue and purple, so it will add a nice pop of colour.

I knew I wanted to make a hat with the ‘Hojas’ skein, but I didn’t have enough for the watchman style I pictured. After much Ravelry searching, I found the Salut Chéri Beret pattern by Sari Nordlund. It was a win-win, as I’d also been looking for my next TV knitting project and this simple pattern was perfect! Here’s how it turned out:

It’s surprisingly difficult to find a hat that looks good with my bob/fringe- I normally have to decide between stuffing all my hair inside the hat, or having a few awkward tufts sticking out under my ears. This beret is the solution! Because it’s hand knitted, it has a floppiness that you wouldn’t get with a store bought beret, yet the thick yarn knitted at a tight gauge gives it some structure. This means it moulds to the shape of your head whilst keeping its shape.

I have very little experience with blocking, but this beret showed me what a difference it can make… here it is pre-blocking (I think it looked like a hat for a pixie!)

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And post-blocking…

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I might start keeping note of the TV shows I watch while I knit each project. In a few years time, when I’ve forgotten the details of what I was watching/knitting and when, it would be a nice way of putting each project in context. This beret kept me company whilst I binge-watched the second season of Killing Eve… in two days!

This hat was a real pleasure to knit. It’s a very easy pattern (perfect for your first project in the round) that’s great for showing off an interesting yarn. I love how my finished hat looks classic, but also unusual because of the colour variation.

As always, Malabrigo have created a truly gorgeous colour combination. This yarn, and a yarn I’ve bought from them before, both remind me of when cars leak oil onto the road and it creates a rainbow of colours. There’s something about that rusty green and the incredibly vivid blue that gives it an iridescent quality.

I can definitely see myself making more berets in different colours, but I’ll probably hold off for a while… after all, I won’t be able to wear this one for months!

(If you’re wondering about my fabulous naked lady t shirt, it’s a RTW one I’ve had for many years)