Sweetheart Beret Tutorial

I love berets.  They're chic, easy to wear, and fit just about anyone!  Here are a few of my favorite ways to wear one..

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 The "Faye Dunaway".  Quintessential chic.

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Marilyn Monroe.  Sultry beret at a jaunty angle.

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 Nina Foch.  Simple and sweet.

Now that you have some ideas on how to wear one, let's talk embellishment ;)  I am currently addicted to "spiffing things up" with felt shapes and embroidery and berets are the perfect medium for this type of project!  Here's what you'll need:

1.  Begin by cutting a heart shape out of your felt.  When you have it the size and shape you like, decide where to place it on your beret.  Once you have it where you like it, pin it in place.

2.  Thread your embroidery needle with two or three strands of embroidery floss.  Begin sewing the felt heart onto your beret with evenly spaced stitches.  You can choose to do it with a running stitch, as I have done in the photo at the start of this post, or you can use an overcast stitch.

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3.  Once your heart has been secured, use your embroidery thread to create the "arrow".  Create the arrow point on the top, a stitch in the middle of your heart at an angle in line with the point, and complete it with the base of your arrow following the same angle.

4.You can embroider "sweet" in a few different ways.  I chose to do it freehand using a backstitch because I wanted it to have a "handwritten" effect.  If you prefer a different type of font, I would recommend printing or tracing it onto tear away stabilizer.  You can then just place it where you like on the beret, embroider over the letters and tear the stabilizer away when you are finished (be sure to keep some tweezers handy..they sometimes help to pull the stabilizer out from under the stitches.)

5.  Trim all threads and place on your head at the angle of your choice ;)

Hugs and Smooches,
D