The original wool beret, made entirely in Japan with over 70 years of experience and skill.

Beret is flamingo berets were created on a hand-knitted machine made by Shigeo Hashimoto, the founder of our Kumamoto factory. We continue to manufacture berets at our Kumamoto factory based on the original pattern he created.

Our classic wool beret is rare in that it is made entirely from merino wool. What's more, everything from knitting the hat body to clipper finishing and sewing is done entirely in factories in Japan, and each beret is carefully finished, ensuring both quality and peace of mind.

We are involved in every stage from selecting the material to making the most of its characteristics. We are meticulous in our manufacturing, paying particular attention to color, molding, texture, and fit, to deliver berets that will last a long time.

Carefully selected materials: 100% merino wool

Our classic wool beret starts with 100% merino wool yarn. Merino wool is a high-quality wool obtained from special sheep known as "merino sheep." Compared to regular wool, its fibers are finer and it is extremely soft to the touch, making it a particularly luxurious wool material.

This material not only has excellent heat retention, but also has excellent moisture-regulating properties, keeping you comfortable at all times. Furthermore, it has high functionality such as moisture absorption and odor resistance, and is less likely to become sticky or stuffy even when you sweat, which are unique features of merino wool.

Making the hat body: Knitting and linking

The body of the beret is knitted using our own original knitting machine.

Once the needles are set, the knitting machine will automatically begin knitting the yarn, and the hat body fabric will be completed in just about 7 minutes.

Once the knitted fabric is finished, the artisan manually threads each stitch on both ends through the needles of an Italian-made linking machine and sews them together. This process cannot be done by machine alone and is a task that requires the hands of a craftsman, so it is essential to have the skills of a craftsman.

Although this method takes more time than sewing everything by machine, the stitches are neatly aligned, there is less misalignment between the left and right sides, and the need for adjustment is minimal. The finished product is beautiful, and it is more comfortable to wear and does not irritate the skin.

Once the hat body is complete, it is checked for any flaws in the knitting and repaired as necessary.Then, the small hole at the top of the hat is squeezed shut.

The small protrusion at the top of the beret is called a "chobo," and if the beret has a chobo, the string is woven using a special machine and carefully attached by hand by a craftsman.

Adjusting the texture and color: felting, dyeing, and kneading

The completed hat body is then put into a fulling machine. The fabric is shrunk in water at about 50°C with careful pressure and friction, resulting in a soft, fluffy feel and texture. This is an important process that brings out the natural suppleness of wool and angora.

After fulling is complete, the fabric is dehydrated.

The next step is dyeing. Currently, our standard wool berets are available in a wide variety of 48 colors. We carefully dye the berets using acid dyes and groundwater from the Aso mountain range in Kumamoto, with a focus on beautiful color development.

The dyed hat bodies are quickly kneaded by skilled hands, then individually arranged on cotton canvas, rolled up, and placed in a special machine to straighten the fabric.

Canvas is a durable material that helps maintain the shape of the beret while smoothing the surface of the fabric. This process is carried out four times in total, twice on both the front and back of the hat body.

By gently blending the entire fabric while minimizing pilling, it creates a smoother, felt-like texture.

The product is then dehydrated once more and moves on to the next finishing process.

Forming: Air drying and molding

After being kneaded and dehydrated, the beret is left to dry naturally in a well-ventilated area outdoors to prevent mold. By drying slowly without applying heat, the fabric does not shrink too much, and the beret's original fluffy texture is preserved beautifully.

Once the hat body has dried sufficiently, it is placed in a heated mold and shaped into a rounded beret. The edges of the hat body are fastened with rope to secure the folds, and then it is placed in an electric dryer at 150-160°C to firmly set the shape.

Once the shaping is complete, the final step is to carefully trim the surface of the beret with clippers, and it takes 1-2 minutes to remove any fuzziness, bringing out an even smoother texture.

Until shipping: sewing and inspection

We use a sewing machine to attach the name and quality to size adjustment tape or our original jersey tape, and then sew it onto the main body.

This is how the "original wool beret" is created, which fits comfortably on anyone's head and is comfortable to wear.

Each and every sewn beret is carefully inspected. It is checked thoroughly for holes, scratches, dirt, etc., and if there are no problems, it is passed through a needle detector twice to thoroughly check that no needles or other imperfections were mixed in during sewing.

After that, we check the product specifications carefully to make sure there are no errors in color or size, and carefully pack each item into a plastic bag and an inner box.

Once all processes have been completed, the berets are reshaped, packaged, and shipped to the customer.