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Pulling on the barrete: Madeira's most serious hat
A hat with earflaps and a tassel on top that was once farm workwear. The Enfia o Barrete collective keeps Madeira's barrete de orelhas alive.
In this article
By Sérgio Carvalho, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile
About 3 min read
As a teenager, clothes were attitude. I chose my hair, let it grow and made it my trademark, with the absolute conviction of a fifteen-year-old. That's why I have a soft spot for things you wear just because. The barrete de orelhas is one of them.
The Regional Earflap Hat is a sheep's wool barrete hand-knitted in Madeira by Isabel da Eira, who works with the Enfia o Barrete collective, on five double-pointed needles, in the round and without seams, just as the barrete de orelhas (earflap hat), also known as the barrete de vilão, has always been made.
Before it was a symbol, it was workwear. Madeiran farm workers wore it every day, dense and tough, made in the colours of sheep's wool, white or brown. Today it turns up at festivals and in folk dancing. And it also turns up on the heads of people who simply like it, which is the best reason.
How it's made
The barrete de orelhas is a woollen hat knitted in the round, without seams, with removable side flaps and a tassel on top. The wool used to be spun on hand spindles and then knitted on five double-pointed needles. Isabel da Eira does exactly that, with the know-how that time has taught her.
The flaps protect the ears from the wind. The tassel protects nothing. It's there for fun. I like an object that has the honesty to admit part of it is only there to look good.
From wool to hat
Madeira's sheep are small, but they produce a long-fibred, tough, robust wool. It's this wool that gives the barrete the density to stand up to the mountain wind. Before it was knitted, the wool was spun by hand on spindles. Enfia o Barrete has also revived those spindles, based on old examples found in Santana and Calheta.
The barrete de orelhas is a piece of a system: island wool, island spindles, island hands. Take away one of these parts and the barrete still exists, but it's no longer the same. That's why the collective's work doesn't stop at the hat. It studies the tools, makes prototypes, runs workshops and exhibitions. So that the tradition doesn't fall asleep, as they put it.
Who's behind it
The Enfia o Barrete collective was founded in 2021 by Irina Andrusko and Luz Ornelas to research and promote Madeiran wool and preserve the traditional barrete de orelhas. Irina Andrusko is a researcher, linguist and textile maker, originally from Estonia, living in Madeira since 2011. Luz Ornelas is a wood engineer. Neither of them needed a barrete. They decided Madeira did.
Belonging to a place is also made of things like this. A hat no outsider understands at first. Hard to explain, easy to wear.
Is a barrete an accessory or a sense of belonging? That's the question we might ask ourselves. I suspect that, in Madeira, it's both at once.
Back to my fifteen-year-old hair: some choices seem ridiculous and, seen from a distance, turn out to be the right ones. My advice is to pull on the barrete. In the good sense.
Frequently asked questions
What is the barrete de orelhas?
It's a traditional hat from Madeira, also called the barrete de vilão, knitted in sheep's wool, with removable side flaps and a tassel on top. It was workwear for farm workers and is now a symbol of Madeiran craft.
How is the barrete de orelhas made?
The wool is knitted on five double-pointed needles, in the round and without seams. It's made by hand by Isabel da Eira, who works with the Enfia o Barrete collective.
What is the Enfia o Barrete collective?
It's a project founded in 2021 by Irina Andrusko and Luz Ornelas to research and promote Madeiran wool and preserve the barrete de orelhas.
What colours does the barrete come in?
In the natural colours of sheep's wool, such as white and brown.
Is there a smaller version?
Yes, there's the Miniature Regional Earflap Hat, made with the same care and the same materials as the original.
