Miniature Regional Ear Cap

The ear cap in miniature.

Today it is a symbol of tradition and an icon of Madeiran craft, still worn at festivals and in folklore, but it was once an essential garment for men working the fields.

It is dense and hard-wearing, made in the natural colours of sheep's wool - brown, white or mottled. Its side flaps are detachable, and the bobble on top gives it its charm, its touch of playfulness.

The ear cap has always been handmade. The wool was spun on spindles and then knitted with five double-pointed needles - in the round, without seams. Just as Isabel da Eira, a collaborator of the Enfia o Barrete Collective, does. In miniature, but with the same rigour and the same materials as the original.

This cap is small enough to decorate a bottle, hold a warm boiled egg, or keep your keys from going astray, yet large enough to keep the tradition alive in memory.

The Enfia o Barrete collective project was created in 2021 by Irina Andrusko and Luz Ornelas, for the research and appreciation of Madeiran wool and the preservation of the traditional ear cap. So that the tradition does not fall asleep.