In a blend of fine organic Merino wool and silk, this open-face balaclava is very versatile. It can be worn on its own or slipped under a Winter hat or hood to give extra protection and warmth to the ears and neck on windy or snowy days.

• GOTS certified as organic, AZO-free dyes and fairly traded
• 70% fine organic Merino wool and 30% silk
• protects that back-of-the-neck gap for babies
• also great under bike helmets!

A practical thermal layer for Winter as well as the chills to late Autumn and early Spring.

Pickapooh are very experienced in designing children's hats that fit well and incorporate flexibility.
Sizes are given in centimetres, measured around the broadest part of your child's head. Ages are approximate.
Note that boys' heads tend to be bigger than girls', and our sizing averages these out a little.
If you are buying a hat for your older girl you may find a smaller size is fine (the largest 60cm size fits most women) and perhaps the opposite if you are buying for a boy.

This is made from a blend of 70% organic Merino wool and 30% pure silk. This blend combines the thermo-regulating properties of a soft, fine wool with the silkiness of pure silk on the skin.

The organic Merino wool is certfied by IVN as "best" which meets and excedes GOTS organic standards

The use of pesticides both on the meadows and the animal is inadmissible. The animals procreate in a natural way and any kind of change on the animal such as trimming the tail or mulesing are forbidden. In short – the sheep should live a happy life!

The merino virgin wool used in Pickapooh's garments is from organic husbandry. The certified organic origin of the wool ensures that it has been produced without noxious substances like pesticides and herbicides. Therefore, these clothes are awarded the highest certificate, the quality hallmark NATURTEXTIL–IVN ZERTIFIZIERT BEST.

Merino wool is a kind of wool fibre that is very fine, soft and springy and is not itchy at all to most skins. The Merino sheep usually thrives in mountainous areas at high altitudes and its wool is naturally brilliant at keeping the body comfortable at a wide range of temperatures.

Please note that under EU labelling regulations, stating the type of wool is not allowed, only a statement of "100% wool" or "new wool" is allowed. However, this garment is certified organic Merino wool.

Wool (and thus Merino wool) has many benefits when worn next to the skin and about the body.

• Wool absorbs moisture into the centre of the fibre, so that it still feels dry on the outside. This is very healthy for your skin - your skin stays dry while the wool can absorb up to 33% of its own weight while feeling dry.
• Wool "breathes", releasing its moisture out into the atmosphere. It does this dynamically in response to the environment, so if you or your child is active and sweating more, wool works harder for you. Wonderful.
• In this way, wool is a wonderful temperature-regulator, slowing down the effects of changes of temperature and helping prevent sweatiness by absorbing moisture and releasing it in response to the environment. This makes it a wonderful fabric for babies and the growing bodies of children as well as for athletes, cyclists, skiers and mountain-climbers. It's naturally high-tec and can't be beaten by synthetics!
• Wool is also naturally anti-bacterial, dirt-resistant and very stretchy, making wonderful clothes that are easy to put on and take off, excellent for dressing babies and children.
• The health benefits of wool are being revealed time and time again. For example, it's better for the health of premature babies if they are nursed on wool rather than cotton and it's better for the skin of hospital patients if they lie on wool rather than polyester.
• Wool helps sleep too. At least two studies show that people get a better night's sleep with wool around them - people go to sleep more quickly, sleep longer and have better quality sleep too.

Find out more about the properties of wool here in our blog.

Merino wool is the wool of choice for baby and children's clothes, as well as for sportswear, because it's finer than most other wools. It's naturally springy (which makes it softer) and has a tight crimp, allowing it to trap more air, making clothing lighter as well as softer for the same excellent insulation.

Merino wool has also been proven to absorb UV across the whole range of the spectrum, giving excellent lightweight sun protection in the summer too.

Organic Merino wool combined with the gentle, skin-friendly properties of silk makes the ultimate fabric for the well-being of the skin and body.

Wool is naturally self-cleaning, the outer surfaces of the fibre pushing dirt down and off itself. It's naturally anti-bacterial and neutralises odours too. Silk also releases dirt easily, so after wearing, the best thing to do is to hang your silk/wool clothing to air rather than wash.

Engel's wool/silk fabric is a soft, natural fabric so care must be taken when washing. Pickapooh recommends hand washing as follows.

Use a detergent designed for wool and silks which is gentle, and which protects and repenishes wool's natural oils. We recommend one of our liquid wool shampoos in our fabric care section here.

To hand-wash your wool silk fabric, dilute your wool detergent in cool water, max 30C (luke-warm only, should feel coolish), in a bowl. For heavily-soiled areas, use a little gall soap beforehand, testing on an inconspicuous area first.

Add your wool/silk clothing to the bowl, gently stirring and squeezing the detergent through. Rinse using water at the same temperature, otherwise the wool will be subjected to "shock" and might felt up. So luke-warm/coolish at 30C again.

Things not to do! Don't wring, soak, brush or rub vigourously as the wool and silk fibres may be damaged and your garment felt up a little and shrink. Just squeeze the water through.

To dry, gently squeeze water out and wrap your wool clothes in a towel to remove the excess water. Air-dry naturally avoiding direct heat. So, hanging on a drying rack over the bath is good, or on a clothes horse. Mine often end up over the back of chairs or on the washing line in the shade (I haven't had a problem with the the heat of the English being too hot, yet, but direct sunlight is not good for wool or silk).

Re-shape while still damp.

PICKAPOOH make the most marvellous, comfortable, stay-onable hats and booties, all ethically produced! They are a family-owned business from Hamburg in Northern Germany.They started designing and manufacturing children's hats in 1991 and since 1998 their hats have been solely made with natural fibres.

Their sunhats are made from 100% organic cotton with certified UV protection. Their winter hats and booties are made from organic wool and wool/silk blend fabrics jointly sourced with Disana and Engel so that customers can mix and match their outfits from products across the ranges of these brilliant manufacturers!