By Charlene Tebbutt

Wawota woman sews ‘Cozy Caps for Calves’

Apr 3, 2018 | 10:00 AM

The cold weather continues to hang around, and while people may still be buying warm hats and mitts, demand is also up for warm winterwear for calves.

Betty Wyatt runs Cozy Caps for Calves from her home in Wawota, making hats specifically designed to keep calves cozy during the chilly months. Wyatt sews the caps from home, and her work is in demand across Canada and into the United States. Wyatt said she has seen a surge in demand for her polar fleece caps during this frigid spring.

“I often say I could be a mole in the ground and know what the weather is by the phone and the emails,” Wyatt said. “My business totally depends on the weather.”

Wyatt said she began making the caps in 1999 after hearing her son complain about the effect of cold weather on calves’ ears. The cold can cause nipped or frozen ears on calves, which is painful and can affect sale prices.  

“My son came in one day out of the barn and he was just desperate. He’d had a set of twins and it was just bitterly, bitterly cold,” Wyatt said. “He said, ‘Mom, we’ve got to do something.’”

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Wyatt said she has already shipped more than 1,400 of her caps to farmers this year. In 2015, her busiest year ever, Wyatt sewed around 2,000 of the headpieces.

“I just hope the weather warms up,” she said. “I feel for everybody out there that’s trying to keep those babies even alive in this weather, let alone their ears on their head. So I hope spring gets here sooner rather than later.”

The cozy caps come in small and large sizes and are available in both neutral and bright colours. They retail for $14 each.

charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt