When my son was 5, we accompanied my husband on a business trip to Ireland. An Irish woman he worked with had a friend who owned the Mitchelstown Caves, one of the amazing underground cave systems found in Ireland. They are wondrous and have stalagmite and stalactite formations that take the breath away! Normally closed in December, we were given a private tour and my son loved the formation called “Tír na nÓg,” and the translation is “fountain of youth” or “land of the young”.

Slouch Beanies are “the” hats today, especially loved by the young. Simply shaped, the best ones have beautiful “drape” to them. I saw cashmere beanies in a shop recently in an array of beautiful colors. Really simple, most anyone who can knit can make a cool beanie. Cashmere tends to pill so I chose merino for my beanie and added texture and a simple one-row knitted “Vikkel Braid” as it adds so much to the look of the beanie and it’s a chance to learn a new technique that can be used in so many projects to add a “wow” factor. This hat comes in 3 sizes and the length can easily be adjusted longer or shorter by adding or removing rounds to the 3 large texture bands.

Sizes: (Small, Medium, Large)
Materials:
- Fingering Weight Yarn (380, 400, 430) yds.
Madeline Tosh Merino Light in Composition Book Grey
used in photo sample.
- US Size 3 / 3.25mm -16 in circular needles & DPNs OR
size needed to obtain gauge.

• Sharp tapestry or darning needle
• Stitch Marker

Gauge: 28 sts x 56 rows = 4 in / 10 cm over Texture Pattern
Finished Circumference: (18.5, 20, 21.5) in / (47, 50, 53) cm
Finished Length: approx (10, 11, 11) in / (25, 27.5, 27.5) cm

Abbreviations:
K = Knit P = Purl
Rnd = Round Beg = Beginning Inc = Increase
M1 = Make 1 (M1 Tutorial Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlPQBhZ31B4)

The Vikkel Braid (rhymes with “pickle” as best I can tell!) is much easier to grasp by viewing it being knit. There are many Youtube videos on the Vikkel Braid.
Here is a favorite video from The Weekly Stitch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu8Vv1YbV_g
The braid itself is quite simple and is worked over one round. A good tip is to keep the stitches tight (but not immovably tight!) when working. Do this by giving a little tug on the working yarn just after working the “knit through back loop into 2nd stitch on right needle” and before continuing to the rest of the instruction. This will keep the round immediately after the Vikkel Braid from looking elongated. Practice makes it perfect and even. Try it on a 10 stitch flat swatch a few times to find the right tension for you.