Interweave SKU: EP9950

Finished Size: Medium, 21 inches (53.3 cm) in circumference, to fit a head 22 to 23 inches (55.9 to 58.4 cm) in circumference; 8½ inches (21.6 cm) high from purl fold line to top of cap

Yarn: Brown Sheep Naturespun, 100% wool yarn, sportweight, 184 yards (168.3 m)/50 gram (1.8 oz) ball, 2 balls of #147S True Blue Navy (MC) and 1 ball each of #730S Natural (CC1) and #N46S Red Fox (CC2)

Needles: circular, 24 inches (60.0 cm), and set of double pointed (or Magic-Loop circular), size 1½ (2.5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge

Notions: Crochet hook, size C/2 (2.75 mm), for provisional cast-on, Waste yarn, about 5½ yards (5.0 m), smooth, for provisional cast-on, Stitch markers

Gauge: 7 sts and 8 rows = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in 2-color stranded St st, worked in the round

Originally Published: Knitting Traditions Spring 2014

What I like about Scandinavian knitting books is that they often include the history of a knitting tradition. Binge, en halländsk sticktradition Binge, a Halland Knitting Traditionweden: Halländska Hemslöjden, 2007) was one of the first books I bought. The Bjärbo pattern for the cap is the most easily recognizable Binge motif. The name refers to a person living on the Bjäre peninsula in southwest Sweden. Because the motif is rather long when repeated as a staggered pattern motif, it isn’t seen on caps very often, but when I was almost finished with my cap brim, I was leafing through the Binge book and spotted a cap similar to mine. (See photograph on page 65.) The 1914 photograph shows a mother and daughter wearing Bjärbo sweaters and caps, described in the caption as “elegant sports clothes.”