My sister is my best friend, always has been. As we grew up, the USAF took her to many places far and wide across the globe. I followed her for visits as much as possible. But this last move she made, I have been unable to visit. So for 3 long years, the only face time we have had is via FaceTime. But more often than not, it’s texting and emails only. Several months back she sent me a photo of herself and two of her boys. In the photo she had her hair pulled over into a braid. As I looked at the photo with pride and joy in my heart, I knew right then that I was going to knit something with a braided cable and dedicate it to her. So, here she is. Meet Jules, the first installment in my Little Sister’s Braids collection. More pieces will come later this year and will be companions to this beanie.

Jules is a sport weight unisex hat knit in merino and alpaca for warmth. The braided cables climb from brim to crown separated by a sea of purl stitches and a single twisted stitch representing the strong bond my sister & I have that will always stand out amongst all the separations we have had in life.

The pattern is a written pattern with no charts. All stitches and cables are thoroughly explained in detail. I tried to make this pattern as user friendly as possible for the new knitter. As written, the hat is 8”/20.3cm in height. Instructions are included if you wish to make it longer.

If you choose to not use Cloudborn Merino Alpaca Sport yarn, any sport weight should do as long as you can meet gauge of 30 stitches and 30 rows per every 4”/10cm in twisted rib pattern on size 5US/3.75mm needles. Gauge is given after washing & blocking.