Knitting for Dummies® by Allen

Author:Allen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2010-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Cable Musings and Interesting Twists

In This Chapter

Demystifying cables

Creating common cable patterns

Twisting up mini cables

Putting your cable knowledge into practice

Cables, like knit and purl patterns, offer endless design possibilities. If you’re familiar with the creamy cabled sweaters of the Aran Isles, which feature intertwining cable motifs in vertical panels arranged symmetrically across a sweater front, then you’re already aware of the wealth of traditional cable designs.

The simple technique of cabling — crossing one group of stitches over another by knitting them out of order — lends itself to many interpretations. After you master the basic technique (and it’s very easy to do), you can make all kinds of interesting and imaginative cable patterns. All it takes is a little patience and practice.

And that’s just the beginning. This chapter presents cable basics that beginners can follow as well as some more intricate cables for when you want to stretch your cabling skills.

Cable Basics

You can make any kind of cable by suspending (or holding) a number of stitches on a cable needle (abbreviated cn) while you knit a specified number of stitches from the LH needle. Then you knit the suspended stitches either by returning them to the LH needle and knitting them, or by knitting them straight from the cable needle. (See Chapter 2 for more on cable needles.) This process of knitting stitches out of order enables you to cross stitches to create cables. Whether you’re making simple or intricate cables, all you’re doing is crossing stitches. Easy, right? Right!

Twisting to the right or left

A cable can twist to the right or left, depending on where you hold the suspended stitches.

To make a cable that twists to the left, hold the suspended stitches in front of your work while you knit from the LH needle.

To make a cable that twists to the right, hold the suspended stitches in back.

Cable instructions typically tell you whether you hold the stitches in front or back. Consider these instructions, which create a 6-stitch left-twisting cable:

Sl next 3 sts to cn and hold in front, k3, k3 from cn.

Instructions for the same cable, but twisting to the right, read like this:

Sl next 3 sts to cn and hold in back, k3, k3 from cn.

You may also see abbreviations like C3F and C3B. The C before the number tells you that these stitches are cable stitches. The number tells you how many stitches are involved with this particular maneuver. The F or B indicates whether you should suspend the stitches to the front or the back of your work. So C3F means that you slip 3 stitches to the cable needle and hold it in front.

Reading cable charts

Most knitting patterns give cable instructions in chart form. These charts show the cable stitches, turning rows, and often some background stitches. Depending on how complicated the cable pattern is, the chart may show you one repeat of the cable or an entire piece.

Although chart symbols aren’t standardized, every pattern has a key to the symbols used. Figure 11-1 shows a chart for a 6-stitch left-twisting cable.

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