The cable stitch (aka cable knitting) looks like twisted rope, or criss crossed trellises. In addition to being pretty and decorative, they also thicken up fabric, making sweaters and hats warmer. This article describes how to do a six stitch forwards cable, and will teach you the basics so you can do all types of cables.
1Cast on 18 stitches.Ad
3Begin on the fifth row by purling six stitches, then slip the first three knit stitches purl wise onto a cable needle. If you don't have a cable needle you can use a pencil or pen.
4Let the cable needle with the stitches dangle to the front of your work. Knit the next stitch on the needle, pull the yarn tight, and knit the next two stitches.
5Knit the first stitch off the cable needle, pull the yarn tight, and knit the last two stitches.
6Put the cable needle to one side, and purl the last six stitches.
- On the next three rows, simply knit the knits, and purl the purls. So repeat rows two through four for the pattern, as described in step two.
7On the ninth row repeat the cable twist with the cable needle once more.
8Look and note that magically the cable will appear.
- Know that cables can be made to twist in the opposite direction. Just follow the same steps and at the point you slip your stitches onto your cable needle, dangle it to the back of your work, rather than the front.
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- In a pattern you will see abbreviations like C4F and C4B. "C4F" means cable four stitches to the front; so you would leave your two cable stitches dangling in front of the work. "C4B" means cable four stitches to the back; so you would leave your cable needle hanging in the back of your work. The pattern described in this article would be written:
- Row 1: P6, K6, P6
- Row 2: K6, P6, K6
- Row 3: P6, K6, P6
- Row 4: K6, P6, K6
- Row 5: P6, C6F, P6
- Row 6: K6, P6, K6
- Row 7: P6, K6, P6
- Row 8: K6, P6, K6
- Row 9: P6, C6B, P6
- Repeat from Row2
- There are many different types of cable needles. You can buy a cable needle in the same size as your working knitting needles, which will make transferring them back much easier. There are hook-style cable needles that are shaped like a hook and help prevent your cabling stitches from falling off. In the same vein, there are cable needles with indentations in the middle as a place for the cabling stitches to rest. You can also just use a regular knitting needle as your cable needle--it's nice to use a double pointed needle in a size close to the size of your working needles if you choose that route.
- There are lots of pretty patterns, besides a basic twisting cable, that can be created with frontwards and backwards cables such as X's and O's or braid-like cables. Search around for fun stuff to knit, now that you know how to cable!
- Don't let your stitches slip off your cable needle while you're knitting!
Sources and Citations
- Videojug. Original source of information. Used with permission.
Categories: Knitting Stitches
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