Technique: Cables

Awhile ago, I was talking about knitting techniques I love or would like to learn. Today’s is cable stitch patterns.

So, this is the most cabled project I’ve done:

It’s a pattern for a cowl, but I made it extra long and turned it into a crossbody vest thingy. I’m super happy with how it turned out, though I’d like to reblock it wider to show the details on the cables.

I’ve done some other cable projects, but I don’t find myself particularly drawn to them. Indeed, there’s something kind of annoying about having to remember which row is a cable row, which direction to cable, etc. Small projects can be quite fun, though:

And I do enjoy them as a design element. My most recent sweater has a few cables, and they were fairly easy to manage:

There are always row counters to help, and quite a few people like cabling without cable needles. I’ve never been able to cable without a cable needle and have it come out properly. Like the linked video says, my knitting is too tight to make it work with anything more than a stitch or maybe two. Instead, I use a darning needle, which I stick into my yarn cake and use as a cable needle. I have some actual bent needles for cabling, but I find that the darning needle is twice as useful, and much smaller.

I’d like to do more things in the spirit of my Pinctada, but a girl can only have so many cowls in Texas…

– YX