Don't let cable knitting tie you in knots!

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of endless rows of stocking stitch.  Nice to look at but very boring to do.  I have a short attention span (a psychiatrist once diagnosed me with adult ADD but that’s another story!).  This lack of tolerance for repetitive tasks has lead me to be a bit choosy in what I will knit.  This is where cable knitting is a life saver.  Apart from giving a garment a pleasing look, cables are very satisfying to work.  They transform ordinary fabric into something that you want to touch and admire and the extra bulk adds to the warmth factor.  Sure it might take a little more yarn to complete a cabled garment, but since when was that a problem?

The yarn I used in the photo examples is Twilleys Freedom Sincere 100% Organic Cotton, which is available from Yarnsoft.  The needles were wood ones that were bought from a large craft chain here in Australia...and they are so yucky to use that I won't be stocking them anytime soon!


YarnSoft carries a good range of knitting and crochet tools.  If you don't see what you are looking for on the site, just drop us a line and let us know what you need and we will get it for you.

So, let me answer some questions that I'm often asked about cable knitting.

Do I need to use different needles to make the cables?

Ideally, yes, you will need a cable needle for holding the stitches that are going to be twisted.  There are several types of cable needles available, and I would suggest that you try different types to see what you prefer.

Straight cable needles are like very short double pointed needles, or DPN (you can use a dpn if you don't have anything else).  I'm not keen on them, as I find the stitches can slide off easily.

Bent cable needles are my favourite.  They have a v shaped dip in the middle to keep the stitches safe. 

U shaped cable needles are often used as well.  I found them a bit fiddly to start with but I’m growing to like them.

Cable needles come in different thicknesses.  It's best to buy 2 or 3 different sizes to use on different weights of yarns.  They are made from the same materials as knitting needles, so again, choose what you prefer.

I bet you didn't think there was so much to say about this little gadget, did you?

3 of the most common types of cable needle - Bent, hook and straight.

How on earth do you get the stitches to twist without ending up with a tangled mess?

Worry not!  It's easier than it looks!  Cable patterns are usually set up as an even number of knit stitches with panels of purl fabric on either side.  The purl fabric allows the knitted cable to stand out and not be lost amongst the other stitches.  The cable panel is worked in 2 parts, knitting the stitches from the main needle and knitting the stitches from the cable needle.

The terminology for cable stitches is written as letters and numbers, for example, C8F or C8B, depending on which way the cable slants.  In this example, the cable panel is 8 stitches wide and the twist is worked on 4 of those stitches.  In the case of C8F the process is -

C8F - place 4 stitches onto cable needle and hold at the front of the work

Knit next 4 stitches

Knit 4 stitches from cable needle.

Just a bunch of knits and purls minding their own business...

4 stitches have been placed on the cable needle and are waiting while I knit the next 4 stitches from my working needle.

Now I am knitting the 4 stitches that I placed on the cable needle.  You can see the previous 4 stitches to the right looking a bit squished!

The cable has landed!  It still looks a bit like a mistake but wait...there's more!

Hmm did I do 6 or rows 7 between the cables?  Let's check...ah yes, 7 is correct!

OK now it's starting to look like cable knitting - Hooray!!

The process for cabling behind is exactly the same as cabling forward.  You just place the cable stitches behind the main work instead of in front.

C8B - place 4 stitches onto cable needle and hold at the back of the work

Knit next 4 stitches

Knit 4 stitches from cable needle.

I won’t pretend cabling is easy for the first few times, but once you get the hang of seeing an extra needle sticking out from your work, you'll be fine!

There are hundreds of cable stitch patterns and combinations.  Once you have practised the technique there isn't a cable stitch that you can't master.

I’ve lost my place in the pattern and don’t know where the next cable needs to be!

This can be a bit tricky.  You can sometimes get away with working a cable one row out but it’s best not to make a habit of it!  There are a couple of ways to prevent losing your place.

The humble row counter – Obvious isn’t it?  For example, if your cable pattern is worked over 8 rows, just set your row counter at 1, add 1 count for each row, then reset after row 8 and so on.  You can also just use a pen and paper and cross off rows as you go.

The row counter is a wonderful tool…If you remember to twirl it after every row.  I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve looked at the counter and wondered if I’d changed the number at the beginning or the end of the row.  Same thing with the paper and pen.  There are going to be times when you just forget, and get confused trying to count rows that are twisted around each other.

One method of counting rows between cables is to poke your cable needle right above where the last twist was done.  Count every row above the needle and if you get to 7 on an 8 row pattern (you do this on the right side of your work) then you know that the next row is the cable (row 8 stitches are laying in wait on the needle).

Another method is to place a ruler across the top of the previous twist and carefully count the rows.  Some cables are small enough for you to use your judgement to see how many rows you have worked.

Whatever method you use, practice makes perfect (or in my case, good enough!)

I’m doing a cable jumper but the cables just look like a jumbled mess!

This could be due to a couple of reasons.  Have you inadvertently worked some cables the wrong way round?  If you have done this, you “can” fix it by pulling back the affected cables and re-working just those stitches.  This is a tricky maneuver and not for the faint of heart!  I have tried this technique once (on a live garment no less) and let’s just say I failed miserably.  I’ve since read a better description of the technique and will post it as soon as I have mastered it on a test swatch.  If you just can’t live with the mistake (s) you will have to frog back to just before you made the mistake and do it all over again….sorry!

The other reason could simply be your choice of yarn.  Not every yarn type is cable friendly.  The best yarns for cabling are solid, firm, smooth yarns, like pure wool, acrylic or any blend that doesn’t contain fancy bits, like boucle or large bumps.  Some variegated yarns don’t lend themselves well to cables either.  These yarns are best kept for plain stitches or some laces, so the colour changes can complement the pattern and not fight with it.

I added cables to a favourite plain jumper pattern and now it’s too small!

Cables do change the size of a garment.  This is because the twisting pulls the yarn in and makes the finished garment narrower than a plain knit garment.  If you want to add cables to a simple pattern, consider making the next size up.  Check to make sure the sleeves and lengths aren’t going to be too big and adjust length accordingly.  The main problem with doing this will be the depth between the armhole shaping and shoulders, as you need to maintain the correct stitch decreases. 

If you’re not adept at altering patterns, I would suggest you search for a pattern that includes cables, rather than just adding them without considering the change in fit that could result.

If you have other cable questions, feel free to leave me a comment.  Also, do let me know how you are going with cables…they really do make a plain garment look amazing!