How to Cable
Diagram of cable, prior to cable crossing row
Cables in knitting are formed by crossing stitches, and creating a twist in the fabric. Every cable pattern is basically just a variation on this theme. This tutorial illustrates how to cable by knitting a very basic 6-stitch cable. As you see below, you will be knitting the leftmost 3 stitches first, then the rightmost 3 stitches, and this re-ordering of the stitches will form the cable crossing.
1. Knit (or purl) along until you reach the 6 stitches that form the cable, then stop.
2. Slip the first 3 stitches of the cable, one at a time, from the left-hand needle onto a cable needle. This cable is a front-cross cable, which twists to the left, and so you will just let the cable needle drop to the front of the work. If you were working a back-cross or right-twisting cable, you would drop your cable needle to the back of the work.
3. Knit the next 3 stitches from the left-hand needle.
4. Lastly, knit the 3 stitches that were on hold on the cable needle.
Then you’re done, and since you knit the 6 stitches out of order, you created the twisted in the knitted fabric which forms a cable! Continue knitting as established, and your cable will show more clearly after a few rows. Typically, you will only do this cable cross maneouver every few rows (for a 6-stitch cable, you will do a cable cross every 6th rows, for a 4-stitch cable, you will do a cable cross every 4th row, etc.)
This 6-stitch cable is the cable pattern used in my Chunky Cable Hat – a free pattern.
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I’m trying to knit a cable 9 BF and I’m confused! Help!
Hi Mary – Hmmm, have you checked the key and abbreviations section? I’m not familiar with that abbreviation
I don’t understand what ‘c4bdec’ and ‘c4fdec’ in the “Antler Toque” pattern mean. Are the decreases done in the k2tog and ssk only or are decreases being done within the cable itself?
Hi Sheila – the decreases are within the cable itself. Instructions for those sts are in the abbreviations section of the pattern.