techniques, in printThe Cable Rib Hat & Wristers in the Zealana Rimu DK booket feature an interesting cable stitch I developed on my own since I couldn’t find anything like it in my stitch dictionaries. It has a tricky maneuver that I haven’t seen in a pattern so here’s the tutorial.
You need two cable needles to accomplish the cable crossing. While a little fiddly, it’s so worth it and there’s only two rows of cable crossing on the Cable Rib Hat and Wristers in the Zealana booklet.
First, the definition of the cable crossing followed by step-by-stelp instructions.
C5f&b Sl front cable needle through the fronts of the first and third sts, leaving sts on LH needle, sl back cable needle through the backs of the second and fourth sts, sl all 4 sts off together. K1 from LH needle. P1 from back cable needle. Rotate front cable needle 180° counter clockwise, so the second stitchs is present to be worked next. P1 from back cable needle. K1 through the back loop from front cable needle.
1. Ready to begin the cable.
2. From the front, insert the first cable needle into the first and third sts as if to purl.
3. Leave the sts on the LH needle.
4. From the back, insert a second cable needle into the second and fourth sts as if to knit through the back loops.
5. Slip all four sts off of the LH needle. You have two sts on the front cable needle and two sts on the back cable needle.
6. K1 from the LH needle.
7. P1 from the back cable needle.
8. Rotate the front cable needle around 180° counter clockwise.
9. The sts on the front cable needle are twisted from the rotation with the second st presenting itself as the next st to be worked.
10. K1 through the back loop from the front cable needle.
11. Repeat step 7—P1 from the back cable needle.
12. Repeat step 10—K1 tbl from the front cable needle.
13. Cable st is complete.
While developing the cable stitch I tried out a few other options that create the same effect. They are perhaps easier to knit, but I felt that the actual cable wasn’t as polished.
Option 1: Sl 4 sts onto cable needle and hold at front, k1, return 3 sts to LH needle (1 st still on cn), p1, hold cn at back, [k1, p1] from LH needle, k1 from cn.
Option 2: Sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, k1 from LH needle, p1 from back cn, [k1,p1] from front cn, k1 from back needle.