Cables

Cables come in two kinds in my patterns, and one of them is much easier than it looks. 44 designs use one of them. Here is the difference, what they do to the garment, and where you find them.

Mock cable – the look of a cable without a cable needle

Mock cable gives the texture and shadow of a real cable, but without crossing the stitches over on a separate needle. You knit straight on, and the pattern builds itself.

That is why I use it so much on beanies. A beanie is a small project, and it should ideally be finished in an evening or two. Mock cable gives a lot of look for little work.

If this is your first beanie with texture, mock cable is the place to start. If you can knit and purl, you can do this.

Real cables – the stitches cross

In real cable knitting, groups of stitches change places with each other, and the crossing is what forms the cable pattern. It needs a bit more attention than mock cable, but no more than it goes fine on beanie number two.

Real cables give a clearer, more sculpted cable. Mock cables give a calmer, more graphic look. Both are right — it depends on how much you want the beanie or the garment to say.

What cables do to the garment

Cables pull in. A cabled section is narrower than a stockinette section with the same number of stitches. That is why the cables sit where they sit in my patterns — above the ribbing on a beanie, where you actually want a little shaping in.

They also use more yarn than stockinette. Count on that when you buy.

Yarn, needles and gauge

• 7 mm needle is the main needle in nearly all my cable designs, often combined with 5 or 6 mm for the ribbing.
• Gauge 12 stitches × 10 cm is the house standard.
• Level: Beginner plus on almost all of them. That means you should already know knit, purl and ribbing — the rest is in the pattern.
• Wool and alpaca dominate here, often with mohair as a carry-along strand. Cables show best in a yarn with some firmness; airy mohair on its own blurs the texture.

If you want to change yarn, the gauge is what decides, not the brand.

How to knit a cable

The technique is in the Knitting School, together with the other pattern techniques. See Knitting School Part 7 for cables, stripes and popcorn stitch.

The method itself is also given step by step in each pattern, with photos. You do not need to know it beforehand.