Tag Archives: reading your knitting

The Library is Open- Part 2: Cables

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Let’s talk about cables!  They’re some of my favorite things to knit, and they look super impressive.  But here’s the secret- they’re actually pretty easy!  (Especially if you can read your knitting as you go, instead of relying on a row counter to keep track of your pattern.)

Here’s the little sample I’m going to talk about today.  (These cables are both pretty simple, but the concepts I talk about here could totally be applied to more complicated cables.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHere’s a cool thing about cables- 90% of them are done with knit stitches, and 90% of them only work crossover rows on the right-side.  That totally simplifies it, right off the bat!

First off, let’s figure out how wide these cables are.  This is super easy!  Just look at the widest part of the cable and count the knit stitches across, just like we did last week.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe cable on the left is 3 stitches across, and the cable on the right is 4 stitches across.

Next, we’ll determine how the crossover is worked for our cable.  Look at the narrowest part of the cable (where the two parts of the cable actually cross), and count how many stitches are on top.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe cable on the left has 1 stitch on top, and the cable on the right has 2 stitches.  This, combined with the width means that the left cable is a 1×2 cable, and the right cable is a 2×2 cable.

That’s all there is to figuring out the stitch count for a cable!  Next, we need to figure out how many rows each repeat takes.

Start by identifying the crossover row.  It should be the row where the stitches are all slanted sideways, instead of being nice, upright “v’s.”OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen count the rows from one slanty v up to the next one.  I like to count the outside edge stitches- I think they’re easier to see.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe left cable has 3 rows in-between each crossover row, so it’s a 4-row repeat.  The right cable has 5 rows between each crossover row, so it’s a 6-row repeat.

If we combine all the information we learned, we can come up with the pattern:  The left cable is a 3-stitch cable, with a 1×2 crossover worked every 4th row.  The right cable is a 4-stitch cable, with a 2×2 crossover worked ever 6th row.

So, now that we know the pattern, what’s should we do next to continue the swatch?

Look down the cable to the most recent crossover row, then count rows up to the needle.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe left cable has been worked 1 row past the last crossover, so we need to work 2 more rows even before we make the next crossover.  The right cable has been worked 5 rows past the last crossover, so we can work the crossover on the next row.

Does that make sense?  Do you have any favorite tips for working cables?

 

The Library is Open-Part 1

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The other day, I was kitting with a friend, drinking coffee and working on my cabled sweater, when I noticed her watching what I was doing with a look of vague concern and puzzlement.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

She responded, “How do you to that?”

“Do what?”

“How can you make such a complicated project without making a million notes and keeping track of all your rows and looking at a pattern constantly?”

I replied,  “Well, it’s mostly just knitting the knits and purling the purls, and keeping track of my rows.”

She looked at me like I was crazy, and I realized that no one had ever taught her how to read her knitting.

I am here to fix that today, in case anyone else out there in internet-land hasn’t been reading their knitting, either.  Because, there is nothing so useful as being able to look at your knitting and figure out where you are in your pattern and what you need to do next (or, to be able to look at your knitting and figure out where you went wrong).

We’ll start with a very simple example, just knits and purls.  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAt minimum, reading your knitting will let you know the stitches you need to work next to remain “in pattern,” and will tell you how many rows you’ve already worked.

To look at your stitches, look at the row directly underneath your needle.  There, you’ll see either little V’s (knits), or little bumps (purls).  If you want to stay “in pattern” (for example, if you’re doing ribbing), you’ll knit when you come across a knit in the row below, and you’ll purl when you come across a purl in the row below.  (This is what people refer to as “knitting the knits and purling the purls.”)

In our example, I’ve highlighted the stitches in the example below:sts(Note:  I’ve worked the first and last 2 sts in garter stitch, which means that you just knit every row, so I don’t have to worry about reading those 4 sts!)

The other basic skill in reading your knitting is figuring out how many rows you’ve worked.  Of course, you can use a stitch counter or paper and pencil to keep track of your rows, but you’ll inevitably get caught up in the episode of Law and Order you’re watching and lose track of your count.  (What?  That’s just me?)

Rows are easiest to count in stockinette.  This sample is ribbed, but you can think of the knit portion of ribbing as just a skinny little section of stockinette.  You’ll again look for the V-shaped stitches, and then count down the whole column (don’t count the stitch that’s on your needle).  Like this:

rowsSo, I can tell that this swatch has been worked for 8 rows, because there are 8 little V’s.

See, not so bad!  I use these techniques all the time, and I bet they’ll totally help you, too.

Next time, I’ll talk about reading your knitting while making cables!