Free Cable Knit scarf pattern

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Step by step instructions on how to knit this beautiful scarf.

Knitting scarves is a lot of fun. It doesn't take a lot of yarn and you don't have to be a master knitter to get great results. I love knitting in the fall while watching TV.

When I wanted to knit a cable scarf, I couldn't find a nice simple pattern. They were way to complicated and most of them were too wide. So I designed this one. Cable knitting isn't hard at all once you know how to do it. Yet it can give the simplest project a very expensive look.

Things you'll need 

To do cable knitting you'll need these items.

Needles - That goes without saying. I'll give you the needle sizes when we get started.

Row Counter - This is a very important tool. As you knit, you'll need to keep track of the row number so you know when to do the cable. It's a very handy item that slips right on your needles.


Cable needle - This is a small double pointed needle to keep the slipped stitches safe until you need them. A safety pin won't work because it needs to be "open" at both ends.

That's all you need besides your yarn of course. So Let's get started.

Symbols 

K = knit
P = purl
sl = slip the stitches onto the cable needle

That's all you need to know for this pattern.

Cast on 

The best method I've found


I've tried various methods of casting on the stitches and found this one to be the easiest and give the nicest edge. It also eliminates the guess work on how much yarn to start with.

1. Create a slip knot on your left needle.
2. Knit into slip knot, leaving the stitch on the left needle.
3. Place the new stitch onto left needle. You now have two stitches on the left needle
4. Knit into the gap in between the last two stitches on left needle.
5. Place knitted stitch onto left needle. You now have three stitches on the left needle
6. Repeat this step until the number of stitches required are on your left needle.
7. Now, begin knitting normally

The Pattern 

It's time to get started.
Yarn - I used 2 balls of Lions Brand worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles for this scarf. Use a solid light color yarn so the cable shows well.


Cast on 38 stitches.
K2,P2 for 2"

Pattern
Row 1 - K6,P2,K6,P2,K6,P2,K6,P2,K6
Row 2 - P6,K2,P6,K2,P6,K2,P6,K2,P6
Row 3 - repeat row 1
Row 4 - repeat row 2
Row 5 - K6,P2,sl 3 stitches to cable needle and hold in front, K3, knit the three stitches from the cable needle, P2, K6, P2, sl 3 stitches to cable needle and hold in back, K3, knit the three stitches from the cable needle, P2, K6
Row 6 - repeat row 2.

That's the whole pattern. Now you just repeat the pattern until you have the length scarf you want. Then:
K2, P2 for 2"
Cast off

Using bulkier yarn 

When using a 5 bulky yarn.
Use size 10 needles and use the pattern below

Pattern
Cast on 38 stitches.
K2,P2 for 2"
Row 1- K6,P2,K6,P2,K6,P2,K6,P2,K6
Row 2 - P6,K2,P6,K2,P6,K2,P6,K2,P6
Row 3 - repeat row 1
Row 4 - repeat row 2
Row 5 - repeat row 1
Row 6 - repeat row 2
Row 7 - K6,P2,sl 3 stitches to cable needle and hold in front, K3, knit the three stitches from the cable needle, P2, K6, P2, sl 3 stitches to cable needle and hold in back, K3, knit the three stitches from the cable needle, P2, K6
Row 8 - repeat row 2.

With the bulkier yarn, you need to add the extra two rows to stretch the cable out a bit to make the bulkier yarn sit smoother.

I tried doing 3 cables with the bulkier yarn but I found it to be just a bit too heavy.

Variations 

Now that you're comfortable with doing cable knit, you can start getting creative. Here are a few variations you can do.

1. Instead of doing the middle row just knit/purl, cable knit that section as well to make 3 cables. You can make all the cables go the same way by holding all the sl 3 stitches to the front.

2. Decrease the number of stitches and do the center panel with only 2 stitches instead of 6.

3. Do the center panel with another pattern

Seed Stitch

Row 1 = K1,P1
Row 2 = P1,K1




The Double Moss Stitch

Row 1 = Knit two, purl two across.
Row 2 = Knit two, purl two across.
Row 3 = Purl two, knit two across.
Row 4 = Purl two, knit two across.



The possibilities are endless. Be sure to choose a stitch that looks good on both sides.

Online sites you'll find very helpful 

Studio Knits- This site helps you make your pieces look more professional. Her tips and tricks have helped me many times.

Basic Knit Instructions

About.com-Learn to Knit

The Knitting Site

Library of knitting stitches

Knitting Forums 

There's nothing like getting on line and discussing a knitting project with others. Here are some forums you might like to check out. Sign up, join in, you'll find them all very friendly and helpful.

Knitting Help

Knitting Forums.com

About.com-Knitting

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Here are some great books  

For beginner knitters to advanced.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

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buteoflyer wrote...

in reply to erin I' so glad I cleared that up. I was afraid I was making things worse. It was a very late night when I replied and realized that I was just confusing the issue more by mixing up the regular pattern with the bulky knit pattern. I'm glad you managed to make sense of my blabbering. I would really like to see your piece when your finished.

ReplyPosted July 01, 2009

buteoflyer wrote...

in reply to carrie The first cable of the row is always held to front and the second in the row is always held to the back. This will make the cable twist in the same direction each time. It's actually not necessary to do the first one to the front and the second one to the back. You can have it go either direction. But once you start one way, you must continue doing it that way through out the whole piece. If you change it the next time, you won't get the twist look.

ReplyPosted July 01, 2009

Lensmaster

erin wrote

in reply to buteoflyer

oh! i get it now! thank you so much for your help.

Reply Posted June 30, 2009

Lensmaster

carrie wrote

in reply to buteoflyer when doing the cable stitches, do you alternate the cable needle to the front and back every time you do the cable knitting, or do you keep the cable needle on the front every time or the back every time.

Reply Posted June 29, 2009

buteoflyer wrote...

in reply to katie Lets see if I can make this a bit more clear for you. Each row is knit 6, purl 6 ... etc or Purl 6, knit 6... etc. Only row 7 is the actual cable row. Only in row 5 do you use the cable needles and slip the 3 stitches off, knit the next 3 stitches then knit the three on the cable needle. The slipping off of the 3 stitches is done twice in this row. The first time, you hold the three stitches to the front, the second time you hold the stitches to the back. This will give the two cables the opposite twist directions. When you finish row 5, you do one more row of just knit 6, purl 6....(row 6) and you have finished one pattern. You then start with row one again. Does that help? Don't forget to count each row as you finish them to keep track when you are on the 7th row and need to do the cable.

A NOTE TO ERIN - I was looking at the bulky yarn pattern I meant to say When you get to row 6, you have completed one pattern. And you just keep repeating the 6 rows.

ReplyPosted June 29, 2009

 
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