What Is Cable Knitting?

In knitting, cables are three-dimensional designs you add to your knitted piece. They add texture and interest and can make a piece more unique. Cables are columns of stitches that travel left and right across the knitted background, wrapping around each other like snakes and making curves, diagonals, and even circles.

To create cables, you can follow a pattern or your own imagination. To make the columns of stitches travel, you switch the order of the stitches on your needle, usually crossing knit stitches in front of purl stitches or other knit stitches. Stitches can cross to the left or to the right, or even both at the same time

Why Learn to Cable Knit?

Once you can knit cables, you can add interest to any knitted piece you are intending to make. Add texture and character to hats, sweaters, socks, mittens; make reversible garments like scarves and blankets; you can even combine cables with other knitting techniques like Fair-Isle knitting and Brioche knitting to create eye-popping colorful cables.

Adding cables to your projects is a way to increase the interest and challenge in any knitted piece without venturing too far outside your comfort zone. It’s a way to increase your breath of projects in the intermediate and advanced knitting realms.

What Are Some of the Challenges Involved in Learning Cables?

Cabling involves learning and understanding new abbreviations. It can be hard to remember and understand what all the different cable abbreviations mean and why.

Cabling also involves getting used to manipulating stitches and needles in new ways. It can be physically challenging to move the stitches around and get them to go where you want them to go (until you learn the best ways to do so, of course).

Lastly, most cable patterns are written using charts, so if you haven’t yet gotten comfortable reading charts, this presents an extra hurdle as you try to learn cables and charts at the same time. Fortunately, charts are designed to make reading knitting patterns easier, not harder and, once you know to read them, you’ll be able to knit many more interesting patterns that you might have avoided before.

What is a Cable Needle? Do I Need One to Knit Cables?

A cable needle is a very short knitting needle with points at both ends. To cable using a cable needle, you slip a certain number of stitches onto a cable needle and hold them to the front or the back of your work while knitting the stitches on your main needles. You then slip the reserved stitches back onto your main needles or knit them right off the cable needle.

If you do not have a cable needle, you can use a regular double-pointed needle to create cables. Use one the same size as or any size smaller than the needles you are using for your project.

However, you do not need a cable needle to create most cables. Using sharply-tapered or lace needles and the right know-how, you can safely remove and rearrange stitches to create cables using just the two knitting needles you are working with. This makes it easier to cable on-the-go as you do not need to make sure you have any special equipment with you to do your cables.

Our course teaches you to cable confidently with and without a cable needle so you can choose the method that works for you. My preference is to cable without a cable needle because I think it is faster, easier, and more fun.

What Are Some of Common Cable Abbreviations?

Here are the principle cable abbreviations you will want to start by learning:
Don’t let these symbols scare you off! All you need for cable knitting is a little confidence. Working along with our videos, including five in-depth videos showing you how to fix all sorts of cabling mistakes, will give you the confidence you need to enjoy taking on any cabled project.

How Will I Learn to Knit Cables in This Course?

We’ll learn to knit cables on a real cabled project: a pair of bulky cabled legwarmers with buttons. The project goes fast and the bulky yarn helps you easily see what you’re doing.

We’ll work row-by-row through a 45-row cabled legwarmer chart, learning to read your work, recognize knits and purls, and adding in 3-and-4-stitch left and right twists (a kind of cable) and cables throughout.

You many want to start by learning each kind of cable using a cable needle on the first legwarmer and then doing the cables on the second legwarmer without a cable needle.

What Materials Will I Need to Follow Along With This Course?

To create the Bulky Cabled Legwarmers with Buttons that is this course’s main project, you’ll need:

• Yarn: 260 yds (240 m) super-bulky yarn. Shown: 2 skeins Brown Sheep Burly Spun
• Needles: 1 pair straight needles, US size 15 (10.0 mm) or size required to get gauge (2.5 sts/in); Optional: 1 US size 15 cable needle
• Notions: 8 1-inch buttons, stitch markers, scissors, tapestry needle

The gauge for this project is 2.5 sts/in in Stockinette st.

The Palindrome Reversible Cable Scarf can be worked in any weight of yarn and corresponding needle size. We recommend wool yarn (washable or otherwise) and sharp needles like Signature Needle Arts stiletto tip single points to create the reversible cables without a cable needle as shown in the first bonus video. Wool yarn is bouncier and stretchier than acrylic or cotton and it will make it easier and more fun to make this large (8-stitch) cable.

What Techniques Will I Learn in This Course?

On our main Cabled Legwarmers project, you’ll learn how to:

• Read a cable chart instead of a written pattern
• Think about and understand the many different cable abbreviations
• Keep track of your pattern progress without counting rows
• Perform a Twist 3 Left, Twist 3 Right, Cable 4 Left, and Cable 4 Right
• Cable with and without a cable needle
• Create a two-row buttonhole
• Avoid, undo, and fix beginner-to-advanced cabling mistakes
• Read your work and recognize your stitches so you don’t get confused, and
• Securely attach buttons and make a twisted-cord tie

Plus, with our NEW bonus Palindrome Scarf videos, you’ll also learn how to:

• Work large (8-stitch) reversible cables without a cable needle
• Remove rows of knitting and get them back on your needle
• Find out which row you’re on by looking at your knitting
• And more!

If you do not want to knit a whole project just to get the hang of cables, I am including two in-depth cable-without-a-cable-needle videos that teach you how to read charts and knit simple and complex cables on a small swatch. That way you can learn the techniques and then apply them to whatever project you are ready to get started on.

In these two bonus cable chart videos, you’ll learn:

• C4R without a cable needle
• C4L without a cable needle
• T4R without a cable needle
• T4L without a cable needle
• T3R without a cable needle
• T3L without a cable needle
• Chart symbols and how to make sense of them
• Tips for tension, keeping your place, and figuring out where you are

All Techniques Demonstrated American (English) and Continental Style

If you’re the kind of knitter that needs to see exactly what stitches and techniques are supposed to look like, you’re in luck. We demonstrate every move with the yarn held in both the left and right hands so that no matter which way you knit, you’ll see clearly what you want to see.

60-Day 100% Money-Back Guarantee

You are protected by our 60-day no-questions-asked 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee. Try any of our courses out for 60 days. If you don’t love everything you learn and tell all your friends, we’ll give you your money back.

While we money-back guarantee your satisfaction with KnitFreedom, downloading videos acknowledges that you are happy with the product and are no longer eligible to receive a refund. Please review the videos in your online class first if you think you might need a refund.

We have stood behind this guarantee since we started KnitFreedom more than 10 years ago, and we receive almost no refund requests. Our students love learning with KnitFreedom, and we invite you to try it too, 100% risk-free.

Personal Answers to Your Knitting Questions

We know self-taught knitters have questions, and we never want you to feel alone. As a KnitFreedom student you have access to personal knitting coaching via email at any time. Just email [email protected] Knitting expert and video teacher Liat Gat will answer your questions about cable knitting. You can even send in a photo of your knitting if you aren’t sure how to explain what’s happened.

Downloadable Videos for Offline Viewing

If you go on vacation and want to take your knitting videos with you, or you live in an area with unreliable/slow Internet, you can download all our class videos to your computer at any time, and transfer them to your mobile devices as well.