Free Cable Knitting Pattern – Reversible Cable Ribbed Scarf

This free cable knitting pattern is a nice thick scarf featuring a “cabled rib” design that looks the same on both sides.

If you’ve never knit cables before, this scarf is a great project to learn on. The cable is a simple 4 stitch rope cable worked over 6 rows.

If you need to learn how to knit cables, please check out my cable knitting video lesson.

I like the long tail cast on because it is fast and, once you get the hang of it, easy. It can be made tight if necessary, or very loose as needed, simply by adjusting the size of the needle or needles used during the cast on. If you need a tight, stable cast on edge, use a size or two smaller needle. If you need loose, stretch cast on, use several sizes larger needle. For the cuff of socks or mittens, I just double up the needles I’ll be working with to do the cast on. Then pull one needle out of the cast on, and start knitting.

Here is a video demonstration of the Long Tail Cast On.

This is the last photo taken of the Shawl Collar Jacket by Wendy Baker I’m knitting. As of two days ago, it was finished. There is a strong emphasis on the ‘was’.

It also was way too big. Somewhere in the neighborhood of I could use it as an afghan.

It is now a dozen or so balls of yarn. I’d been kicking around the question of what to do with it for way too long. My wife finally said I had to deal with it because it was taking up too much space (get it?). I don’t think she meant that as a joke. So, two nights ago I frogged that bad boy right up. It took months to get through the knitting, and less than an hour to undo it all. It would have taken less time, but my wife wouldn’t let me turn our ball winder into a battery drill attachment.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but I’m frustrated with this particular project. I’m going to let the yarn sit for a while and decide if I’m going to reknit the same sweater or find a new use for it.

In the mean time, I’ve started venturing into realm of publishing video lessons. I’ve already posted one video on how to knit a cable without a cable needle. Hopefully someone finds it useful, please let me know if you do. I’ve got a couple more videos recorded and will be posting them soon. If you have any requests for video lessons, please post a comment and let me know what you want to see. I’ve got a few ideas based on what I struggled with when I started knitting, but I’m always open to suggestions.

I also did something this week I haven’t done in a long time… I ordered some yarn. A lot of yarn. A whole sweater worth. I’ve had some color issues ordering online before, so I’ll wait for it to arrive before giving out any more details.

Ok, maybe one hint. This sweater will go very well with my Jayne hat.

The answer is: Lose the cable needle!

Here is the simple technique I use for knitting cables without a cable needle.

I now see what I did wrong.  I picked up the wrap incorrectly on the knit side.  I also wrapped backwards on the purl side.  So that, hopefully, explains why both sides look bad.

Now I just have to convince myself to frog the darn thing and do it right.

It’s been a really quick knit, and I’m happy with the way it turned out.

I followed the pattern darn near to the letter.  I think there was a mistake on the separation of stitches for the sleeves.  The pattern says, “k to the first marker, remove it, k1.  Using a blunt darning needle and scrap yarn, slip all the sts between here and the next marker to the length of yarn to hold fro the left sleeve.“  The right sleeve is pretty much the same instruction.  The problem is that this leaves 39 stitches on the yarn, and the sleeve is off-center by 1 stitch.  Later, when working the sleeves, you pick up 10 stitches from the under arm.  You should have 50 stitches at this point, but 39 + 10 = 49.  I think it would work best to leave off the k1 after removing the first marker.  That would center the sleeve in a way that makes much more sense, and it would leave you with the right number of stitches.

This is a top-down Raglan, so instead of the “Raglan Decrease” being K2tog,  SSK, it was worked as a pair of increases.  The pattern said to knit into the front and back of the stitch for both increases.  I started doing that, but it really didn’t look good.  So instead, I did a M1R and M1L pair.  These look very much like the K2tog, SSK pair of increases.

The only other issue I had was that I knit the first sleeve to the length the pattern indicated.  Gwen was long since asleep when I got to finishing the first sleeve last night, so I couldn’t try it on her.  When I tried it on this morning, it was about 4 inches too long.  My bad.  Luckily this is knit top down, so I just frogged back the right length, and finished the sleeve off again.  I tried it on once more before starting the other sleeve, and it fit much better.

The second sleeve went much quicker.  It was shorter, and I’m getting better with magic loop.

So here is the finished product.  Once again, Gwen has been asleep for quite a while now, so I can’t get a picture of her modeling it right now.

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I’ve never done Argyle before, and I’ve never done socks flat. I’ve also never done any project on these tiny needles.  I’ve done Intarsia before, but only with 3 color blocks.  This sock has 9 color groups.  There are a lot of firsts here, so it should be interesting.

I am having fun with this project.  I’m also learning a lot as I go.  I decide to knit the white lines as I go, instead of doing a duplicate stitch later.  When I first started, I actually had 13 color groups, as I had a different yarn for the black on either side of the white line.  I learned later that it is much easier to cary the color over the white line, and eliminate 4 yarns.  That’s a lot less to get all tangled up.

I also learned early on to not untangle the yarn unless absolutely necessary.  Just looking at the sock causes the yarn to form a tightly woven birds nest.  It’s better to just let the yarn tangle all up, and keep on knitting.  If it gets too difficult to work, untangle it then.

I experimented with bobbins as well.  I got some of those little plastic ones.  They worked well, but made the tangling much, much worse.  They ended up just being a nuisance, as I had to keep unwinding yarn from them.  I tried the figure-eight center pull windings.  I’ve used them before on Intarsia with a lot of success.  They too just got in the way here.  I finally settled on just letting the yarn run free.  I pull 2 to 3 yards (or meters for the metrically inclined out there) from the ball, and cut it off.  Then just let it hang while knitting.  The nice thing about his method, is it makes untangling quite easy.  Just pull each yarn out of the tangle.  Give them a pull, and they come right out.  It also helps to keep the whites shorter than the rest.  There are very few white stitches, so you don’t need much.

Here is a picture of the sock so far:

I placed another order for yarn for my argyle socks yesterday.

See, I ordered Knitpicks palette yarn, which seems nice.  It looks nice.  It feels nice.  But the color samples they have posted on their website?  …not so nice.

I planned a black sock, with blue and lighter blue boxes (not sure what they are called, argyles?) and white lines.  The black is good.  (“It’s like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black.” – Nigel Tufnel).  I ordered Navy for the darker color.  It’s so dark, I can barely tell the difference between it and the black.  in fact, I knit a swatch,and switch colors halfway through.  I had to hold it right under a florescent light to see where the color change was.  The lighter blue, Marine Heather, is now going to be my darker blue.  I have more yarn coming, as I don’t have a light blue.

At least now I know what size needle I need for gauge, and I have a shiny new wooden 3mm 32″ circular needle coming.

Hopefully I’ll get the new yarn next week before Thanksgiving, so I can work it at the relatives.

Kind of like showing off.

That’s not bad is it?

Click on the image to get a larger view.

Here is the long awaited legend for this chart:

I’m really happy with the results, and it fits really well.  Of course, that is kind of the point of a custom knit sweater.

Here are a few pictures of the sweater I call FLAK…