My first go at knitting cables!
And you know what?... easy peasy! Really, it's like one of those things that looks at least several times more complicated than it is. Before I started knitting I would look at intricate cable designs on things and think that it was some sort of magic, the way stitches travel across the surface of the knitting, weaving in and out of themselves.
I had already planned to make a pair of these fingerless gloves called Fetching as a gift, and thought they'd make a nice little project to have a go at knitting cables. As I mentioned in my last post I bought a couple of balls of scrummy Debbie Bliss yarn at the Tapestry Craft sale on Saturday, in fact with this project in mind. This yarn is a luxury blend of cashmere, Merino wool and a small amount of microfibre, and it is the softest, most squidgy yarn I have ever felt. Delicious!
(Yes I know the yarn is purple, but these are no Barney Hands this time around. Plus the woman I'm knitting these for likes colourful things, and what could be more colourful than purple, right? I do have to kick this purple habit though...)
I cast on last night and got this far while watching a bit of Sunday night tv. Talk about Instant Gratification Knitting! I should have the pair finished in another couple of night's worth of knitting. I'm knitting them on 4 dpns (double pointed needles), using the fantastic joining method my friend Kerry showed me where you slip the first stitch on the left needle over onto the right needle and then slip that last stitch on the right needle over onto the left. In effect swapping the first and last stitches to make a seamless join. (You can just see it at the bottom of the knitting in the pic above. Once I weave in the loose end the join will disappear completely.)
Fun! Now I've learnt the basics I can't wait to try some more complicated cables. Cables on everything! I might even make myself a pair of the guy equivalent of these gloves, Dashing. Just the name alone makes me want a pair.
13 comments:
You can also cast on 1 extra stitch and begin the round slipping the last stitch cast on to the position next to the first stitch and begin by knitting the 2 stitches together. Either way works fine, but I find knitting the first 2 together give a more uniform first row.
educational (1)
Thanks IRV! I might try that sometime too.
Wow! That is really beautiful! Your cables are so neat.
Cecilia, thanks! There are times when being a virgo come in handy...
Must. Be. Neat.
I've usually done irv's method for joining but I haven't been satisfied with how it looks...maybe I'm doing it wrong. Anyway, I'm going to try your method, too, Andrew. Thanks!
And your cables are gorge. I still haven't tried.
They're works of art. I say embrace the Purple.
They look great, you're really powering along with them.
Thanks everyone! FG, you really should give cables a try, they're easier in practice than they sound.
"fingerless gloves called Fetching"
I'm not even going to tell you how I read that phrase the *first* time. My dirty eyes inserted an errant "l" in there, let's just put it that way.
LOL, dirty
I love the purple and am insanely jelous of your ability to do cable....it looks lovely :-)
HONESTLY love the PURPLE, Andrew! I would look way hot in that color. Who wouldn't?!
And, too, I also read that line with "felching."
Guess I don't get out much. Or maybe spend too much time on select websites. Just saying.
What a fabulous colour!
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