Horizontal Cable Tutorial
I love Celtic interlacing, and cables of all kinds. The true, horizontal two-stitch cable has been the holy grail for me for about two years. Actually, a better metaphor would be the four-minute mile, as you’ll see. Various work-arounds have been tried: knitting a cable, turning the knitting horizontally, then picking up stitches to knit away from it; applied I-cord, duplicate-stitching a cable horizontally after the project has been knitted, Russian Long Stitch, vikkel braids, etc.
Now you can turn a single cable sideways and upright again, creating all sorts of design possibilities previously only imagined.
This is my first go at the tutorial; if there are confusing parts, I’will be happy to improve it. At some point, I may be brave enough to do a video tutorial.
Now that my Dunfallandy Baby Blanket has been published by Knitty, I can't wait to show y'all how I made it.
For all of the horizontal cables described below, you’ll need a cable needle about the size of your current knitting needles—at least at first, even if you are so cool that you usually work without one. Some knitters may find a crochet hook helpful, too. Standard knitting abbreviations are used.
Starting and Ending a Simple Horizontal Cable
Note that the first stitches worked in the cable will look loose or wonky in the beginning, but will settle down as the work progresses. Be sure not to pull the yarn tightly around the back of the work, or to work the cable tightly, as that will flatten it out. There will be a net increase of 1 stitch on the first row, and a decrease of 1 stitch on the second row.
Row 1: Work the background stitches to the place where you want the cable to begin, then knit the next 2 stitches. Using a crochet hook or cable needle, draw up a loop with the working yarn from the center of each of the two knit stitches just worked,
the right one and then the left, so that there are 2 stitches on the cable needle—no twisted stitches. Think of it as inserting the cable/left hand needle into or under (if it’s a purl stitch) the stitch from front to back, yarn over that needle on the back side of the fabric, then pull that needle back out again to the front with the strand still on it. It may be easier with a crochet hook.
Orient the two loops so that they are coming out of the work without twisting, and the cable needle is parallel to the right needle. See below.
Now, rotate the cable needle counterclockwise a little as if it’s a hand on a clock, so you’re holding it like a left hand needle, sliding the stitches to the other end of the cable needle, with the right-most stitch pulled the most.
Knit the 2 stitches, slip the 2 stitches to the left hand needle, increase by YO (the yarn will be coming from the left hand needle at first), k1, ssk. *Slip the last 3 stitches worked back to left hand needle, do kbf (not a kfb), again with yarn coming from the left hand needle, k1, ssk. Rep from *8 times more, or as many times as desired. Repeat from * one more time, but don’t do the last ssk—do a p2tog instead to finish the cable.
After k2. After slipping 3 cbl sts to LH ndl.
About to p2tog to finish.
Now we’ll bind off the loose stitches above the horizontal cable, and on the next row, pick up and knit a new set. Why not just work the rest of the row and ktbl for the loose stitches on the way back? It can be done; I’ve done patterns like the Dunfallandy Blanket that way, and the other cables support the fabric so well, that the loose stitches don’t show. But for making most horizontal cables, this gives a better, sturdier effect.
Pass the stitches of the horizontal cable back to the left hand needle, up to the 2 beginning knit stitches, which are still on the right hand needle. *On the right hand needle, pass the second stitch over the first, then slip the next stitch on the left needle to the right. Repeat from * until you have also slipped a stitch over the p2tog. Work across the rest of the row. The horizontal cable takes up the row on which it was worked, and covers the row below it.
Slip Stitch Bind Off Right Needle Pick up and knit.
Next row: Work the background stitches, then pick up and knit through the back loop of each bound off stitch to replace it. Then K2tog to return the stitch count back to what it was before.
If your cable was too tight, it will be flat. You can sometimes get more definition by tugging the bottom edge of it upwards, redistributing some of the tension.
Starting and Ending a Square or Rectangular Cable
There will be a net increase of 2 stitches after the bottom of the rectangle is started, and a net decrease of 3 stitches when finished.
Row 1: Begin the base of the rectangle by following Row 1 of the directions above for a simple cable, ending with an ssk. Bind off all but the first two and last two stitches, since they will become the new vertical cables, one stitch of bind off left. Complete remainder of row.
Row 2: Work across to the cable, purl the first 2 stitches, which will be the left upright on the other side of the fabric, k1, then pick up and knit the back strand of each bound off stitch to the last 2 stitches (which will form the right upright on the other side), and purl them. There will be a couple of gaps at the end, but these will close up in succeeding rows.
Continue to work evenly, knitting the knits, and purling the purls on front and back of the fabric, until you are ready to make the top crossbar.
Final Right Side Row: On the right side, work to the first vertical cable. Knit the 2 stitches, slip the stitches to left hand needle, YO, k1, ssk, *slip the last 3 stitches from the left hand needle to the right, kbf, k1, ssk. Repeat from * until you’ve reached the left vertical cable, ending with an ssk. Do slip stitch bind off as for the first horizontal cable instructions, stopping 2 stitches before the upright cable on the left (one stitch from binding off left). Knit the 2 stitches of the left upright cable, and continue working across the row.
Final Wrong Side Row: Work the background stitches until you reach the first stitch above the horizontal cable. This will be a decrease from 4 stitches to one. Slip one stitch from the left hand needle to the right. On the left hand needle, pass the next to the last stitch over the last stitch and off the needle. Slip the stitch closest to the needle tip on the left hand needle to the right hand needle. On the right hand needle, pass the second stitch over the stitch and off the needle. Pass the stitch closest to the needle tip on the right needle, to the left needle. On the left hand needle, pass the next to the last stitch over the stitch and off the needle. Knit this final stitch, k1, pick up and knit the bound off stitches until reaching the last 2 stitches of the cable, k2tog. Finish working the row in pattern. Whew.
I rarely have a problem with loose stitches after a few rows or rounds, but if I do, this is one way to fix it: If the stitches are still loose a few rows later, turn the work to the wrong side. Thread a tapestry needle with a strand of the same yarn used in the project. Anchor the yarn to one side of the cable. Pick up one loose strand of each “V” on the back side of the cable, twist it, and run the needle through the twisted loop. The picture shows the needle lifting up one side of a “V” in the middle of a cable. Do the same for each “V,” then anchor the yarn on the other end, by weaving it through several stitches again. Cut yarn.
Applications
• My favorite application of horizontal cables is making Celtic designs that weren’t possible or easily done before, due to unavoidable horizontal cords. One example is the Dunfallandy Baby Blanket I mentioned earlier. They can also be used to connect design elements.
• A horizontal cable can be used to make a square or rectangle to frame a design.
• Letters of the alphabet can be “written” in cables, using horizontals as needed. If you are starting with a letter that has an upright, such as an “F,” be sure to increase one stitch in the row you begin the cable, to avoid puckering of the fabric. If you are finishing a letter with an upright, such as an “L,” decrease one stitch in the last row of the cable, again, to avoid puffing out of the fabric. Barbara Walker’s Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns explains how to make a closed-ring cable, which can be used to make letters such as “o.” I’m also working on a series of alphabet samplers and hope to have them available soon.
• If you are knitting an item from the center out as a square or a circle, it is easy to outline the shape by working what feels like a horizontal cable all the way around, but will look like a square, circle, hexagon, or whatever the work in the round was, all the way around.