A Polkadotsheep Cable Knit-a-long!

Are you set to start knitting your Off Piste hat or Barleycove boot toppers with us in our third KAL of 2013? It is so exciting to see a number of returning participants from previous KALs along with new people joining us.

If you are unfamiliar with the details of this KAL and its patterns, read all about them in the Announcing Cable KAL! blog post. Jamie H. will be co-leading with me and Aimee will be available to answer questions as the designer.

Madelinetosh Pashmina in Antler for Angela’s Barleycove boot toppers

I am knitting the Barleycove boot toppers in Madelinetosh Pashmina. But, truthfully I am going to wear them as legwarmers with my skirts and Dansko clogs in the fall and winter. I am not a tall boot person, I wish I was but they make me feel short (a personal problem I know). But I love my clogs and I think they are going to look super cute with tights and a skirt. So if you are not a boot wearer and yet want to knit a pair of Barleycove, join me in my fashion adventure. Plus Pashmina has cashmere and silk along with the merino wool, so they are going to be super cushy and luxurious.

Blue Sky’s Worsted Cotton in Aloe for Jamie’s Off Piste

Jamie will be knitting up an Off Piste hat in BSA Worsted Cotton. She chose Aloe, a lovely soft blue-green. This particular hat is destined to live part of its life as a Knit ‘n Needle Yarn Shoppe sample so if you are in Whitefish, you can stop in and see it.

As a starter for you, I want to share this video done by Amanda Keep, one of Berroco Yarn’s designers. It explains how cables work very well and clearly.

Amanda demonstrates cables that only use knit stitches. Both the Off Piste and the Barleycove have cables that have both knit and purl stitches in them. You don’t work them any differently but you will need to read the cable instruction carefully and note the knits and purls.

If this is your first experience with cables, I suggest that you use a cable needle  for your cables. In a pinch, a double pointed needle will work. Working with a cable needle can feel awkward. I think this is why people struggle with cables. But like anything, you get faster and the needle feels less strange with more practice. It also seems very fiddly moving stitches here and there. However there are not cable crosses on every single row. Usually there will be at least one row between rows with cable crosses. Where and how frequently cable crosses occur depends on the cable design and the type and scale of the project.

Later this week as people get into their projects, I will post about cabling without a cable needle. But in order to that, you need to have a good understanding of how the cables work.

So go get your yarn, needles and pattern and cast on with us today!

Happy Knitting!

~Angela M.