58810 The Knitters Bible0

CABLES

Cables arc simply a way of twisting two sets of stitches or carrying stitches across the fabric. There arc two ways of moving the stitches; cabling and Crossing. Stitches are cabled when all the stitches arc knitted, hut stitches are crossed when knit stitches arc moved over a background of purl stitches. In patterns, cables are twisted to the back or front, while crossed stitches move right or left.

Cable four front (C4F)

1 Slip the next two stitches from the left-hand needle on to a cable needle and hołd at the front of the work.

2 Knit the next two stitches on the left-hand needle. then knit the two stitches from the cable needle.

Basic abbreviations for cables...

C4F    cable four front

C4B    cable four back

Cr4L    cross four left

Cr4R    cross four nght

When following a patiem with cables, the designer wiII explain how to work the cables under speaal obbreviations at the start of the pattem.

The two tcchniques to learn are moving the stitches at the back and moving them at the front. This is dorie by holding the stitches on a cable needle cithcr at the back or the front of the work. This simple cable twists two sets of knit stitches, using four stitches.

Cable four back (C4B)

1 Slip the next two stitches from the left-hand needle on to a cable needle and hołd at the back of the work.

2 Knit the next two strtches on the left-hand needle. then knit the two stitches from the cable needle.

Morę cables...

C6F or C6B is worked by slipping three stitches on to the cable needle and then knitting three stitches. C8F or C8B is worked with four stitches in each part of the cable. The morę stitches there are in a cable. the morę rows there are between twists. So C4F or C4B has three rows straight. C6F or C6B has five rows straight and so on. To make a looser cable. work morę rows straight between twists.

Cross four left (Cr4L)

Instead of twisting stitches to form cables, stitches can be crossed, carrying two knit stitches to the left or right, ovcr a background of purl stitches.

1    Slip the next two stitches from the left-hand needle on to a cable needle and hołd at the front of the work.

2    Purl the next two strtches on the left-hand needle. then knit the 2 strtches from the cable needle.