Show and tell for my knitting readers...
Knitters know cables are a one-sided affair. One side looks marvelously complicated and the other side looks like a lumpy mess. Most cabled knitting is knitted on one side and purled on the other – with a few stitches separating the cables. Because of this patterning, projects with cables are not reversible.
A Design Challenge
As someone who designed knitting patterns for a short time, I rarely take the easy knitting route. But, I do like designs that have a repetitive pattern that you can quickly get the hang of and rotely knit. I had seen a cashmere reverse cabled scarf at Barneys. I know what you're thinking … She shops at Barneys? Well, Barneys is lovely, and I have had a few shopping moments at Barneys, but I drooled over the scarf at a Barneys outlet store. I wish I had taken a picture of it.
I had it in my head that I would create a similar scarf with reverse cables. There were a few requirements for the design: no background stitches between the cables, no edge stitches, and the cables should produce an irregular wave-like panel.
After a few failed attempts, I tried cabling a K2, P2 rib. The 2 X 2 rib naturally pulls in and creates the magical wavy edge. Even more remarkable, it looks the same on both sides! I promise, this pattern is not as hard as it looks.
The Magical Reverse Cable Scarf
Materials:
Yarn: Natural Gray Blue Sky Baby Alpaca Sport Weight ~ 4 skeins
Needles: U.S. Size 8 needles, cable needle
Directions:
CO 50 st.
Row 1 Sl first st as if to Purl with yarn in front, P2, K2 across, end k1.
Row 2 Sl first st as if to Knit with yarn in back, P2, K2 across, end k1.
Rows 3, 5 and 7 same as Row 1
Rows 4 and 6 same as Row 2
Row 8: Sl 1st st as if to purl with yarn in front, work next 16 sts in pattern. *Put next 8 sts on holder, hold to back, work next 8 sts in pattern, work 8 sts in pattern from the cable needle*, work next 16 sts in pattern, K1
Rows 9-15: repeat rows 1-7
Row 16: Slip the first st as if to Purl. Work cable from * to *. Work next 16 sts in pattern, repeat cable * to *, K1
Work for desired length. End with row 15. Bind off in pattern.
Happy Knitting!
I’ve been admiring the sky. The early, check early morning sky…and the late, late afternoon sky. One of the things I love most about living in the Hudson Valley is the color of the mid to late August sky. The morning pinks vibrantly pop on the deep hazy green backdrop. In the early evening, the brilliant blue sky is tinted with an orangey foretelling of fall.
The Hudson River School began capturing this landscape in the mid-1800’s. I recently took a walk on a wonderful local trail, Poet’s Walk. It winds past the Hudson River and is often visited by a line up of artists painting similar depictions of the river, as old masters did so many years before.
