Cables Galore!

It’s January and cold and My Sister Knits has an abundance of hat samples! This is the ideal time to make a new hat! While you’re at it, make one with cables! Hats are a great way to try out new techniques as they work up quickly and let you try your new skill on something small.

This is the Fulton hat, designed by Emily Greene.

Cables are fun and so satisfying to make! If you’ve never tried them before, we have some hats on display for you to look at and try on. 

Here is Minted, designed by Andrea Mowry.

And here is a baby sized version of Minted! Be sure to feel the difference between the two hats! Different yarns can give a drastically different finished product. It all depends on your preferences!

Cables are made from stitches that are knitted out of order. You put a specified number of stitches, usually two to four, onto a small cable needle. Then you hold them either in front or in back of the fabric, knit a few stitches as usual, and then knit the held stitches from the cable needle. That’s all there is to it! Here is a helpful tutorial that is chock full of information.

This is Tied Knots, designed by Justyna Lorkowska. This hat can be worn several different ways; long, slouchy, or with a folded brim as in the photo below.

Tied Knots is a free pattern!

If you already love making cables, why not try working them without a cable needle? This speeds up your knitting which you may or may not care about. As Stephen West says, “embrace the pace”.  It’s also less fiddly. Here is a tutorial from Ysolda that has stood the test of time!

©ysolda.com Cabling without a cable needle

As long as you’re trying something different, why not do something new with your ribbing at the same time? A tubular cast on creates a beautiful professional edge anywhere ribbing is required. We have two tutorials for you: one is from Brooklyn Tweed and one is from Very Pink Knits. Each uses a different technique but has the same outcome. We encourage you to watch both and see which one you like the best.

Reminder: check out our upcoming classes to see which one calls to you!

Remember, we’re always here to help you with yarn or patterns and we thoroughly enjoy oohing and aahing over your projects!

Happy knitting,