Cable Rib Ankle Socks

I finished these 2x2 cable socks some time after I finished Mimi's cappuccino socks. Well... I started them before Christmas, lay them down, misplaced them, found them again and finished them in January when I was having my thyroid woes. Nothing like keeping your hands busy to get your mind off things.

The cast-on is 64 sts, and I used Monaco crochet cotton with a US size 1 (2.25mm) pair of bamboo needles 40" long. My cable needle - badaboom! - is a bamboo toothpick 2.25mm in diameter. Very very nifty to use a bamboo toothpick, the stitches don't fall off as the surface of the bamboo holds the stitches well. Great for small-diameter portable projects. It follows the standard sock pattern, only I realized (quickly enough in the middle of knitting the first sock) my design error.


You may notice that the last cable columns on either edge of the sock front sort of blend into the stockinette of the underside. I was trying for symmetry, so to fit the cast-on, I inadvertently left the P2 column out. Next time I shall try for:

P1, cable, P2, K2, P2, cable, P2, K2, P2, cable, P2, K2, P2, cable, P1 = 32 (front)


Yes, it's very pretty with clogs and certain sandals.

On The Needles

... are a pair of cable rib ankle socks, in light blue cotton. This is something I started last December but only managed to knit a couple of rows every now and then. The good thing is that I have finished one sock and am just past the heel on the other.

And then the 40" plastic cable and one bamboo needle decide to separate ways. AAARRRRRGHHHH!!! I will be gluing them back together tomorrow morning. Fortunately I have 32" needles for backup.

Did you know, standard bamboo toothpicks from the supermarket make great cable needles? They're actually a US size 1.

This is actually my second pair, the first one are already with Incredible Joie. Due to a stupid miscounting of stitches (yes, that'll teach me to cast one when I'm sleepy) I end up knitting 2 sets of 2x2 ribbing instead of purling them. Regular folks wouldn't notice, but I do, and I just finished them because I'd already gone and finished one. The one that's on the needles now have the correct number of stitches, knitted according to my handwritten notes.

I brought them with me to Baguio, but when your little niece always wants to be playing there's not much you can accomplish. I went back to them today, until the cable separation occurred.

I gave up and made myself a sandwich of Kiwifruit honey and Brie on wholewheat. THAT always works.

P. S. TDM's socks aren't even past the heel yet! That'll be good for another blog entry. The year started out pretty rough for me, I need to get back into a knitting frame of mind.

Work In Progress: Maize Cable Scarf

When I started knitting this scarf I thought it would be for Tristan's birthday, but when I showed it to Joy, she suggested it would be better for our dad PEC, who might actually need it and use it more each time he travels to Baguio.

Given that the stockinette stitch makes the edges curl, I will try to block it properly before presenting it to him. There's roughly 17" length knitted so far (I did the first 15" in one afternoon while watching the CSI Sunday Marathon on AXN). The cable stitch is "Coiled Rope". I cast on 45 sts using a double cast on (slingshot style) which should create a width of 9". The tension is not too tight. Most likely I'll use up both 100g skeins of Lion Brand Cotton Ease Maize from my stash.

It is so incredibly soft!!! I'll post more pictures when I finish and block. Hopefully that's by this weekend.

Cable, and I Don't Mean Internet

This is my first attempt at cable stitches, using Familia M yarn and 3.0mm Milward circulars 40cm long. What did I use for a cable needle? A Susan Bates Quicksilver dpn, US size 2 (2.75mm), with rubber point protectors to prevent the stitches from slipping off.

I got the classic stitch pattern "Coiled Rope", a 3x3 cable design, from the Reader's Digest Step-by-Step Guide to Sewing and Knitting (Sydney, 1993), p. 468.

Multiple of 9 sts plus 3
Rows 1 & 3: *P3, K6*, P3 [or add Row 5]
Rows 2, 4, 6: *K3, P6*, K3 [or add Row 8]
Row 5 [becomes Row 7]: *P3, sl 3 sts on cable needle and leave at back of work, K3, K3 sts from cable needle* P3

What I learned:

1. If you use a dpn as a cable needle, it ought to be slightly smaller than the working needles. This is so you won't be tugging too much at the 3 stitches on the cable needle in order to knit them. Knitting those 3 stitches will be a tad tight and uncomfortable for the knitter if the cable needle is the same size. Also, there will be no gaping holes on either side where the cable "coil" occurs (Row 5).

2. I prefer to modify the stitch pattern to be an 8-row rather than a 6-row pattern. It results in a more comfortable looking coil. This is recommended especially when you are knitting with worsted weight.

3. I made a mistake in the rightmost cable in the above photo. You can see that I missed a knit stitch and it wasn't coiled in. After that I started using point protectors on either side of the dpn, counting very carefully. Also, make sure that in Row 5, after slipping your 3 sts to the cable needle, when you knit the 3 sts on the working needle, keep your yarn source between the cable needle and the working needle. This is so that the long yarn spanning the 3 sts doesn't show in the back. It's hard to explain but you have to see it to understand what I mean.

4. To put this in the center of a scarf, for instance, a pair of coiled ropes would be a 21-st vertical motif. Three coiled ropes would be a 30-st motif. I'd have to make sure the number of stitches I cast on allows for this.

5. It's fun! There are so many cable stitches to learn! What a lovely way to create texture! But this "coiled rope" is a personal favorite. There is a "simple cable rib" that is a 2x2 cable, flatter, less bulky. Of course I am not really ready to knit an Aran sweater yet, but you never know.