Cable Knitting Patterns

Cables, from a single rope to an all-over Aran

A cable is nothing more sophisticated than knitting your stitches out of order. You slip a few onto a cable needle, hold them at the front or the back, knit the next few, then knit the held stitches, and the fabric crosses over itself. That one trick produces everything in this collection: ropes and plaits, honeycomb, lattice and diamond panels, horseshoe and staghorn cables, travelling stitches that wander across a yoke, and the dense all-over Aran texture of a traditional fisherman's jumper. You will find jumpers and cardigans for women and men, hats, scarves and snoods, mittens, cushion covers, blankets and a good many baby knits.

Starting small and building up

If cables are new, do not begin with a full Aran cardigan. A hat with a single six-stitch rope repeated round the brim teaches you the crossing action in half an hour, and a scarf with one central plait lets you practise reading your fabric until you can see at a glance which way the last cross went. From there, a cushion or a blanket square adds a second cable and a purl background. Then take on a jumper with a cabled panel down each front, and finally the full Aran, where several patterns run side by side and you must keep track of different row repeats at the same time.

Yarn, needles and the tools that help

• Smooth, round, well-plied yarn in Aran or DK shows cables best. Superwash merino, classic wool and wool-nylon blends all sculpt beautifully.
• Avoid heavily variegated colourways, mohair and thick-and-thin singles; they swallow the texture you have worked so hard for.
• Needles: around 5mm for Aran weight, 4mm for DK. Wooden or bamboo needles grip the yarn while you shuffle stitches about.
• A cranked or U-shaped cable needle stops held stitches sliding off. Once confident, many knitters cable without one, pinching the stitches free and re-seating them.
• A row counter and a highlighter for your chart are worth more than any gadget.

Tension, ease and yarn quantities

Cables pull the fabric in sideways, sometimes dramatically. This is why a cabled jumper can need noticeably more yarn than a plain one of the same size, often twenty to thirty per cent more, and why your stitch count over cabled fabric will never match your stocking stitch tension. Always swatch in the actual pattern stitch, over a full repeat plus a few stitches either side, wash and block it, and measure it flat and relaxed rather than stretched. Because the fabric is dense and slightly springy, cabled jumpers are usually written with only a little positive ease; a very oversized Aran can become heavy enough to drop with wear.

Reading charts and fixing mistakes

Most cable patterns give both a written row-by-row version and a chart. Charts are worth learning: the symbols are pictures of what the crossing looks like, so a right-leaning cross genuinely leans right on the page. Read right to left on right-side rows, left to right on wrong-side rows when knitting flat. If you cross a cable the wrong way, you can usually drop just those stitches down a few rows on a spare needle and re-work them rather than ripping back the whole row. Lifelines, a length of smooth thread run through a whole row, cost nothing and save evenings.

Finishing and care

Block cabled pieces by soaking, rolling in a towel and patting them out to the schematic measurements, but never pull the cables flat: you want them plump and standing proud. Seam with mattress stitch, matching cable rows across the join. Wash finished garments in cool water with wool wash, squeeze rather than wring, and dry flat. Stored folded, never hung. If you love this kind of texture, the Aran knitting patterns take it further, and a knitted headband is an ideal one-evening cable practice piece.

Common questions

Are there free cable knitting patterns to download as PDFs? Yes. Filter for free designs, add them to your library and download the PDF whenever you want it, including patterns written for ladies' cardigans and jumpers.

Can I knit cables on straight needles? Absolutely. Plenty of cardigans, scarves, blankets and cushion covers here are worked flat in pieces and seamed, which is ideal if you prefer straights.

Are cables hard for a beginner? No, as long as you can knit and purl comfortably. A beginner cable pattern is simply a few extra seconds on one row in every six or eight.

Do I need a cable needle? It helps, but a double-pointed needle or even a large safety pin works perfectly well for a first attempt.