Cabled Seed Placemat

Cabled Seed Placemat by Ella O'Neill

Project Overview

The Cabled Seed Placemat is an intermediate-level knitting project designed by Ella O'Neill that combines decorative cable work with textured seed stitch. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a finished placemat measuring 51½ cm wide by 35½ cm long (20 inches by 14 inches), making it a practical yet elegant addition to any table setting.

What Is Being Made

This project produces a rectangular placemat suitable for table settings. The design features prominent cable stitches that run across the width of the placemat, contrasted with seed stitch sections that provide textural interest and stability to the finished piece.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Cable work: The pattern employs cable stitches as a primary design element, requiring the use of a cable needle to create twisted rope-like textures
• Slip stitch edge technique: The first stitch of every row is slipped to ensure the cables have an even, finished edge
• Stockinette stitch: Used as the base fabric in sections where cables are worked
• Seed stitch: A textured stitch pattern that alternates knit and purl stitches to create a bumpy, woven appearance

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations and specialized cable stitches:

• K — knit
• P — purl
• CO — cast on
• St(s) — stitch(es)
• Rep — repeat
• RS — right side
• WS — wrong side
• C12F (Cable 12 Forward): Slip 6 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front of the work. Knit the next 6 stitches from the working needle, then knit the 6 stitches from the cable needle
• C12B (Cable 12 Back): Slip 6 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the back of the work. Knit the next 6 stitches from the working needle, then knit the 6 stitches from the cable needle

Materials and Gauge

The placemat is worked in DK weight yarn, a medium-weight yarn that creates a fabric with good drape and structure. The pattern specifies either 250 meters (170 yards) of 4 Seasons Pure Wool Slip the Naturals 8ply or 240 meters (160 yards) of any comparable DK weight yarn that achieves the required gauge.

Knitting needles required are 4.00mm (US size 6). A yarn needle is needed for weaving in ends after completion.

The pattern provides two gauge measurements to accommodate different stitch sections:

• 20 stitches and 23 rows = 10cm (4 inches) in stockinette stitch
• 18 stitches and 30 rows = 10cm (4 inches) in seed stitch

Achieving the correct gauge is essential for the placemat to reach its intended finished dimensions and for the cable stitches to sit properly within the design.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate, this pattern assumes knitters are comfortable with basic stitches and have prior experience working with cable needles. The combination of cable work, multiple stitch patterns, and edge finishing techniques makes this suitable for knitters beyond the beginner stage.