Cabled Clutch in Lion Brand Homespun - L10750

Cabled Clutch in Lion Brand Homespun – Free Knitting Pattern L10750

This free downloadable knitting pattern from Lion Brand Yarn guides knitters through creating a beautifully textured Cabled Clutch — a compact, elegant handbag perfect as an accessory or handmade gift. The finished clutch measures approximately 9 x 6½ inches (23 x 16.5 cm) when folded, making it an ideal size for carrying essentials like a phone, cards, and keys. Rated as an Easy skill level, this project is a wonderful introduction to cable knitting for beginners ready to move beyond basic stitches, while still offering satisfying texture work for more experienced knitters.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a single flat knitted rectangle that is folded in half and seamed along the sides to form a structured clutch bag. A decorative finishing touch — a length of ribbon woven through the cable crosses and tied into a bow at the center front — gives the finished piece a polished, gift-ready appearance. The clutch is worked as one piece, minimizing seaming and making construction straightforward and beginner-friendly.

Materials Used

• Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in colorway Quartz (790-362) — 1 ball required. Homespun is a beloved bulky-weight yarn known for its soft, textured, fabric-like feel, which adds warmth and visual depth to the cable pattern.
• Needles: Lion Brand Knitting Needles, Size 9 [5.5 mm] straight needles.
• Cable Needles: Lion Brand Cable Needles (Set of 2) — used to hold stitches temporarily while working the cable crosses.
• Finishing Needles: Large-Eye Blunt Needles (Set of 6) for seaming and weaving in ends.
• Additional Materials: 1 yard (1 meter) of ribbon approximately 1⅜ inches (35 mm) wide, woven through the finished cable crosses as a decorative closure and embellishment.

Gauge

The pattern calls for a gauge of 14 stitches and 20 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) worked in the cable pattern. Checking gauge before beginning is essential to ensure the clutch reaches the correct finished dimensions and that the single ball of yarn is sufficient to complete the project.

Techniques and Construction

• Flat knitting: The clutch is worked flat in rows from cast-on to bind-off, then folded and seamed — no knitting in the round required.
• Cable knitting: Two cable cross techniques are used to create the signature twisted rope texture across the body of the clutch.
• Seaming: After folding, the sides are seamed together using a blunt tapestry needle.
• Ribbon embellishment: Ribbon is woven behind the stitches of the cable crosses and around the top edge, then tied into a decorative bow at the center front.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (k) — the foundation of the cable panels and border sections.
• Purl stitch (p) — used to create the reverse stockinette columns that frame and define the cable panels.
• 4/4 LC (4 over 4 Left Cross): Slip 4 stitches to a cable needle and hold in front of work, knit 4 from the left needle, then knit 4 from the cable needle. This produces a cable that twists to the left.
• 4/4 RC (4 over 4 Right Cross): Slip 4 stitches to a cable needle and hold in back of work, knit 4 from the left needle, then knit 4 from the cable needle. This produces a cable that twists to the right.
• Garter stitch border rows: Two knit rows at the cast-on and bind-off edges provide a neat, stable border.

Cable Pattern Structure

The cable repeat runs over a 12-