Cables are sneaky
Cables? Cables are gorgeous but sneaky! They will shrink your fabric. There's a video version of this over here, should you wish to watch me flop them around and point to things and listen to me talk. Now, admittedly this is a particularly dramatic example! (The cabled panel and the ribbed panel are the same number of stitches, but the ribbed one is nearly twice as wide.) But all cables will shrink your fabric at least a little. The bigger the cables and the more densely they're packed, the more they'll shrink your fabric. So a four by four cable [...]
Correlation
So there's reversible as in 'yup, it's more or less the same on both sides.' And then there's reversible as in 'wait...those are both gorgeous...and totally different...and what do you mean I have to pick a favorite?' And this? This is that second kind of reversible! It's called Correlation, it's out today on ravelry, and you can get 10% off with the code REVERSIBLE for the first few days it's out. And I really think the hardest part will be deciding which side you like best. Because knitting reversible cables isn't any harder than knitting regular cables! No really, I promise. [...]
Look I just have a weakness for sets ok…
Yeah yeah, in what will be a surprise to absolutely no one who knows me at all, there are about to be mitts to match the hat. Because I can, that's why. And because having sets of knitted things is about as close as I come to having anything you'd consider opinions about fashion. The only real question I have is 'is there going to be enough yarn (and enough patience) for a cowl after this?' Because I think there's a tiny chance the answer to both is yes...
Just about done
Home stretch... The decreases on this are fun. You work them inside the cables (like on Imply and Welter) and it's just a really neat trick to have in your knitting tool kit. It keeps the lines of the cables zipping along perfectly. Plus you'll feel super clever when you do it. Which is a not insubstantial part of my motivation for knitting anything! Pattern Tuesday, at which point you'll see just how pretty the top of this one really is!
Playing favorites
I resolutely decline to pick a favorite side. They're both nifty in their own way. And I love how different they look from each other. Sure stitches that look the same on both sides are cool and all...and useful for all sorts of things. But having one that is lovely and different on each side...that's something grand! Pattern should be out on February 5...you can click the magic doohickey down below to get an email when it comes out if that makes your life easier! [pextestim pex_attr_set="looking-for-this-pattern" pex_attr_autoplay="false"][/pextestim]
Very bad words
See that? See that set of stitches that is very much not involved in the cable? Yeah...that's not supposed to be like that. So we figure out the stitches involved and we rip. Two of the strands are longer because I needed to rip out more stitches there...the rest are shorter because I didn't need to set as many free down there. And then reknit it, this time actually crossing the cable like a smart kid. And then it's as good as new (er...better actually, what with not having the glaring error and all). Much faster than ripping out the [...]
So very very lazy…
I'm no good at row counters. I generally prefer to just count my rows or find some sort of landmark on the stitch pattern I can use instead of counting rows. But, on this hat, it's all cables. And cables are sort of a pain to count rows (you can do it, it's just fiddly). So I cheat. I tie slip knots in my tail for every plain row. Then when I finish the cable row, I yank them all out. Works great here because I don't need to count very high (4 or 5 knots is practical...12 is not) and because the [...]
Left right left
Yeah, I'm over here loving everything about this. I can't decide which side I like better...they're both pretty darn nifty. And don't stress, reversible cables are NOT hard. You know how normally you're working cables over just knit stitches? Like you cross three knits over three knits? Yeah, well if instead you cross ribbing over ribbing (so think knit one purl one knit one over knit one purl one knit one) magic happens. All of a sudden the back of your fabric gets very spiffy indeed. Take the time to twist those purls, then the front and back look even [...]
Yes, another gray hat…it’s a theme
So look...gray hats are apparently just my happy place. It's true and I'm not even going to pretend I'm sorry. At least this one has speckles (Martin's Lab, Bouncy Sport in the color Candy Sparrow)! And is reversible... Which means I will, generally, make some sort of passing attempt to show you both sides as we go along. I won't always succeed...but I'll try. The side with the untwisted stitches faces out as you knit, and the twisted side faces in. So I'm going to generally call that right and wrong...but really nothing about this is wrong. Not one thing. [...]
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