A sleeve started in the round with a centre braided cable.

Reading Your Knitting 4: Recognize Cable Crossings

Identify where your last crossing row occurred to keep pattern repeats on track.

Knitted texture is one of my absolute favourite things in knitting. I love knits, and purls, and all the combinations thereof. But what I really love is the magic you can make simply by knitting some stitches out of order—also known as cabling.

I started knitting cables early on in my knitting career, which means I have had a LOT of practice learning how to recognize where I am in a cable repeat.

(Humble brag: I once knit an entire hatband for the Lucy Pevensie Tam while a passenger in a nearly-dark vehicle, completing it mostly by feel—and I didn’t even need to unknit later.)

While I can’t promise to pass on my in-the-dark-knitting superpowers through this tutorial, I can promise to show you not one but three ways to recognize when it’s time to do another crossing row on your cable—without that infernal row counter.

If videos are your style, check out the tutorial video (about ten minutes long). If you dig reading stuff, first, knitting high five, and second, read on!

Video Tutorial

Setting Up the Cable

As I said above, cables are what you get when you work stitches out of order. You either cross stitches in front of or behind your work, work a few stitches, then work the ones you crossed. This simple technique can be used to create hundreds (maybe thousands?) of lovely designs.

For my sample swatch, I used a six-stitch cable with a repeat every six rows, which means I crossed three stitches over three stitches. This creates a very typical rope cable. For a rounded cable like this one, the number of rows between crossing rows should be the same as the number of rows in your cable repeat.

The cable has garter stitch (knit front and back) on the right side, and reverse stockinette stitch (purl on the right side, knit on the wrong side) on the left. These are two very common choices to edge a cable.

While your crossing row most likely is not the first row of your pattern or chart, for the purposes of counting, you will think of it as number one.

But how do you know when you reach the next number one?

Garter Stitch Method:

Count purl ridges. One ridge for every two rows of work.

Garter stitch has a purl ridge every two rows. (If you have a tough time recognizing knit and purl stitches, check out my first “Reading Your Knitting” Tutorial.)

In the pattern above, the crossing row had a row of knit stitch beside it, which meant that I would be on a knit row when it was time to cross. I should also have three purl ridges between this crossing row and my last one.

Can you see it?

Lucy Pevensie Tam

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For the Royal Highness in all of us…

Inspired by the youngest “Daughter of Eve” to become a Queen of Narnia in the classic book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, this seamless hat is made by knitting the staghorn cabled hatband flat, grafting the ends to make a circle, then picking up and working the slouchy crown in the round.

Sized for heads from Child’s Small (18 inches or 45 cm) to Ladies’ Large (23 inches or 57.5 cm) and made in chunky-weight yarn, it knits up quickly and makes a great gift.

PROJECT LEVEL: Intermediate

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Digital download includes:

PDF (standard) - best for printing or for sighted knitters
PDF (Screen Reader Accessible Large-Print) - best for Print Challenged knitters and reading on phones
EPUB (eBook) - best for anyone who wants reflowable, resizable text

Refer to “Accessibility” below for more information about file types.

About Pattern

Construction

Hatband is knit flat first, then ends are grafted in a circle, stitches are picked up for the crown, which is worked in the round from the bottom up.

Sizes

1. Child’s Small (Toddler)

Head circumference: 18 inches (or 45.5 cm); Crown height: 6 inches (or 15 cm)

2. Child’s Medium

Head circumference: 19 inches (or 48 cm); Crown height: 7 inches (or 18 cm)

3. Child’s Large (or Youth Small)

Head circumference: 20 inches (or 50.5 cm); Crown height: 7.5 inches (or 19 cm)

4. Youth Medium (or Ladies’ Small)

Head circumference: 21 inches (or 53.5 cm); Crown height: 8 inches (or 20.5 cm)

5. Ladies’ Medium

Head circumference: 22 inches (or 56 cm); Crown height: 8.5 inches (or 21.5 cm)

6. Ladies’ Large

Head circumference: 23 inches (or 58.5 cm); Crown height: 9 inches (or 23 cm)

Supplies

Yarn

1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2) ball(s) chunky-weight yarn with 125 metres in 100 grams (or 137 yards in 3.53 ounces)

Approximate yardages: 100 (109, 118, 125, 136, 148) meters [or 109 (119, 130, 137, 149, 162) yards]

Suggested yarn:

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash Bulky, a plied 100% Highland Superwash wool in bulky weight with 125 metres in 100 grams (or 137 yards in 3.53 ounces) that works up to 12 to 15 stitches on size 6.5 to 9.0 mm (US size 10 to 11) needles.

Needles

5.0 mm (US 8) and 6.5 mm (US 10 ½) double-pointed needles OR size needed to obtain gauge
6.5 mm (US 10 ½) 29-inch circular needle (optional; can be used with Magic Loop Method instead of double-pointed needles, and may be preferable for knitting the crown in the three largest sizes)
Medium-sized crochet hook for Provisional Cast On and picking up crown stitches

Notions

Cable needle
Yarn needle
Stitch marker (a yarn loop works fine)
Scrap yarn for Provisional Cast On

Gauge

Use larger needles to check gauge.

15.5 stitches and 22 rows = 4 inches (or 10 cm) over stockinette stitch knit flat
17.5 stitches and 22 rounds = 4 inches (or 10 cm) over stockinette stitch in the round

Skills you will need

Knit
Purl
Make a gauge swatch in stockinette stitch

All other required stitches are explained.

Techniques used

Knitting flat
Knitting in the round using double-pointed needles or one or two circular needles
Simple cables from written instructions or a chart
Provisional Cast On
Grafting stitches

Included resources

A comprehensive list of links to online tutorials on my website for necessary skills. Tutorials are screen-reader accessible, with instructions relayed fully in text, and also include videos and downloadable photo tutorials.
Full glossary
Instructions for alterations
Written and charted cable instructions

About Samples

Samples were knit in discontinued versions of Bernat Softee Chunky (purple and cream) and Bernat Naturals Alpaca (burgundy).

Suggested Substitute:

This suggested substitute has been tested and found to be even warmer, more comfortable to wear, and have better for stitch definition than the original yarns.
To replicate these looks, try Garnet Heather or Amethyst Heather colourways.

Note on yarn choice:

Yarn choice can make a big difference in the structure of this hat. A denser yarn will have more structure, like the purple sample, and a less dense yarn will drape better, like the burgundy sample.

Look for a plied chunky-weight yarn that is not too dense, with good stitch definition and a soft hand. Solids and heathers will reveal the cable pattern the best. Natural fibres will be warmer than acrylic, have better stitch definition, and be less slippery on fine or straight hair. (“Chunky” is the term used for slightly thinner bulky-weight yarns. Based on stitch count comparisons alone, an aran/heavy worsted weight yarn might also work.)

Publishing Information

Release Date: 2011

Most recent revision: July 2023

Publisher: My Secret Wish Publishing

Knitting pattern type: Single Design Option

Project type: Hat, Beanie, Toque

Page Count: 7

Page Count (Large Print): 38

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING NOTICE:

This pattern is copyright My Secret Wish by Talena. Your purchase of this pattern gives you the right to use it for personal, non-profit use only. To license the pattern to use for profit, please e-mail me for permission. You do NOT have the right to print the pattern for other people (unless they reside in your household) or to transfer the digital file to any other person. This pattern may not be sold, copied, or distributed in any way.

Update History

September 2022: Revised formatting of PDF to align with current template style. Clarified language where necessary. Converted PDF to be screen reader accessible.

May 18, 2023: Updated URLs for new store and social links.

July 26, 2023: Created Large-Print Screen-Reader Accessible PDF and ePUB versions.

You will get a ZIP (8MB) file

Visit product page

Reverse Stockinette Method

The Reverse Stockinette Method counts purl ridges, too, but in this case, there’s a ridge every row.

So, starting with the last crossing row (which would be the row of ridges right above the little dent in the edge of the cable), count every ridge in a column of purl ridges equal to the number of rows between crossing rows.

Reverse Stockinette Method:

Count every ridge, starting with the previous crossing row (which is above the little gap/dent in the edge of the cable).

“Climb The Cable” Method

If you flatten your cable, you should be able to see that the row above the “gap” is the first row where you can see the Vs line up all the way across the cable. This was your last crossing row.

Count up the Vs to find out if you are ready for another crossing row.

So, now you are well on your way to ditching the row counter completely! You can recognize your increases and decreases, and with a little practice, you'll be able to count rows between them with ease.

“Climb the Cable” Method:

Flatten cable, count knit Vs from the first row above the last crossing row (where you can see the stitches cross the cable).

It’s That Easy

And that’s it. Pretty simple, eh?

Be sure to check out my other Reading Your Knitting tutorials, or my many other Stitch Tutorials or knitting patterns.

If you have a question about reading your knitting you would like to see me cover, please send me a note through my contact page.

Happy knitting!

Folded hands wearing intricately cabled fingerless mittens.

Putting it into practice:

When you know how to recognize cable crosses, even very complicated cable patterns become a breeze. Elfhaven Fingerless Mittens shown.

Also in this series:

Reading Your Knitting Part 1: Knit and Purl

Reading Your Knitting Part 2: Catching & Fixing Mistakes

Reading Your Knitting Part 3: Recognize Increases and Decreases

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Talena Winters wears a textured scarf and smiles at the camera.

About My Secret Wish Knitting

Hi! I’m Talena Winters (a.k.a. the Yarn Mermaid).

I started My Secret Wish Knitting in 2010 to empower and delight knitting heroes like you who want to elevate your knitting and make magic with yarn. When I’m not concocting new yarn potion recipes, I’m creating story magic as a fantasy and romance author and fiction editor (at talenawinters.com). I live with my family and pets in the Peace Country of northern Alberta, Canada, where sweater weather lasts at least nine months a year and my closest neighbours are bears and wood nymphs.

This website is a labour of love by a team of one (me!). If you found value here, please support the effort by purchasing a pattern. If you want more knitting magic, check out my community events and newsletter in the Knitting Circle. We’d love to have you!