How to Knit a Large Cable Knit Sweater
There are thousands of sweater designs for you to choose from. Each design has its own look and feel. Cable knits are popular patterns as they add texture and dimension to your sweaters, and they work for men, women and children. Cabling involves twisting of stitches in a variety of patterns. With little imagination, patience and practice, you can come up with interesting designs for your sweater.
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Instructions
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1
Choose the right yarn. Wool is the most popular variety of yarn, although some of you may prefer cotton and cashmere. Bulky yarns are best for beginners, as you can see the patterns clearly. They will also help you to finish a large sweater with fewer stitches.
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2
Select a needle size that will work for you. Most knitters prefer US size 9 to 11 needles for bulky yarns, and US size 6 to 9 for worsted or thin yarn. However, if this is your first project with cable knit, pick a cable needle as well. Cable needles are short, straight or slightly curved -- to help hold the stitches for the cable. The needles are made of plastic, wood or metal, and are available in different thicknesses that work with different weights of yarn.
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3
Cast on the stitches by looping the yarn around the needle. Calculate the number of stitches by measuring the stitch gauge on a swatch and the back of the neck, just like you do a regular sweater.
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4
Start with the hem of the sweater. Knit the first stitch, purl the next one and repeat the pattern for the first row. For the second row, purl the first stitch and knit the second one to obtain the seed pattern for the hem. There are hundreds of other hem patterns. Choose the one that you like. Once the hem is 3 to 4 inches wide, start the body of the sweater.
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5
Knit the cable pattern on the front of your body. Start by knitting four stitches and purling six stitches. Repeat the pattern until the end of the first row. For the next row, purl four and knit six until the end of the row. Repeat the patterns for about four rows.
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6
Purl four stitches on the fifth row. Then, slip three stitches from the left needle to the cable needle. Hold the cable needle to the front of the knitting needles to get a left-twisting cable, or hold the cable needle at the back of the needles to get a right-twisting cable.
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7
Knit the next three stitches from the left needle to the right one, followed by the three stitches from the cable needle to the right needle. Set aside the cable needle, and purl four stitches from the left needle to the right needle.
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Repeat Steps 5 to 7 until you reach 1 inch below the underarm. Start placing the sleeve stitches while continuing the cable pattern in the middle part until you reach the desired length.
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9
Knit the sleeves and the back separately. Most traditional cable sweater have the cable pattern only in the front. The sleeves and back have a simple knit.
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10
Use a circular needle to knit the neck of your sweater in a knit one stitch and purl one stitch pattern. The neck will help join all the parts of the sweater into the neckline. Knit about five rows of the neck for a finished look.
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Tips & Warnings
Before you start knitting your sweater, knit a small swatch using the yarn and needle to make sure you like the design. Remember that certain yarns such as the super-washed ones may stretch after one wash. Consider this while sizing your sweater. Cotton-blend yarns may shrink after a wash.
Both size and material of your needle will affect the gauge of your sweater.
References
- The Everything Knitting Book; Jane Eldershaw
- Knitting Basic Cables
- Knitpicks: Learn to Cable
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
