Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Cabled Tempting "directions".

Sorry ladies, I'm a better designer than I am a pattern writer. I don't even have notes for this one. I'll give you what I remember, from there you are on your own.

I ended the yoke lower down, only 2 inches or so past the joining in of the sleeves. The band is wider, incorporating a 22 stitch cable panel, but is applied in much the same manner as the original. I eliminated the decreases in the main body section because I attached the band at EVERY row. SSK on the right side (end of row), purl 2 tog. through the back loops on the wrong side (beginning of next row). It gives a smoother, no holes join while at the same time accomplishing the equivalent of k2tog all the way around. The ends of the band had to be seamed.

I did not have to invent a curved cable panel, I used a regular one straight from a stitch pattern book. The curve comes from attaching it one band row per stitch on the body side but then reducing the length of the other side by attaching a 3 stitch I-cord at a ratio of one I-cord row to two cable band rows. The look of I-cord on the body side of the cable is accomplished by knitting the second to last stitch together with a purl "bump" on the inside one row below. This pulls the stitches together a bit to give the raised effect of an I-cord where it is actually just two knit stitches.

For now that is as good as the "pattern" gets. If there is enough demand I will perhaps write it out as a real pattern and submit it somewhere like Knitty.com. I really need a few pattern writing lessons though!

Edit: The cable is # 8.27 on page 27 of "The Harmony Guide To Aran Knitting" published by Lyric Books Limited.

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