Category Archives: cables

NEW Accessories in Kelbourne Scout

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Last Week I offered the sweater patterns, and as promised here are some accessories knit with Kelbourne Scout ….

Portage

Portage is a classic-styled cabled toque, made with a classic wool, worked in the round from the bottom up. Simple and elegant, this never goes out of style – plus cables create density in the fabric which helps to keep you warm! It’s also kind of an easy project to choose when you don’t know what to knit, it makes a gorgeous gift or you can keep it for yourself.

Size

  • 18.75” (47.5 cm) circumference, unstretched
  • 11” (28 cm) height, brim folded

Materials

Tutorials

Le Massif Scarf

Le Massif Scarf is worked in the round, featuring simple but striking geometric patterns. It is bold, stylish, and deliciously warm. This is a great exercise if you want to practice your stranded colourwork.

Size

  • 14″/35cm in circumference
  • 76″/193cm long

Materials

Tutorials

Compass

Compass is a gorgeous cabled cowl designed in the style of traditional aran sweaters (my heart skipped a beat when i found it). The cowl is written for two sizes, depending on how you like to wear your winter neckwear. If you prefer not to work the tubular cast on and bind off, a long tail cast on and binding off in pattern may be used in their place.

Size

  • Circumference: 22.5 (25)” 57 (63.5) cm 
  • Height: 13.25 (15.5)” 33.5 (39.5) cm 

Materials

Tutorials

Ballard

Ballard is a classic hat knit in stranded colourwork. All you need is a light or bright colour and a dark shade and you’re set!

Size

  • 20.25” (51.5 cm) circumference
  • 10.25” (26 cm) length.

Materials

Tutorials

Custom Hats

Custom Hats, by Kate Atherly, an awesome knitting instructor and designer, is an ebook that has something for every knitter. It’s not a standard pattern book, this is a complete recipe for making your own custom-fit hats, for any head, with any yarn. Just grab a skein and start knitting. With instructions for slouchy and beanie-style hats, and tutorials added for decorative flourishes like different cuff finishes and pom-poms and tassels, this book has everything you’ll ever need to keep everyone in your family warm.

The recipe includes all the instructions and numbers for three styles of hat with three choices of cuff, in 13 gauges and 17 sizes, covering preemies to XL adult heads. And if those don’t cover your needs, the formulas are included so you can calculate your own.

The book steps you through the whole process: from choosing yarn and determining size right through to finishing, with tutorials for all the key knitting techniques – casting on, working in the round, stretchy and decorative bind-offs, even weaving in the ends. There’s a whole chapter with ideas and instructions for customizing the hat with colour, changing up the hem pattern and style, and adding decorative flourishes like pom-poms and tassels.

Don’t worry, a yardage table will help you make sure you’ve got enough yarn: and there’s lots of tips and tricks for what to do if you think you’re going to run out, and how to use up small quantities of yarn leftovers. There’s even information on making hats for the most delicate of heads: premature babies, cancer patients and others losing their hair because of medical treatments. Photo tutorials and guidance on fit and yarn help you make your first hat perfect. For experienced hat knitters, the advice on customization and straightforward but powerful formulas empower you to get designing.

Kelbourne Woolens Scout

Kelbourne Scout is a classic yarn for the sake of yarn. It’s an unfussy, strong, versatile, heathered wool. Scout is a Dk weight, woolen-spun yarn, so it’s light, airy and springy – perfect for fair isle, cables, or any other technique that requires a bit of definition. Made with 100% Peruvian wool, it’s comfortable to work with and wear (it passes my yarn-o-meter, meaning it’s not as buttery soft as a merino wool, but it isn’t remotely in the itchy or uncomfortable range of fibres).

  • 100% wool
  • 100g/250m (274 yds)
  • 20 to 22 sts = 4″(10cm) 
  • DK to light worsted weight
  • 3.75mm/US5 to 4.5mm/US7 needles
  • Feltable
  • Hand wash, lay flat to dry
  • Made in Peru
  • Patterns designed with Scout

Substitutions & A Hack

  1. If you love the projects we’re sharing today but you aren’t a fan of traditional style woolen-spun yarns like Kelbourne Scout (it isn’t itchy, but it also isn’t baby-bum soft), you can substitute the following yarns:

2. If you like knitting with a more traditional yarn, but you find it too itchy for a hat, try lining your hats with a headband sized strip of fleece fabric – it’s also beneficial as it makes the hat warmer!

CLEARANCE 35% OFF Cascade 220 Superwash Sport

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SALE Cascade 220 Superwash Sport (select colours)

ALL Cascade 220 Superwash Sport is 35% Off! This yarn is on clearance and we won’t be ordering any more, so this is a “While Quantities Last” opportunity.

Cascade 220 Superwash Sport is a super soft, 100% merino superwash yarn. It’s great for kids and babies (I frequently use it for my niece and nephew), and the 50g skeins make it a nice choice for colourwork. 1 skein is usually enough for a baby hat, 2 for an adult hat or mitts/gloves, 4 for a scarf or infinity cowl, 8 for a baby blanket (approx 30″ x 30″). It’s also perfect for blankets and afghans that require a lot of colours, like those by Attic 24.

  • 100% Merino Wool
  • 50g/125m (136yds)
  • Sport Weight
  • 3.75mm/US5 to 4mm/US6 needles
  • 22 to 24 sts = 4″ (10cm)
  • Machine wash cool, tumble dry low.
  • Made in Peru
  • Project ideas from Ravelry
Photos: Kazyuk

Dembow

I know everybody’s always looking for a yarn that “does stuff”, but sometimes there’s something to a clean, simple cable in a soft, smooth merino. It never goes out of style, it looks good with everything, anybody can wear it – ’nuff said, start your holiday knitting! Plus, the pattern is FREE.

Materials

PROJECT Alpaca Braided Cable Hat

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Diamond Alpaca Lopi Braided Hat

Baby Alpaca Braided Cable Hat

I made this Braided Cable Hat with super soft, super pretty Diamond Luxury Baby Alpaca Sport, and I have NO REGRETS! The baby alpaca looks sensational, it’s super soft, super fluffy and airy, and of course, it’s warm. The cables are simple, great for any skill level, and the pattern is a freebie, so that’s always a bonus too.

I topped it with a Raccoon Fur Pompom (size 16cm) – they’re my favourite because they are so light and fluffy, and don’t weigh down the hat too much. If you aren’t a fan of fur you can go with a faux-fur pom-pom,  or go classic and make your own pom-pom – I swear by the Clover Pom-Pom Makers, they make BEAUTIFUL pom-poms! Whatever you choose, we sell them all and you can get everything in one place.

Overall, I’m super pleased with this project – it looks like a $200 hat, which isn’t bad for $20 worth of yarn. But beware, once you make one everyone you know will start putting in requests for one of their own!

Materials

 

FREEBIES Last Minute Cowls

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Easy Loose Cabled Cowl

Our loose cabled cowl is a last minute knits that work up FAST! We made ours light and airy on 15mm/US19 needles and two skeins of Malabrigo Rasta, but you can also you one Cascade Spuntaneous.

Yarn Options

Other Materials

 

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Bulky Mobius Cowl

Our Bulky Mobius Cowl is a great little last minute gift. It works up fast on 10mm/US15 needles and the mobius technique makes it entertaining. The yarn, Malabrigo Rasta, is stunning: it’s buttery soft and I’ve never seen a skein that didn’t knit up like a Monet painting. Plus, it’s a one-skein project!

Materials

 

 

Photo:tma

 

Aujourd’hui

This cute & simple little cowl is a cinch to knit up and looks incredibly impressive in hand-dyed Malabrigo Rasta.

Materials

 

 

FREEBIE & FINISHED & HACKS Manhattan Cowl

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Manhattan Cowl

I thought this cowl would make a great one-skein gift idea, so I gave it a try and I think it worked out really beautifully! I used one of my favourite bulky weight yarns, Diamond Luxury Baby Alpaca Sport, and the end result is SUPER soft and cozy! I had to make some modifications to make this project come out to it’s fullest potential, so please read the notes below before starting (and maybe print them off and keep them with your pattern instructions).

HACKS & Modifications

I made some changes to the pattern because let’s face it, you often get what you pay for with a free pattern.

  • For the ribbing, I went down to a 5mm/US8 needle for the ribbing. 2×2 rib is normally a looser tension than other stitches, and you need to go down a needle size to mitigate this and prevent the ribbing from fanning out later.
  • For the cable section, I went up to a 6.5mm/US10.5 needle, because the yarn is very fluffy and airy. If you are using a denser yarn with more definition (see suggestions below) you can stick with the prescribed 6mm/US10 needles
  • Because my yarn is big and fluffy, and has a lot of aura (haze), the cable from the original pattern was not showing up or working well, and I had to switch it out for another type of cable that would show better. I went with a simple braided cable that I was already familiar with, Chart A from Lopi Braided Hat & Mitts. It is the same number of stitches as the original cable, so I just did the new cable instead of the old. If you use a yarn with more definition (see options below), you can do either cable.
  • I worked 6 rounds of ribbing at the top and the bottom (to conserve yarn).
  • I worked 4 pattern repeats from Chart A of the Lopi Braided Hat & Mitts, and changed to the ribbing after finishing row 6 of the chart.
  • I don’t usually bother using a cable needle. Making cables without a cable hook is not a skill for the novice, but if you are feeling intrepid and are comfortable with retrieving dropped stitches and are good at ‘reading’ your stitches (recognizing where and what they are), you should definitely it give it a try, it can save you a lot of time and effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6DB6WhAKvY
  • If you need to conserve yarn or change the size of the pattern, you can omit the first 4 sts of the pattern (the single rib at the start doesn’t really do much for the design). In *my project* (yours may be different), based on the total number of rounds, each stitch represents about 40 sts in the scheme of the entire pattern. Omitting 4 sts from the cast-on will give you about two extra rounds. Each cable represents 8 stitches, so you can increase or decrease the pattern in a multiple of 8 sts. If you want to modify this for a child you’ll definitely want to omit stitches, it fits an adult comfortably.

 

Materials

 

Other Yarn Options

We chose to use a fluffy, warm alpaca yarn, but you can use something firmer, which will give your cables more definition and your cowl less slouch – just use 6mm/US10 needles.

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FREEBIE + HACKS Paloma Cowl

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Paloma Cowl

I like simple, loose cables like this cowl; they create great texture and interest without too much effort.

Yarn Options: Super Bulky (10 to 12mm needles)

Yarn Options: Bulky (8mm needles)

Materials

HACKS

  • Because all of the yarns we’ve suggested (above) bloom beautifully, you can try pushing your needle size up to a 12mm/US17 and omit a ball of yarn.
  • The yarn suggested in the pattern is super-bulky, so expect your cowl to be too. If this is too much for you, consider substituting a slightly thinner, bulky weight yarn, and smaller (8mm/US11) needles. If this seems too narrow, add a second cable pattern repeat.
  • The pattern is knit flat and seamed in a circle, but if you want to do something more knitterly like a 3 needle bind-off or kitchener stitch, you can cast on using a provisional cast-on (casting on with scrap yarn).

FREEBIE Chunky Cabled Scarf

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Chunky Cabled Scarf

This scarf is quite long and voluminous – it calls for a lot of yarn, but you don’t have to make it quite as big as they did. You can scale it back by omitting a pattern repeat (make it 2 cables wide instead of 3 by omitting 14 stitches from the pattern), and don’t make it quite so long.

Yarn Options

Materials

FREEBIE Pome

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Pome

Oy vey, how pretty is this cabled hat?! I think it would look amazing in a simple yarn like Cascade 220 Superwash (the heathered colours would be especially fetching), but any worsted weight solid, semi-solid, heathered or tweed yarn would look amazing! Be sure to wash your hat and lay it flat to dry to settle the cables.

Yarn Options

Materials

  • 3.5mm/US4-16″ circular needles
  • 4mm/US6-16″ circular needles
  • 4mm/US6 double pointed needles
  • 1 stitch marker
  • cable needle
  • tapestry/darning needle
  • FREE Pattern

FREEBIE Cables Love PomPoms

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Cables Love PomPoms

It’s that time of year where we start to scramble to make holiday gifts … ideally, gifts that are fast to knit and will be well received. I think this hat fits the bill. It’ll look great on a woman or a man, it’s made with a soft, warm yarn that you’ll love to work with and they will love to wear, and it’s a Freebie too!

Yarn Options

Materials

  • 5.5mm/US9 – 16″ circular needles
  • 6.5mm/US10.5 – 16″ circular needles
  • 6.5mm/US10.5 double pointed needles
  • cable needle
  • stitch marker
  • Fur Pompom
  • FREE Pattern

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FINISHED & CHART HACKS Rosebud

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Donegal Soft Rosebud Hat

ROSEBUD

I really wanted to get my needles into some of our new Studio Donegal Soft Donegal, and of course it is hat season, so I decided to try a new pattern that I’ve been eyeballing for a number of years.

The pattern is Rosebud, and it worked up extremely well with the Soft Donegal! The yarn softened up and bloomed after blocking (I washed it in Eucalan and laid it flat to dry). It’s a really nice tweed, a good compromise – it has the body and most of the memory of a traditional tweed, but it’s MUCH softer.

The pattern is only written for one size, and I made the slouchy version. I found that it is a size large, it should fit a 22″ to 23″ head comfortably – the hat is much too large for my little 21″ head. If I were to do it again for my little noggin I would omit about 20 stitches from the pattern. Most of the hat is knit in a plain garter stitch, so playing with the numbers is pretty easy.

Materials

CHART HACKS

Sometimes people find working from a knitting chart a little bit hard, but there are hacks you can use to make your life easier!

  1. Sometimes the symbols all kind of look alike in the grid. To make things a bit easier to read, I colour in my chart with coloured pencils. Each symbol gets its own colour, no two are alike (I don’t bother colouring in the plain knit or purl stitches).
  2. I generally keep my chart & pattern in a plastic sleeve (I get them at an office supply store, they’re cheap and plentiful). This keeps it clean, and none of my papers get lost, banged up, or accidentally waterlogged.
  3. Keeping track of two sets of instructions at the same time can get me off track, so if I have other things to do in the pattern at a certain point in the chat, I make a note on the chart reminding me before I start. For example, If I have to start a bunch of decreases at row 37, I’ll make a little note “Dec” next to that row. This is especially useful if your other pattern instructions are on another page.
  4. To keep track of which row I am on, I use a conventional row counter, but I also use Highlighter Tape to help keep my eyes focused on the right part of the chart.