Cable Tutorial and Free Pattern

Cables are not hard, but they do take a tiny bit of finesse. And nerve. Yeah, nerve if you’re moving stitches in front of and behind the working row without losing them. There are cable needles to help you do this, probably 10 or so different kinds, but I just use a dpn. There is also a method where you just slip the stitches off the needles in blind faith, hold on to them and then knit them in turn. I’ve tried it and although it works, for me, it’s just as easy, and actually quicker to just wield the mighty DPN.

So, all that being said, if you’ve never tried cabling, really it’s easy. And HERE is a tutorial to help you along.

And, then HERE is the free pattern for this scarf.

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Looking for more Cable-styled knitting patterns? Check out these Cable Knit Patterns on Etsy

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Santa and Saint Nicholas generally get all the good press, but Central European kids know you don’t want to just be good so you get presents from St. Nicholas; you also want to avoid the ire of Krampus. (He’s depicted as a human-like figure with horns and usually hairy or furry who gives birch rods instead of gifts to kids who are bad.)

If you’re the type to embrace the naughty side (or you just want to scare the children into good behavior over the holidays), maybe you’ll want to knit a Krampus sweater.

This one, from Sofie Amalie Laulund, is a top down circular yoke sweater with Krampus faces at the top and cavorting Krampuses further down the body, with some traditional Scandinavian snowflakes thrown in for fun.

Because of the large motifs there’s not a lot of room for adjusting the fit, but it is available in five sizes (the Ravelry page doesn’t say what the sizing is, and it says its worked with no ease but the photo looks like the sweater has a bit of positive ease, so if you decide to make this one just check the measurements and your own comfort level for ease when picking a size).

It also uses five colors, but there’s very little red and brown so you can probably use scrap yarn for those parts. It calls for DK weight yarn. You’ll want a background color that helps the creatures stand out. You could also work the snowflake bands in different colors if you want to mix it up.

The pattern is available in both English and Danish, and you can find it on Ravelry. This is the designer’s first pattern, which kudos to them because it’s such an ambitious (and fun!) project I’m happy to add to my collection of whimsy-filled knits.

[Photo: Sofie Amalie Laulund]

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