Learn to Knit Cables with These Basic Patterns

Cable knitting is, to me, more of a winter project, but I don’t really know why. I guess I associate cables with big, warm sweaters covered in cable patterns (even though I’ve never knit one of those) so they feel like something you should want to make in the winter. But the truth is, cables are for all times of year.

Cable knitting is a technique that seems complicated until you know how it works. Cables are made by working stitches out of order from the way they are presented on the needle. To make that work, you hold some stitches temporarily (on a cable needle or spare double-pointed knitting needle) then you work some stitches from the left hand needle, then you work the stitches from the cable needle.

Whether those stitches were held to the back of the front, how the stitches of the cable and the stitches around them are worked (knit or purl) and how often the cable is twisted determine how a cable looks. So just like regular knitting can do a lot of things with just knit and purl stitches, cables can look a lot of different ways just by changing up a few basic moves.

If you’ve never knit cables before, it’s a great idea to start with some swatches of basic cables before embarking on a cabled project.

This post from Handy Little Me includes eight basic cables, including cables worked on 4 or 6 stitches and twisted to the right or left, a 12-stitch cable you might see called staghorn cable, and one she calls cells that you might find elsewhere called a honeycomb cable.

Once you’ve worked a few of these with cables turned in different directions, you’ll be ready to take on some cable knitting projects. I love a project like this hat as a first cable project because there’s only a little bit of cabling to do, or check out this collection of skill-building cable knitting patterns.

[Photo: Handy Little Me]

There are two schools of thought when it comes to instructional books about knitting. Either focus in one particular technique or kind of knitting (stranded knitting, say, or brioche) or try to cover a little bit of everything in a reference book that knitters will use throughout their careers.

The Knitting Book by Frederica Patmore and Dr. Vikki Haffenden aims to be the second kind. The subtitle is: a step-by-step guide to creating imaginative projects for the home and to wear. I’m not sure it does that, exactly, but it does include a quick look at a lot of different techniques and stitch patterns you might use in your projects.

A “guide to creating imaginative projects” sounds to me like it’s about design, but this book is not. There’s 1/3 of a page about altering patterns that only talks about how to add length to a sleeve and adjust where the increases go.

There’s nothing about measuring your body (the section on choosing a size in a pattern only suggests measuring a garment you already own), general garment construction, ease or stitch pattern multiples. The section on gauge (which is the last third of the page with choosing a garment size and altering patterns, discussed above) just says to knit a swatch, block and measure it to compare to a pattern, with no discussion on how you might use your swatch to design your own project or alter a pattern to meet your gauge.

If you ignore the subtitle, what you will find is a lot of information about different kinds of knitting and various techniques you might want to try on your projects. There are 20 cast ons and 15 bind off options, for instance, all discussed before you learn how to knit or purl. (Another quibble I have with this book is the order in which things are presented, but that’s relatively minor.)

You’ll find quick hits on increases and decreases, twists and cables, lace, colorwork, textured effects like fisherman’s rib and brioche, loops, mosaic knitting, double knitting, decorative stitches, shadow knitting, bias knitting, mitered squares, entrelac and more. There are tips for selvedge stitches, knitting with beads, adding buttonholes, picking up stitches and more.

A few patterns at the back give knitters a taste of some of the techniques included, but they’re not rated by skill level and the first one is a bias knit gradient scarf worked in six different colors of mohair, which isn’t a thing I’d wish on any beginner.

And I guess that’s maybe what my issue with the book is. I don’t know if it’s meant for beginners and it doesn’t seem to, either. I feel like this book would be overwhelming to new knitters and doesn’t really give you a place to start or all the information you might need to do projects well.

The variety of techniques included is fun, and there are also stitch patterns in the back you can use on your own projects, but again it doesn’t really provide any guidance for how to design your own projects so I don’t know how helpful all of that is.

I want to like books like this because having one reference that helps you with a lot of different things is great, I’m just not sure this is the one. If you can find it at your library or local book store and flip through it before buying, I think that would be a great idea to see if it’s a book that would be helpful for you.

And if you have this book and love it please let me know! I’m sure it’s good for someone I’m just not sure who.

About the book: 336 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by DK. Suggested retail price $40.

Have you read?