Mock Cables Tutorial

New Year New Skills!

Hello Fiber Friends! I’m really excited about this new year and all of the new things that are coming, like this mock cables tutorial. The past two years, I’ve really been focusing on mom-ing and planning what life might look like in the next few years. But I’m done hoping and wishing and ready to get after it. 2023 for me will be all about learning new skills, making new things. I plan to finish up some house projects that I’ve been dreaming about this year with my husband.

You might be thinking wait, you just built a brand new house. Yes, wee did. And it’s very much like buying a blank canvas. The walls are rough and all the same color. We really want some organization and storage solutions like shelving to neatly tuck away some things that haven’t yet found a home

Knitting!

Over the past two years I have been sticking with the traditional cable knit stitches in my patterns. And that’s been great! It’s worked well. But I also felt my creative energy waning a bit. So now it’s time to inject some new energy back into my designs. The way I’m doing that is through learning new skills and playing with them in new pattern ideas. My kids are also growing and they need new knit accessories. I’m not going to say too much about sweaters. I want to get into knitting more of them but the sizing just scared the heck out of me. If I offer a pattern I want it to be size inclusive but I would really have to work with some test knitters before publishing anything new like that.

Sewing

I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, so I’m not going to get into it too much here. But I might share some patterns or other resources that I find helpful int his.

The Mock Cable Tutorials

Alright, this is what you’re really here for. Recently I’ve launched a few patterns that utilize mock cables. If you’re new to mock cables, I’m really excited that you are here. They provide the look and feel of cable knitting, without the complexity. You can achieve a certain look in a shorter amount of time with less headache.

Passed Over Stitches:

This is the first way that I learned how to do a mock cable. My patterns are using chunky or super bulky yarn and as such will work in a series of three stitches. Depending on what yarn you are using, you can play around with the gauge and tension and maybe change that number.

Row 1:

First, slip one stitch purl wise, with your yarn at the back. Then knit two stitches.

Go back to that slipped stitch, and lift it up and over the two stitches that you just knit.

Row 2:

Knit one stitch. Wrap your yarn around your needle, and bring it back into position. Knit the next stitch. This will restore your pattern to repeats of three stitches.

Right and Left Twists:

These simple stitches are actually cable stitches. You simply knit the stitches on your left hand needle out of order a bit to carry one stitch to the right or to the left. You can work one of these twists over a few rounds to create the look of a larger cable as I have done in the Mock 3 Hat, or in the Meringue Hat

Right Twist: Knit into the second stitch on your left hand needle. Bring your right hand needle around to the front and knit through the first stitch on the left hand needle as normal. Now you can take the off of the left hand needle, transferring them over to the right hand needle.

Left Twist: Knit the second stitch on your left hand needle through the back. Bring the right hand needle around to the front and knit the first stitch on your needle. You can now transfer these stitches from the left to the right hand needle and continue working.

The Mockup Hat