How to Knit a Cable Knit Shawl
- 1). Create the point of the shawl by casting on two stitches. To cast on, place a slip knot on the needle in your left hand. Slide the tip of the right needle through the knot and behind the left needle. Wrap the yarn around the right needle, draw a new loop through the knot and transfer the new loop from the right needle to the left needle. Note that the slip knot counts as one of the two cast on stitches.
- 2). Increase two stitches on the next row by knitting into the front and the back of each of the two stitches on the left needle. To knit through the front and back of a stitch, insert the right-hand needle from front to back through the stitch on the left needle. Warp the yarn around the needle counterclockwise and pull a new loop through the stitch Do not drop the stitch from the left needle. Instead, reinsert the right needle through the back of the stitch on the left-hand needle, wrap the yarn around the right needle once again and draw through another new loop. Let the stitch fall off the left needle. Leave the two new loops on the right needle.
- 3). Make one knit stitch in each stitch for the next row. To knit, complete the process as if you were to knit in the front and back of the stitch. Instead of inserting the right hook through the stitch a second time, drop the stitch off of the left needle after the first new loop is made on the right needle. Leave the new loop on the right needle.
- 4). Continue working every other row as an increase row, knitting into the front and back of the first and last stitch of each row. Knit all other stitches in the increase row. On the rows between the increase rows, knit the first two stitches, purl to the last two stitches and knit the last two stitches. Continue in this manner until you have a total of twelve stitches on the needle, ending with a non-increase row.
To purl, insert the right needle through the stitch on the left needle from the back to the front, placing the right needle in front of the left. Wrap the yarn around the hook, draw a new loop through the stitch and let the stitch fall off the left needle. Leave the new loop on the right needle. - 5). Begin the cable pattern on the next row. Increase one stitch at the end of the row by knitting into the front and the back of the first stitch. Knit the next stitch, purl the next two stitches, knit four stitches, purl two stitches, knit one stitch and increase in the last stitch. On the next row, knit four stitches, purl four stitches and knit four stitches. Continue in this pattern for two more rows.
Note that you will work the increased stitches into the pattern. To do so, keep the center eight stitches the same, but add to the number of knit stitches before and after the center eight stitches as needed. - 6). Make the cable row as follows: increase in the first stitch; knit up to the purl stitches; purl two stitches; cable four stitches back by slipping the next two stitches on the cable needle, holding them at the back of the work, knitting the next two stitches and then knitting the two stitches from the cable needle; purl two stitches; knit to the last stitch and increase in the last stitch. Work the next row as follows: purl to the knit stitches, knit two stitches, purl four stitches, knit two stitches and purl to the end of the row.
- 7). Continue in the pattern established in Steps 5 and 6 until the work contains 200 stitches. By following steps 5 and 6, you will be working five regular rows between each cable row (four rows before the cable row and one row after). Bind off all stitches by knitting two stitches onto the right needle and pulling the first stitch over the second and off of the hook. Repeat this until one stitch remains. Cut the yarn with the scissors, thread the loose end onto the yarn needle and draw it through the last stitch and off of the needle, pulling to secure.
- 8). Weave in all loose ends by sewing them into the wrong side of the work with the yarn needle.
