Pattern notes

See this pattern's charts for a map of the scarf's cables.

Yarn: This project uses approx 110 g/3.8 oz of handspun merino in deep, dark navy blue. Suggested commercial substitute: something soft and smooth, like Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette or Rooster Almerino Aran.

Needles and notions:
1 pair straight needles in the size appropriate to your chosen yarn, one double-pointed needle in same size, stitch holders (or large safety pins), tapestry needle to weave in ends

Tension: 28 sts to 10 cm/4" in Main Cable Pattern; 15 wpi

Finished dimensions:
10 cm/4" wide by 195 cm/77"

The scarf consists of 5 cables, which are numbered 1 to 5 (R to L with RS facing). Cables 1, 2 and 3 are where most of the action occurs while Cables 4 and 5 remain pretty much the same. Remember that as the cables move around, each one retains essentially the same cable cross pattern it started with

You may find that in the sections where single cables are worked as very narrow strips, keeping them from twisting in unwanted directions is much simpler if you work your WS rows from left to right without turning your knitting (typewriter style!). This may take some experimenting as well as checking your favourite references.

Yarn Magazine Best Festival Theme Scarf, Melbourne Scarf Festival 2007

The Naughty Little Cable

Download PDF (168 kb)

Chiara Z

The theme of the Craft Victoria Scarf Festival this year was 'spin'. I was taken by the way knitted cables seem to spin on their own axis. Since I didn't have a lot of experience with cables I thought this would be a good opportunity to have a go. A cable is generally defined as 'stitches knitted out of order'. So, in exploring the idea of cables I decided to take this concept to the nth degree.

I started with five little cables spinning alternately to the right and the left. The cable second from the right was to be the main one to vary. At first the variations I tried were quite straightforward. I made the cable thicker or thinner; longer or shorter; changed its direction and so on.

Wintergarden handbag

Disorderly stitches

As the scarf continued to grow, the cable variations became more extreme. By this time the cables were starting to take on their own personalities in my mind: the conventional little cables who just kept on in their usual way and the 'naughty little cable' who wanted to be different.

Every good story must have a love interest and so the naughty little cable started to make overtures, trying to impress the cable next door. The rest of the scarf tells how the story unfolds. The naughty little cable attempts typical courting tactics such as 'I'm not looking at you', 'I'm talking to this person over here' and 'look at me, I can fly!' In the end, they all live happily ever after, with the young couple joining together in a set of classic 'XO' (kiss, hug) cables followed by a more discrete braid. Meanwhile the other little cables continue their predictable existence, spinning away just as they were in the beginning.

As for the knitting, it certainly gave me some great experiences in 'stitches knitted out of order'. I soon tired of using the cable needle and switched to cabling without one. It took a little while to get used to the idea of pinching off a couple of stitches and pulling them off the needle! But it made knitting a lot smoother and quicker. I had to use a variety of stitch holders to cope with the adventures of the naughty little cable. Again, I wanted to minimise the amount of hardware, so I used a couple of large safety pins to hold sections of the work while I continued knitting other sections.

Instructions

Cast on 28 sts.

Set-up section: Work 16 repeats of main cable pattern or until Section 1 of scarf measures about 26 cm from cast-on edge.

Variation 1: Maintain Cables 1, 3, 4 and 5 in pattern.
Row 1: As main cable pattern. Row 2 and all WS rows: As main cable pattern. Row 3: C4B, p2, k4, p2, C4B, p2, C4F, p2, C4B. Row 5: K4, p2, C4F, p2, (k4, p2) twice, k4. Row 7: As Row 3. Row 8: As set.
Repeat Rows 1-8 once more, then work 5 repeats of Main Cable pattern from Row 1.

Variation 2: Maintain Cables 1, 3, 4 and 5 in pattern.
Row 1: K4, p2, (k1 m1 k1) twice, (p2 k4) three times. (30 sts) Row 2 and all WS rows: As main cable patt, except working 6 purl sts across Cable 2 where 2 sts have just been made. Row 3: C4B, p2, k6, C4B, p2, C4F, p2, C4B. Row 5: K4, p2, C6F, (p2 k4) three times. Row 7: As Row 3. Row 9: K4, p2, k6, p2, (k4, p2) twice, k4. Row 10: (P4, k2) three times, (p2tog, p1) twice), k2, p4. (28 sts)
Cont in Main Cable Pattern as set, beg with a Row 3. Work four more full repeats in Main Cable Pattern.

Variation 3: Maintain Cables 1, 3, 4 and 5 in pattern.
Row 1: As main cable pattern. Row 2 and all WS rows: As main cable pattern. Row 3: (C4B, p2) three times, C4F, p2, C4B Row 5: As Row 1. Row 7: As Row 3 of Main Cable Patt. Row 8: As set.
Repeat Rows 1-8 once more, then work 5 repeats of Main Cable pattern.

Variation 4: Divide into three sections, with Cable 1, Cable 2, and Cables 3—5 each worked in turn while other sections are on holders. You should complete the same number of rows in each section before all cables are reunited on needles.
Row 1: K3, k2tog, place these 4 sts on holder. K6, place these sts on holder. Cont on rem 17 sts, p1, (k4 p2) twice, k4. Row 2 and subsequent rows: Cont in Main Cable Patt on these 17 sts only, work 11 more rows, ending on a Row 4. Break yarn and leave sts on holder.
Cable 2: Reattach yarn to WS of cable and beg with a Row 2, cont as follows.
Row 2 and all WS rows: P6. Row 3: K6. Row 5: C6F.
Work 6 more rows as set in this sequence (cabling only on Row 5), ending on a WS row. Break yarn. Leave sts on holder.
Cable 1: Reattach yarn to WS of cable and work 11 rows in Main cable pattern on these 4 sts only, beg with a Row 2 and ending on a Row 4. Do not break yarn.
Transfer Cables 2, 3, 4 and 5 to empty needle (left needle) in the correct order with RS facing. Transfer 4 sts of Cable 1 to left needle, and then work across in a Row 1 of Main Cable Pattern as set EXCEPT increasing 1 st in first row as follows: K4, m1, p1, k4 ... in patt to end. Cont in Main Cable Patt until three full repeats have been worked.

Variation 5: Maintain Cables 1, 3, 4 and 5 in pattern.
Row 1: K4, p2, k10, p2, k4, p2, k4. Row 2 and all WS rows in this variation: (P4, k2) twice, p10, k2, p4. Row 3: C4B, p2, k10, p2, C4F p2, C4B. Row 5: K4, p2, k2, C6F, k2, (p2, k4) twice. Row 7: As Row 3. Row 8: As set.
Repeat Rows 1-8 once more, then Rows 1-4 once more.

Variation 6: Maintain Cables 1, 3, 4 and 5 in pattern.
Row 1: K4, p2, C6F, (p2, k4) twice. Row 2: (P4, k2) twice, (p2, m1, p2) twice, k2, p4. (30 sts) Row 3: C4B, k12, C4F, p2, C4B. Row 4 (and next 3 WS rows): (P4, k2) twice, p12, k2, p4. Row 5: K4, p2, k12, (p2, k4) twice. Row 7: As Row 3. Row 9: As Row 5.
Row 10: (P4, k2) twice, (p2, p2tog, p2) twice, p2, k4. (28 sts).
Row 11: As Row 3 of Main Cable Pattern (resuming normal cable patt).
Row 12: As Row 2 of Main Cable Pattern.
Work 3 more repeats of Main Cable Pattern.

Variation 7: Divide cables in manner similar to Variation 4. Maintain Main Cable Pattern for Cables 3, 4 and 5 (dec 4 sts in Row 1 as follows). Note that Cable 2 will remain on holder until Variation 8 is complete.
Row 1: K3, k2tog, place these 4 sts on holder. K2tog, k2, k2tog; place these 4 sts on holder. K2tog, k3, (p2, k4) twice. Cont on these 16 sts only, work in Main Cable Pattern for 15 more rows, ending on a Row 4. Break yarn and leave sts on holder. Cable 1: Reattach yarn to WS of cable, and cont on these 4 sts only, work in Main Cable Pattern (without any purl troughs) for 15 more rows, ending on a Row 4. Do not break yarn.

Variation 8: Transfer Cables 3, 4 and 5 from holder onto empty needle (left needle) in the correct order with RS facing. Transfer 4 sts of Cable 1 to left needle, and then work across in a Row 1 of Main Cable Pattern as set EXCEPT inc 1 st in first row as follows -- you will be leaving out Cable 2 (for now) and maintaining each cable's own pattern as set. Row 1 K4, m1, (k4, p2) twice, k4. (21 sts). Row 2 (P4, k2) twice, p4, k1, m1, p4. (22 sts). Row 3: As for Main Cable Pattern (remembering that you are leaving out Cable 2, so: (C4B, p2) twice, C4F, p2, C4B. Row 4 (and all further WS rows in this variation): (P4, k2) three times, p4.
Repeat Rows 1—4 (leaving out increases and working all sts in Main Cable Pattern as set) four more times.
Return to Cable 2 sts on hold.
Attach either a new ball of yarn or other end of working ball of yarn to WS of Cable 2 and, beg with a Row 2, work in Main Cable Patt on these 4 sts only until Cable 2 is long enough to wrap completely underneath scarf and rejoin the main scarf in position *after* Cable 5, at the left-hand edge of the scarf with RS facing (as follows). (Ensure you end on a Row 4.)

Variation 9: Transfer Cable 2 sts to a double-pointed needle, cable needle or holder
Row 1: Work across main scarf keeping Main Cable Pattern correct; kfb into last st, then k 4 sts of Cable from holder. (27 sts) Row 2: P4, k1, m1, (p4, k2) three times, p4. Row 3: As for Row 3 of Main Cable Pattern, keeping each cable's individual pattern correct, remembering you are now working them out of order (1, 3, 4, 5, 2, as they appear from right to left). [Note: if you are working this scarf in finer yarn on smaller needles, you may wish to work a plain Row 4 here, followed by an additional repeat of Rows 1—3 as set in Main Cable Pattern here to make the join more substantial—keep the cables correct. If working in the yarn size specified or larger, continue as follows.] Row 4: P3, p2tog, place these 4 sts on hold. P2 tog, p4, (k2, p4) three times.
Work four repeats of Rows 1–4 of Main Cable Pattern on these 22 sts only.

Variation 10: Divide again to restore some order amongst the cables! Cable 1 sts are separated from 3, 4 and 5; sts for Cable 2 are on hold until end of this Variation.
Row 1: K3, k2tog, place these 4 sts on holder. K2tog, k3, (p2, k4) twice (16 sts). Row 2 (and all WS rows for this Variation): Cont on Cables 3, 4, 5 only, (P4, k2) twice, p4. Row 3: As for Main Cable Pattern. Row 4: As set.
Work Rows 1–4 of Main Cable Pattern on 16 sts only three more times. Break yarn and leave these sts on holder.
Attach yarn to WS of Cable 1. Work Rows 1–4 of Main Cable Pattern three times (so this cable is as long as main scarf piece just worked). Do not break yarn. Place these 4 sts on holder.
Attach spare ball or other end of ball to WS of Cable 2 (still on hold at left edge of scarf). Work in Main Cable Pattern as many repeats are are necessary to wrap Cable 2 over top of scarf and rejoin main scarf in correct position, ending on a Row 4. Slip sts to dpn or cn. Break yarn.

Variation 11: Order is restored (sort of). Maintain Cables 1, 4 and 5 in pattern. Next, rearrange sts in order on empty needle—you will need to work all five cables in correct numerical order, keeping all cable crossings correct, and inc in Rows 1 and 2 as follows.
Row 1: (K3, kfb) twice, (k4, p2) twice, k4. (26 sts). Row 2: (P4, k2) twice, (p4, m1, p1) twice, p4. (28 sts). Row 3: C4B, p2, k4, m1, k2, m1, k4, p2, C4F, p2, C4B. (30 sts). Row 4 (and all WS rows in this Variation): (P4, k2) twice, p12, k2, p4. Row 5: K4, p2, C6F, C6B, (p2, k4) twice. Row 7: As Row 3. Row 8: As set. Repeat Rows 3—8 once.

Variation 12: A new pattern emerges. Maintain same old same old for Cables 1, 4 and 5.
Row 1: K4, p2, k12, (p2, k4) twice. Row 2 (and all WS rows for this Variation): (P4, k2) twice, p12, k2, p4. Row 3: C4B, p2, k12, p2, C4F, p2, C4B. Row 5: As Row 1. Row 7: C4B, p2, C6F, C6B, (p2, k4) twice. Rows 8—14: As Rows 2—8. Row 15: C4B, p2, C6B, C6F, (p2, k4) twice. Row 16: As set.
Repeat Rows 1—16 once.

Variation 13: A little added interest in the family. (Keep cables 1, 4 and 5 as previously.)
Row 1: K4, p2, k12, (p2, k4) twice. Row 2 and all WS rows to end: (P4, k2) twice, p12, k2, p4. Row 3: C4B, p2, C4F, k4, C4B, p2, C4F, p2, C4B. Row 5: As Row 1. Row 7: C4B, p2, k4, C4B, k4, (p2, k4) twice. Row 8: As set.
Repeat Rows 1—8 two more times.

Cast off 30 sts. Weave in ends. Block or steam lightly if desired. And they all lived happily ever after!