Creative Cables: the Chamfer Cardigan

The Chamfer Cardigan is one of those stunning knitted pieces that just feels destined to become a favorite. The cables in this cardigan are quite lovely, and when you work them on the bias, you get a unique look that still has classic style. Fortunately, the cozy cables in this piece are the best kind—the kind that are fun to work and simple to memorize.

Non-knitters sometimes see cables as magical and complex. But knitters know that nearly everything in knitting is just composed of the two standard stitches, knits and purls. Cables are no exception—the only difference is that the stitches are generally worked out of order. Cable instructions are usually written using cable needles, so that the knitter can hold some of the stitches out of the way to be able to change the working order. But this fun-to-knit cardigan has three sorts that can all be worked without a cable needle.

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The Chamfer Cardigan’s three types of cables, shown below from left to right: the mock cable, 2/2 cross cables (shown as a 2/2 left cross), and the 2-stitch right twist cable.

Cables draw in the width of knitted fabric significantly. Blocking not only helps restore some drape and width to cabled fabric, it also brings the cable stitches into relief. Photos by Corrina Ferguson

The Cabled Effect

One of the things that’s important to pay attention to when working cables is how the cables affect the knitted fabric. Above you can see that the stockinette fabric shown at the bottom is a good bit wider than the cabled fabric at the top. That’s because of the way that cable stitches are worked—they tend to “suck in” the fabric and make the stitch gauge tighter. The stitch count at the bottom (in stockinette) and the cabled stitch count at the top are the same— it’s just the cables that make the fabric tighter.

Cables also can use up more yarn. The wider the cable, the more it impacts the knitted fabric and the yarn usage. The nifty thing about the Chamfer Cardigan, though, is that except for the ribbing, all the fabric is cabled pretty evenly, which makes the gauge consistent across the different parts of the cardigan.

Pro Tip: Make sure you swatch the sweater in the cabled pattern to make sure you get accurate gauge and a sweater that will fit!

Classic Cables: Crosses

The first type of cable is the 2/2 cross, a traditional basic cable. These are 4-stitch cables that can turn to either the left or the right depending on how the stitches are manipulated. When knitting cables, always pay attention to the abbreviations—there are many ways to name the same cable. These are often called a C4F (cable 4 front) and C4B (cable 4 back), which tells you how many stitches are involved (4) and where the cable needle will be held. If you can’t remember where to hold the cable needle when seeing the 2/2 LC and 2/2 RC cross abbreviations, I like to remember that left has an F in it, and therefore you hold the cable needle to the front.

Happily, we don’t need a cable needle at all to work these simple cables. There’s an easy way to work them that will make the knitting go faster and free you from needing a cable needle. When working the cables this way, all the stitches are always slipped purlwise. We don’t want to change the orientation of the stitches at all.

2/2 Left Cross

• Slip the next 2 stitches purlwise with the yarn in back. Then knit the next 2 stitches in line.
• Insert the left-hand needle into the front of the 2 stitches just slipped.
• Carefully remove the right-hand needle from all 4 stitches (both the stitches worked and slipped) and then reinsert that right-hand needle back into the 2 stitches that have already been worked.
• Knit the 2 stitches that are now on the left-hand needle.

To work a 2x2 left cross, bring the first 2 stitches in front of the work. (Remember that “left” and “front” both contain the letter F.) Photos by Corrina Ferguson

2/2 Right Cross

• Slip the next 2 stitches purlwise with the yarn in front. Bring the yarn to the back and knit the next 2 stitches in line.
• Bring the yarn forward and insert the left-hand needle into the back of the 2 stitches just slipped.
• Carefully remove the right-hand needle from all 4 stitches (both the stitches worked and slipped) and then reinsert that right-hand needle back into the 2 stitches that have already been worked.
• Knit the 2 stitches that are now on the left-hand needle.

To work a 2x2 right cross, bring the first 2 stitches in back of the work. Photos by Corrina Ferguson

Important Reminder: When working the back and the sleeves, you will work both left crosses and right crosses, based on the chart. However, when working the fronts, you will ONLY work the crosses for the front that you are working. On the left front, all crosses are left-leaning, and on the right front, all crosses are right-leaning.

Twists

The second type of cable is the right twist (RT). There aren’t any left twists in this sweater, so we will focus on just the rights. These tiny twist cables create strong diagonal lines and neatly frame the ribbing on the front of the cardigan. The right twists can technically be worked as a 1/1 RC, either with or without a cable needle, but there’s a much easier way.

Right Twist

• Knit the 2 stitches together (just like a normal k2tog) but leave both stitches on the left-hand needle.
• Knit the first stitch again by itself, and then let both stitches drop from the left-hand needle.

A right twist combines k2tog and k1, worked on the same 2 stitches. Photos by Corrina Ferguson

When Is a Cable Not a Cable?

The last type of cable in the Chamfer Cardigan is the mock cable, which isn’t a cable at all, but the way the stitches are slipped and passed over gives it a cabled appearance with a little eyelet in the center. This is another stitch combination that goes by lots of different names, so don’t be surprised if you see it called something entirely different in other patterns. The mock cable does change the stitch count from row to row, though—on the first row you lose a stitch in each mock cable, but on the second row you replace that stitch by working a yarnover on the wrong side of the fabric.

Mock Cable

• Slip the first stitch purlwise with yarn in back, and then knit the next 2 stitches.
• Pass the slipped stitch over both knit stitches, decreasing one stitch in the process.
• Work a yarnover on the next wrong-side row by working purl 1, yarnover, purl 1, to bring the stitch count for the mock cable back up to three.

A mock cable is a 2-row process: On the first row, the first stitch is lifted over the second and third. On the second row, a yarnover increase will replace the reduced stitch (not shown). Photos by Corrina Ferguson

The best part about the Chamfer Cardigan is how easy it is to memorize the cable patterning and to always know which cable you need to work in any given spot. Four stitch cables are always one of the 2/2 crosses, two stitch cables are always a right twist, and three stitches mean it’s mock cable time! Once you get going on the delightful diagonal panels and pieces for this cardigan you won’t want to stop.

Corrina Ferguson is a Florida-based knitting designer, technical editor, and productivity specialist for entrepreneurs. A lifelong crafter who also boasts an unreasonable love of math and spreadsheets, is the author of two knitting books and the former editor of Creative Knitting Magazine. When she's not toiling away in Excel, Corrina spends her time trying to figure out how to move to a climate where her main hobbies of baking and knitting sweaters might actually make sense. Find Corrina online at corrinaferguson.com and craftststarstudios.com.