Assia Brill came up with an amazing way to make knitted cables more prominent and textured. But this approach is not limited only to the regular crossed cables formed by knit stitches.
We can also apply this method to travelling cables that are built by knit and purl stitches.
We do it by using “ghost” stitches, but we add those stitches only around the part of the cable that is formed by knits.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL
(if you don’t see the video, turn off the ad blocker in your browser)
Here’s how we do it step by step.
There are three main stages of applying this method to a cable pattern: (1) adding the ghost stitches, (2) working in a cable pattern, and (3) removing the ghost stitches.
The term “ghost stitches” might seem scary, but in reality, these are ordinary purl stitches. I call them ghosts because we don’t really see them, and we get rid of them as soon as the cable is finished. We need these stitches to prop the cable and keep it over the surface of the fabric no matter what.
When we deal with travelling cables, we add ghost stitches only at the sides of the “travelling” part of the cable – a part that consists of knit stitches.
For example, to make a cable formed by 2 knits and 2 purls, we add an extra “ghost” purl to each side of the group of 2 knit stitches.
Adding ghost stitches means that the number of stitches in a cable will be bigger than the original number of stitches on our needles, and that’s why we’ll use more yarn than we use for knitting regular cables.
It also means that we will need to use a cable needle to cross the cables even if we can do without a cable needle in other cable-crossing situations.
Now, that we understand the logic behind this method, let’s take a closer look at each stage of the process.
ADDING THE GHOST STITCHES
It is easier to do it in the first right-side row (or first round) of the cable pattern. It could be the row after a border or the very first row of the project, as it is the case in my swatch.
STEP 1
Work to the group of knit stitches that will be crossed in the cable.
For example, even though the cable in my swatch is right-slanting, I work the two purl stitches that are a part of this cable as usual, and stop only when I get to a group of two knit stitches.
STEP 2
Bring the working yarn to the back of the work, and move it over the right needle to the front of the fabric to make a reverse yarn over.
STEP 3
Knit the stitches of the “knit part” of the cable. For my swatch, it means knitting two stitches.
STEP 4
Make another reverse yarn over by bringing the yarn from the back of the work over the right needle.
STEP 5
Work to the end of the row or round.
If the cable in the pattern that you follow starts to “travel” in the very first right-side row, add a reverse yarn over at each side of the “travelling” part of the cable in the last wrong-side row before the first “cable-crossing” row.
Because we do it on the wrong side of the work, the group of stitches formed by the knit stitches on the right side of the fabric will look like purls.
This approach is less convenient because we’ll need to cross yarn overs together with the stitches of the cable in the next row. This could be a bit confusing,. That’s why it is easier to add ghost stitches in a right-side row.
NEXT ROW
If you made reverse yarn overs in a right-side row, the next row will be worked on the wrong side of the project. In this row, knit the yarn overs at the sides of the “travelling” part of the cable. Do it as usual, through the front leg of the yarn over.
If you are working in the round, purl the yarn overs formed in the previous round. Again, purl them as usual, through the front loop.
Because we added reverse yarn overs instead of regular ones, knitting or purling them through the front loop will result in twisted stitches that won’t add holes to our beautiful travelling super cable.
Once you take care of the yarn overs, work all stitches to the end of the row or round.
From now on, we’ll work the ghost stitches in a reverse stockinette pattern – purl them on the right side of the fabric and knit them in wrong-side rows.
MAKING THE CABLE
When it is time to cross the cable, we do it in a right-side row, and we follow the same steps that we use when we cross a regular cable. The only difference is that we treat the ghost stitches as a part of the section of the cable formed by knit stitches.
For example, to make a right-slanting travelling super cable, first, we work to the stitches of the cable. In my swatch, the cable is made of 2 purl stitches + 1 ghost stitch + 2 knit stitches + 1 ghost stitch.
Then we follow three simple steps.
STEP 1R
Slip the part of the cable formed by purl stitches to a cable needle and leave this needle at the back of the work.
STEP 2R
Work the stitches of the “travelling” part of the cable in pattern. In my swatch, it means purling 1 stitch, knitting 2 stitches and purling the last ghost stitch.
STEP 3R
Purl the stitches sitting on the cable needle. You can do it directly from the cable needle, but I prefer to slip them to the left needle first.
Once the cable is crossed, work all stitches to the end of the row or round.
To make a left-slanting travelling super cable, stop when you get to the stitches of the cable. In my swatch, the cable is made of 1 ghost stitch + 2 knit stitches + 1 ghost stitch + 2 purl stitches.
STEP 1L
Slip the “travelling” part of the cable to a cable needle. In my swatch, it means slipping 1 ghost stitch + 2 knit stitches + 1 ghost stitch. Keep the cable needle at the front of the work.
STEP 2L
Purl the stitches of the other part of the cable. In my swatch, this part is made of two purls.
STEP 3L
Work the stitches sitting on the cable needle in pattern – purl the purls and knit the knits.
Then work to the end of the row or round.
When the cable pattern is finished, it is time for the last stage of making a travelling super cable.
REMOVING THE GHOST STITCHES
This stage happens in the last right-side row or round of the cable pattern. You can also combine this row with the bind-off row, and bind off stitches at the same time as you get rid of the ghost stitches.
The process is very simple – we work each ghost stitch together with the closest knit stitch.
Stop when you get to the ghost stitch at the right side of the “travelling” part of the cable.
Knit the next two stitches together. These will be the ghost stitch and the first knit stitch.
If the “travelling” part of your cable is made of only one knit stitch, make a double vertical decrease to remove both ghost stitches in one move.
If the cable is wide, work until you get to the last knit stitch that forms the “travelling” part of the cable. Because this part of the cable in my swatch is only two stitches wide, I will get to removing the last ghost stitch right away. We do it by making a “slip, slip, knit” decrease.
You can use the classic SSK decrease, but I prefer a simplified version of this method.
First, insert the tip of the right needle into the knit stitch from left to right, and ease the left needle out slipping this stitch knitwise to the right needle.
Return this stitch to the left needle (this time, do it purlwise, without twisting the stitch), and knit it together with the next stitch (the ghost stitch) through the back loop.
Finish the row or round and you will see that the number of stitches is now back to the number we started with before we added ghost stitches to the work.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
This is how you can easily turn simple travelling cables into gorgeous highly-textured 3D elements.
The cables formed by this method are not just beautifully embossed, they also don’t have those ugly elongated stitches at the sides of each cross. The mighty ghost stitches took care of that imperfection as well.
SAVE IT FOR LATER
This and 36 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #7.
