4 Ways to Make Your Cable Knits Pop

To celebrate the release of the Vintage Maple Cardigan—with its stunning, high-relief cables—we wanted to gather some great tips for fine-tuning your cable knits. Some patterns are designed with strong, unapologetic cables, while others need softer, more malleable cables that shape to the body. Here, we have 4 tips for getting that strong POP.

1. Great Cables Start with the Fiber

As a fiber-focused knitter, I always look to the fiber first, but it is especially true when it comes to cable knits. The tugging and tension we place on the yarn as we reorder the stitches to create cable motifs can be dramatically influenced by the elasticity of the fiber itself. Crimpy wools such as Targhee or Corriedale can stretch and then recover their natural shape.

This natural elasticity can also allow cable knitting to be easier on our hands. If you struggle with hand fatigue, tend to be a tight knitter, or are just new to cable knits (welcome!), choosing bouncy fibers can help.

We can get a good sense of the elasticity of our yarn with a simple test and a few inches of yarn. For a quick example, I am holding two sample yarns against a cutting mat (anything with a ruler will work) with one end firmly held at the 0 mark and the other end firmly pressed at the 4-inch mark.

Ready, set, stretch.