Cable Knitting Patterns for Hats, a Cowl and Mittens

Which of the four to cast on first

All four are Intermediate, which here means you are comfortable knitting in the round and reading a chart, and you will not panic when a cable needle comes out. Beyond that they ask for quite different things.

The hat with rope cables wants patience and a steady eye. The colourwork hat wants an even hand with two yarns for twelve rounds only. The cowl wants you to learn one odd stitch and then repeat it for an evening or three. The mittens want you to pay attention at the thumb and nowhere else much.

Every pattern has its written rounds and a chart that says the same thing, so use whichever you read faster. All four are knit; there is no crochet in the book.

• Twin Rope Cable Hat: 59 rounds, cable needle, ropes that run right into the crown
• Mountain Line Colourwork Hat: 58 rounds, two colours, a 12-round band
• Two-Tone Brioche Cowl: 87 rounds, 96 stitches, one colour per round
• Brookside Mittens: 81 rounds, one cable, a side thumb gusset

Two ropes, twelve stitches, eight rounds

The cable hat is built on a single 12-stitch repeat. Inside it sit two 4-stitch ropes, staggered: the first crosses to the right on round 13, and four rounds later the second crosses to the left. Then the 8 rounds start over. Between the ropes run purl columns, which is why the cables stand up instead of sinking into the fabric.

An earlier sketch of this hat had four cable panels and a six-point crown. That plan was dropped because panels do not divide evenly across three head sizes. An all-over repeat does: 8 repeats in the small, 9 in the medium, 10 in the large, and the round numbers stay identical in every size. It also came out shorter than planned, 59 rounds instead of about 70, because cables pull the fabric in and the height comes from that tighter gauge.

The crown is where the hat earns its keep. On round 45 the purl columns narrow with p2tog while the cable still crosses, and the second cable gets its last crossing on round 49. Only after that do the decreases move into the cables themselves, so the ropes run all the way to the top before the last 8, 9 or 10 stitches are pulled tight. Dry it over a bowl or balloon and keep the iron away; pressing flattens exactly what you worked for.

Twelve rounds of mountains, and no float over four stitches

The colourwork hat keeps its stranded knitting to one band. Colour B joins on round 17 and is cut after round 28; above and below that, the hat is rib in the main colour, then plain knitting, then a crown that decreases once per repeat. If you have never carried a second yarn across the back of your work, twelve rounds is a short enough stretch to find out whether you like it.

The motif was drawn on a 12-stitch grid: outlined peaks with a snow line inside each one, a small diamond star in every valley, and a stripe above and below. The longest stretch of unused yarn on the wrong side is 4 stitches, found on rounds 21 to 26. Nothing in the band asks you to catch a float, and the loops stay short enough for fingers.

Stranded fabric knits tighter than stockinette. The pattern allows for it: 22 stitches and 26 rounds to 4 in in the band, against about 20 and 28 in plain knitting on the same US 7 needle. If your colourwork runs tighter than that, go up a needle size for the band only and leave the rest of the hat alone. Weave in the ends where B joins to close any small gaps, then block over a bowl so the floats relax.

Counting brioche by its dark ribs

Brioche has a reputation for getting lost in. The cowl is written to make that hard. From round 5, B is worked on the odd rounds and A on the even ones, you leave both yarns attached, and you pick up the one you need at the start of the round, crossing them once so no hole forms. Only one yarn is ever in play.

To count how far you have come, count the dark rib stitches on the outside: each one is 2 rounds. If you put the cowl down, stop after a B round, so the next round is always A and you never have to work out which colour is waiting. A slipped stitch and its yarn over count as one stitch, so the count stays 96 from start to finish.

The k1, p1 edges at the bottom and top were added to the first plan so the cowl does not curl, and the whole of the middle is just rounds 6 and 7 repeated thirty-eight more times. Cast on and bind off loosely, with a needle two sizes larger if yours tends to tighten. When it is wet, lay it flat. Brioche is a double-thick fabric and it will stretch lengthwise if you let it.

A cable that changes its mind every six rounds

Most single cables cross the same way every time and twist into a rope. The mitten cable is 6 stitches wide and crosses back on round 18, then front on round 24, then back again on round 30. Each crossing is 6 rounds after the last, and the alternating direction makes it ripple like water over stones. Hence Brookside.

The thumb gusset starts at the side of the hand, between the start of the round and a marker placed on round 17. That is the reason both mittens are worked the same: there is no left and right, only two copies. Paired make-1 increases grow it, and on round 34 the 11 gusset stitches go onto waste yarn while one stitch is cast on over the gap. If you are following the mittens in Row & Round, that is a good round to have the bar resting on before you start the hand.

Length is the same in every size, about 9½ in from cuff edge to tip. Each plain round adds roughly 1/7 in, so for long fingers add rounds before the top is closed after round 66, and leave some out for short ones. The top is closed with decreases and grafted, and the thumb, a separate small piece, begins at round 67 with the held stitches plus 1 [3, 3] picked up.

Yarn, needles and the gauge to check first

Yardage figures are estimates, so buy a little extra, particularly for the cables, which use about 15% more than plain knitting. Hats and mittens take worsted-weight (#4) wool; the cowl takes DK-weight (#3) in two colours. Sizes are given as S [M, L].

Swatch in the stitch you will actually be knitting. The cable hat is 22 stitches and 30 rounds to 4 in (10 cm) after blocking, measured across the cables, which pull the fabric in. The mittens are 20 stitches and 28 rounds in stockinette on US 7. The cowl is 16 stitches and 36 rounds in brioche on US 6.

• Twin Rope Cable Hat: about 190 [215, 245] yd (174 [197, 224] m); head 20 [21½, 23] in; 17½ [19¾, 21¾] in around unstretched, about 8 in tall
• Mountain Line Colourwork Hat: about 140 [160, 180] yd (128 [146, 165] m) in the main colour and 40 [45, 50] yd (37 [41, 46] m) in the contrast; about 8½ in tall
• Two-Tone Brioche Cowl: about 180 yd (165 m) dark and 170 yd (155 m) light, US 6 (4 mm) 16 in circular; about 24 in around and 10 in tall
• Brookside Mittens: about 150 [170, 195] yd (137 [155, 178] m) for the pair; hand 7 [7¾, 8½] in around the knuckles
• Hats and mittens: US 5 (3.75 mm) for brims and cuffs, US 7 (4.5 mm) for the bodies, double-pointed needles or a long circular for magic loop