When I first began knitting I fell in love with cabling. As a newbie, a successful cable made me feel extremely accomplished. And to be honest, it still does! I recently came across a braided cable tutorial (linked below) and couldn’t wait to create something. Since my attention span limits me to mainly headbands and coffee cozies, I made both!
The tutorial I found was actually just for the stitch, but size 9 needles and heavier yarn opened up the braid enough to make it almost headband size. I would recommend cabling across 8 stitches rather than 6 to make the band a bit wider, but this one turned out thin and dainty —not such a bad thing if you ask me.
Of course, I couldn’t leave out my absolute favourite thing to knit: coffee cozies. I experimented in two different yarn types and gauges, both noted below. These cozies are really thick, which means the look trumps the functional aspect. I had no problem with it, but it’s something to keep in mind.
It’s obviously a bit too warm to use either of these patterns yet, although it’s never too early to stock up for winter (especially if it’s anything like our last). With that, I’m going to go enjoy some sunshine.
Braided Series
Thin Braided Headband
Knit and Weave
Materials:
- Medium weight worsted wool or acrylic yarn
- Size 9 knitting needles
- Cable hook
- Tapestry Needle
Stitches Used:
** Completed referencing New Stitch a Day’s chunky braid stitch tutorial, which can be found here
- P=Purl
- K=Knit
- C6B= Cable holding stitches to the back
- C6F= Cable holding stitches to the front
Pattern:
Note that this pattern fits large. Reduce the number of repeats to create a smaller headband.
Cast on 15 stitches
Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K3, *C6F, *Repeat to end of row
Row 4: P
Row 5: K
Row 6: P
Row 7: *C6B, *Repeat to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 8: P
Repeat rows 1-8 14 times (total of 112 rows)
Cast off on final row purlwise
Join ends and weave with a tapestry needle
Braided Coffee Cozies
Wool Cozy
Knit and Weave
Materials:
- Medium weight worsted wool or acrylic yarn (pictured is Red Heart Super Saver yarn in a light tan colour)
- Size 8 knitting needles
- Cable hook
- Tapestry Needle
Stitches Used:
- P=Purl
- K=Knit
- C8B= Cable holding stitches to the back
- C8F= Cable holding stitches to the front
Pattern:
Cast on 20 stitches
Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K4, *C8F, *Repeat to end of row
Row 4: P
Row 5: K
Row 6: P
Row 7: *C8B, *Repeat to last 4 stitches, K4
Row 8: P
Repeat rows 1-8 9 times (total of 72 rows)
Row 73: K
Row 74: P
Row 75: Cast off knitwise
Join ends and weave with a tapestry needle
Cotton Cozy
The cotton cozy pattern is almost identical to the pattern above but accounts for a larger gauge.
Knit and Weave
Materials:
- Cotton yarn (pictured is Bernat yarn in a pale pink colour)
- Size 9 knitting needles
- Cable hook
- Tapestry Needle
Stitches Used:
- P=Purl
- K=Knit
- C8B= Cable holding stitches to the back
- C8F= Cable holding stitches to the front
Pattern:
Cast on 20 stitches
Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K4, *C8F, *Repeat to end of row
Row 4: P
Row 5: K
Row 6: P
Row 7: *C8B, *Repeat to last 4 stitches, K4
Row 8: P
Repeat rows 1-8 6 times (total of 48 rows)
Row 49: K
Row 50: P
Row 51: K
Row 52: Cast off purlwise
Join ends and weave with a tapestry needle
If you made it to the end of this very long post, congratulations and as always:
Happy knitting!
J
cottonblend.ca 