If there are ever any projects that involve cable work, you can find me running to the nearest exit.
That's right, I live in a very texture-less yarny world. You can definitely say I get “cable anxiety.” Or the “cable jitters.” I can’t even finish a pair of fingerless gloves, let alone a scarf or a beanie. I just go into “cable shock” before anything gets done! :P
As much as I love admiring cabled scarves, socks, and sweaters, I myself am too hesitant to make my own. Or else I don’t get very far before I decide to stash away the project as I move onto another, less intimidating pattern.
Am I the only one who does this? Is all hope lost for texture-less one like me?
It’s unfortunate, because what I love most about knitting/crochet is the beautiful cablework! Has anyone ever heard of Aran Crochet?
I don’t know, there’s just something about the slow workup that gets me impatient. I won’t be able to see if I’m cabling correctly until I’m 8 rows in of a complicated arrangement of FPDC and BPDC. All that counting, marking, tugging, and pulling...
Not to mention what would have been 6” in length gets reduced to 4” or less due to the numerous backtracking you do when cabling.
I know it’s worth all of that effort to see the finished product. Hard work does show. But it’s also kinda NOT worth it when something else can get worked up much more easily.
I hope one day I’ll get over this fear. And I’ll jump into a mountain of cabled sweaters made by yours truly.
However, if you’re like me, I’m here to tell you that not all hope is lost. You can still create beautiful textures in your cable-less world.
Friends, I give you the Alpine Stitch.
And I never knew how in love I’d be with this stitch until I crocheted 1000 yards (that‘s 3 big skeins of yarn!) of the Alpine Stitch over the weekend for a colorblock basket cover.
The way you go about doing it is relatively straightforward. Here are some instructions from another site.
You basically start with an even numbered foundation chain of desired length. Then, you DC an entire row from the foundation chain. Then, you alternate between FPDC and regular DC in the next row, add a row of SC’s, then alternate between FPDC and DC again in the row after that. Just make sure that if the DC stitch from two rows below was a FPDC, then skip that one and FPDC above the regular DC. That's how you create the alternating ridges... It’s a lot easier with pictures. Check out the link above.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It is now my go-to textured stitch when I'm feeling cable-y, but not quite up for the commitment. It works up relatively quickly and you get a lot of texture out of it. This will definitely be my stitch of choice for a baby blanket for my future niece or nephew. I’ll also be using it as the stitch for my latest beanie, just like the one designed by Emma O'Toole of Peanut and Plum shown below.
I'll keep you posted on my progress when I get started. ;) In the meantime, happy crocheting!