Project – Mock Cable Afghan
Mock Cable Afghan Panel Up Close
This is from an old Studio Newsletter, March/April 1981, pattern submitted by Jeanette Ashton of Sacramento, CA. She writes that it is great for beginners and it is fun to make. Once the rhythm of the hand-manipulated tuck stitch is grasped, a panel can be knit in a very short time. P.S.: it took me about 20 minutes to do one panel. I will edit her instructions a bit to make it easy to follow.
MOCK CABLE AFGHAN
Approximate size – 40″ X 54″ for 5 panels
Tension 6 or 7
Material – 4-ply worsted or 2 strands of 2-ply
Make 5 or 7 panels, solid color or vary the colors – up to you.
1. Bring out 17 needles on the left and 18 needles on the right of zero and “e” wrap (35 needles).
2. Knit 4 rows on all needles.
3. Transfer every 4th stitch onto the adjacent needle and place the empty needle Out Of Work (OOW).
4. Needle set-up as follows: – equals needle OOW - l equals needles in work - * equals needle in HOLD position
l l l – l l l – l * l – l l l – l * l – l l l – l * l – l l l – l l l
Set carriage to Partial Knit and knit 4 rows.
5. Push needles in HOLD back to work position and bring out the following needles to HOLD position:
l l l – l * l – l l l – l * l – l l l – l * l – l l l – l * l – l l l
6. With carriage on Partial Knit, knit 4 rows.
7. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 until Row Counter reads 408 (or panel is as long as you want it).
8. Pick up the heel of the stitch of the un-tucked set of needles and fill in the empty needles next to them. This prevents an unsightly hole at this end of your afghan.
9. Knit 4 rows on all needles. Row counter reads 412.
10. Do a double gate-peg bind off to match the stretch of the initial “e” wrapped cast-on, BUT place end stitches on a piece of waste yarn or pin to be unraveled later and latch tooled together. NOTE: Panel 1 or end panel, pin will be on left end only. Panels 2, 3, and 4, pin will be on both ends. Panel 5, pin will be on the right end only. Pin placement is for the wrong side of the panel facing you. After each panel is knit, steam lightly. Put panels together as for hair-pin lace (pull two loops from one side panel through two loops of the next side panel, continuing all the way up, tie off with yarn tail at the top). Do one row of Half-Double Crochet (or any other finish you prefer) all around the afghan. OPTIONAL: You could also do a decorative shell stitch all around or add fringe to top and bottom at this point.
That was quick. Thank you. I enjoyed your class and the afghan is there in my head.
it was simple and delithful instruction, thank you Judith
Dear Judith, I have used Sensations Rainbow boucle to knit 2 afghans. I wanted to knit my daughter an afghan using Sensations Casual boucle.
I cannot find any information on what the design on the yarn would be. Do I knit with 2 strands at the same time in order to create a pattern or is there a pattertn in just one strand.
I am 72 yrs. old, have had 3 strokes and had basic knitting skills anyway, but I haven’t knit for at least 25 – 30 years. I’m learning all over again. When I saw your website, I just knew you would have some information for me. Thank you in advance for your time and great knowledge.
Sincerely, Wynnona
The Mock Cable Afghan is best done with a 4-ply solid color, best in a light color too. I am familiar with the Sensations Rainbow Boucle. They put a picture of the pattern made by the yarn on the wrapper, so look for it. On this afghan, it is done in panels and then connected together. The rainbow boucle would put large blocks of color here and there, but the hand manipulated tuck pattern will be lost. I put a picture of the completed afghan in the post, so I think you can visualize that if you used the rainbow boucle, all that cable pattern would disappear because it is too fluffy/loopy. Use another pattern if you are in love with the boucle, or if you want to try the Mock Cable afghan, use a light 4-ply like Red Heart.
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Hi Linda,
I finally did finish this afghan for a gift to my daughter last Christmas. It was a dark burgundy wool and I was happy with the final product even though I did make some mistakes in the latching process. I thought you might be interested in way I did it with DesignaKnit and a Silver Reed 860. DesignaKnit did the tuck pattern. Otherwise I followed your instructions.
I couldn’t find a e-mail address on your blog.