Hints & Tips for The Braids Project

These hints & tips have been collected from Ample-Knitters knitting the “Braids” and “Summer Braids” cardigans from Cabin Fever. Some tips are also from Deb and Lynda Gemmell of Cabin Fever. A major “thank you!” to Deb and Lynda for this great pattern, and for their help with this Ample-Knitters Knit-A-Long!

Index of Hints & Tips

• Look Ma - No Cable Needle! (from Cabin Fever)
• Other cable “tricks”
• Sweater for larger hips, smooth decreasing in rib
• Extra cables for larger sizes
• Planning ahead for sleeve cuffs

This section is quoted from the “Braids” Cardigan pattern from Cabin Fever by permission. It does not appear on the “Summer Braids” pattern.

Editor’s Note Cotton, being somewhat more slippery than wool or a wool type yarn, might take a bit more care and attention. Also note that it’s certainly possible to knit the “Summer Braids” cardigan in a DK weight wool!

Forget the cable needle and just manipulate the stitches.

In the braid the slipped stitch always ends up in the centre of the 5 stitches (something like braiding hair).

C3R: K2, take 3 sts (2 sts & the slipped st) off the lefthand needle. With righthand needle in front of your work, slip the slipped stitches onto your needle. Slip the other 2 sts onto the lefthand needle. Now transfer the 1 st from the righthand needle back onto the lefthand needle. The slipped stitch should be running from the outside of the braid across 2 sts into the centre of the braid. Knit the 3 sts as they are (watch in case you have put any sts on backwards).

3CL: The slipped stitch comes from the outside of the braid into the centre. Let the first 3 sts fall off the lefthand needle. I use my lefthand needle to catch the slipped st (in front of the work) and the righthand needle to catch the back 2 sts. I then transfer the 2 sts from the righthand needle back onto the lefthand needle. Knit the 3 sts as they are, and K2 to finish the braid.

Just use the tips of your needle until everything is in place and you won’t lose any stitches. Honest!

I saw this method of cabling without a cable needle on a Meg Swansen video (Schoolhouse Press) and have since chucked out any cable needles I haven’t managed to lose already.

Korwyn’s Cable Method

I got lazy today and “unvented” a way of handling the cabling without a cable needle or dropping and picking up stitches: The C3R is the easiest, you just stick your needle into the slipped stitch in front of the needle from left to right, wrapping and knitting the stitch but NOT removing it. Then you quickly knit the first and second stitches on the needle and slip them all off. The slipped stitch should adjust itself as you continue to knit. Not much more difficult than doing I-Cord.

The C3L is more fiddly: you come in and knit the stitch AFTER the slipped stitch by coming completely behind the slipped stitch and then going from left to right, wrapping to knit. This time, you pull off both stitches, using the tip of the left needle to pick the slipped stitch off the right needle and back onto the left needle. The process is repeated a second time for the next stitch and then finally the slipped stitch is knitted off.

The difference between doing it this way and the “Look Ma” method in the Braids pattern is that stitches are being knitted while you are manipulating the slipped stitch; the Braids pattern has you drop the slipped stitch, pass the other stitches to the right needle, pick up the slipped stitch and then pass the stitches back before finally knitting them all off. There’s just as much fiddling, but at the end of my method all three stitches have been knitted and you’ve moved on to the next bit.

Louise’s No Cable Needle Method

I don’t have to drop any stitches to make the cable, but I make my knit sts from the back and purl sts from the front.

If the five sts of the cable are 5 4 3 2 1, on the C3L, I knit #2 from the back, knit #3 from the back and then knit #1 from the back. AT THAT POINT I slip the three sts onto the other needle.

In doing C3R, I first do the #5 from front to back, then #3 from the back, #4 from the back and then slip the sts to the right needle. Works every time.

Shelda’s C3L Method

I was very grateful to read Korwyn’s method above for the C3R cross. But I found what was an easier-for-me way to do the C3L cross. I’m an “English” or “throw” knitter, so take that into consideration.

To do the C3L, insert right needle tip in slipped stitch, bring it forward and slip off the needle, anchoring the loose stitch against your knitting with your left thumb. Hold it there while you knit the next two stitches. Let go of the anchored stitch and pick it up with the point of your left needle. Knit that stitch, then knit the two remaining stitches.

I needed to keep a good grip on the stitch with my thumb, but I found this increased my speed considerably. Have fun trying all these tricks and see what works for you!

Shelda’s idea for making the sweater larger at the hip, decreasing in the body using purl sections of the ribbing

I came up with a good idea for the Braids Project while working on a Confetti jacquard yarn sock. I’m doing a 3X1 rib pattern, which I’m finding works nicely to keep the jacquard patterning looking nice but still give the cuff a bit of elasticity. And I wanted to have a larger cuff at the top than at the ankle, and was thinking about my usual trick of using a larger needle for the first few inches. And then I got the bright idea to start the sock with a 3X2 rib (3 knit stitches, 2 purl stitches), knit about 2-3 inches, and then decrease back to a 3X1 rib by decreasing the purl stitches with a P2 tog.

It worked beautifully on the sock, and I immediately thought about the folks who have been asking this week about making their Braids sweaters with larger hip then bust circumference. Adding additional purl stitches would be a great way to do this, and you would end up with very smooth, nearly invisible decreases in the ribbing portions of the pattern. You could figure out how many extra stitches you’d like at the hips, add them distributed in the purl sections of the rib where you’d like to have the decreases fall, and then plan to purl 2 tog later. I think that would be slick. I may try it myself! ;)

Update: I did try this, and am very happy with the results! I cast on an additional five stitches on each side of the side seams and did 5 repeats of K3,P2 until I was about 7” into the sweater. Then I began decreasing one P2 section at a time (by purling two together), until I had worked my way to the side seam. After this point I worked in the “regular” K3,P1 rib to the underarm.

Here’s a PHOTO of this detail. You can also see the “phoney seam” on the left.

Shelda’s idea to add additional cables at the center front

I plan to do the "Summer Braids" and will probably make it 62”. I’m swatching now, and am thinking about doing five braid cables on each side of the front instead of three to balance the additional width. I’ll have more to say when I get a bit further with my swatch.

My only concern about this is at the neckline, as the cables end where the neckline begins. But I suppose it would look okay to have the extra two cables extend all the way up to the shoulder if you wanted to keep the neckline the same size.

Judy Walker made some adaptations to her sleeves:

When I finished the first one the sleeve opening at the wrist seemed way too big for my taste. I had followed the decrease instructions, and I still had about 60 stitches left. By taking a tuck, I determined that I need to have 46 to 50 stitches left.

I did end up doing the first sleeve over, completely. When I did the second sleeve I did a decrease every third row, and ended up with about 48 stitches. This seemed to be a better width for the end of the sweater.

I don’t recall ever wearing a sweater without ribbing at the wrist, so I wanted this sleeve to not be too loose. 48 stitches seemed to be just about right.

Note from Shelda: To check this before you have a sleeve done and find out it doesn’t suit you, you can wrap the ribbing section of the sweater body around your wrist and get a good idea of how many stitches you’d like to end up with at the cuff. Check that against the pattern and see whether you can knit your sleeve “as is” or if you’ll need to make some adjustments.

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Copyright © 2002
Shelda Eggers, Owner-Ample-Knitters
Last modified: 8 February 2006