Cabled Tee Knit-along

Maureen’s Notes for Cabled Tee Project

Maureen designed and knit her original Cable Tee with Rowan Summer Tweed. Below are notes on her design that she shared with the list.

About her Design Process

Thanks for all the compliments on my sweaters...about the cabled tee, I did a gauge swatch, making it rather firm in the Summer Tweed as I now know that it does stretch if knit loosely. I calculated how many stitches to make the back, knowing how wide I wanted it, cast on and did a seed stitch border for about 5 rows and then knit...I think I decreased maybe 4 st each side to taper it from my hips a little.

I bound off about 8 st ea side for the armholes (its a modified drop shoulder) and knit to the top, knitting a few rows of seed stitch at the back of the neck...I cast on the same number of st for the front, after the seed st border I increased a few stitches at the base of each half of the wishbone cable, decreased the same number of st to taper, then just before I bound off for the armholes I did a couple of sets of short rows...two sets of eight as that's how many rows there are between cable crossings.

I started my V neck shortly after I decreased for the armholes, simply dividing the cable and continuing each half up the V...I made the front a few rows longer than the back to compensate for the lack of neck shaping on the back, did a three needle bind-off, picked up the sleeves at the armholes and knit down, decreasing every few rows, until they were the proper length, knit several rows of seed stitch and sewed it up...

On Gauge and Needles

My tee was knit in Rowan Summer Tweed. The listed gauge for this yarn is 16 st and 23 rows/10cm (4 in) on a 5mm (US 8) needle. I knit it at 16.5-17 st and 25-26 rows/4 inches on a size 8 Addi Turbo needle. When I knit one in a looser gauge last year (sorry, I don't have the gauge for that one) it got quite stretched out.

From my brief notes in my PDA, which I make while knitting the back so the front matches, I cast on with size 9 (5.5 mm) needles, knit the seed stitch border with size 7 (4.5 mm), then knit the body with size 8 (5mm). I used Addi Turbos, they enabled me to knit at a tighter gauge than the Rosewood needles I often use.

About Sizing and Stretching

My tee is 50.5 inches around at the underarms. The bottom has stretched for my hips...it is now about 56 inches around although I don't think it started that big. That's one thing I learned from knitting the first Summer Tweed tee...it really stretches, especially if knitted too loosely as the first one was. This one, even though it has stretched a bit still doesn't look "stretched out and floppy" like my first one does.

About the Sleeves and Shoulders

Judith asked a couple of questions about my cabled tee and the project...the sleeves are a modified drop shoulder although you could do a set in sleeve if you prefer...I'm a drop shoulder fan and use a modified drop shoulder on most of my sweaters...I like the casual look, I don't like raglans and I'm too lazy to design a set in sleeve.

About the Cables and Neckline

One question from the Ample-Knitters:
> Oh by the way, Maureen if you are reading, does the cable go all the way
> around the back of the neck? Trying to figure that out.

No, it doesn't. I considered trying to do that, but the lazy knitter in me figured no one would see the back with my long hair anyway, so why bother. Since I didn't do a neckband of any sort, I finished off the last few rows of the back with some seed stitch at the center (the neck stitches) to match the bottom bands (body and sleeve). It works for me.

And another lister posed this question:
> Maureen - is your cable right at the neck edge, or do you have a stitch or
> two similar to this?

My cable was two 4/4 cables crossing outward every 8 rows but there weren't any purl stitches between them so there aren't any purl stitches at the neck edge. It's just the cable there, curling and undulating (still love that word!) its little heart out...I like the way it looks.

As far as the cable neckline, you'll want to do your increases at the inside edge of the cable to make it angle with the V neck...I didn't put any edging at all at the neck, just knit a few rows of seed stitch at the top of the center back to keep it from rolling there. In the front there isn't any selvedge stitch or anything next to the cable, it just curls a little and looks OK in my opinion.

On a better fitting neckline

I also made my fronts about an inch longer than the back to drop the back neck, that's a trick I learned in a class I took with Rick Mondragon at my first Stitches MW. (read more detail about this in a post from Betsey Hoyt in ample-knitters-digest V3 #826)

Back to Cable Tee Project Page