If you're looking for a timeless, classic cable afghan pattern, this is it! I have made this pattern several times for gifts and it has always been loved. This afghan is stunningly elegant yet remarkably simple to make. For those familiar with Cable stitches the pattern is a cinch to follow and the afghan is quick to make-up. Thanks to the Blizzard of 2016, I was able to whip up my most recent version of this pattern in 4 days!
Materials:
Caron Simply Soft Yarn (4 skeins for a lap-sized afghan, 5 for an afghan large enough to cover a bed or couch)
Size 8 circular knitting needles (per yarn brand recommendation)
Stitch markers optional.
Unfortunately, I find a lot of the Red Heart brand yarn (especially their "Super Saver") to be a lot more rough to the touch than some other yarns in its price range. I have made this blanket three times and each time I have used Caron Simply Soft. The color yarn used in the primary photo is Autumn Red. In the video, I am using Harvest Red. I have also made this blanket in Kelly Green which, from what I understand, is no longer available. All have turned out lovely. Red Heart recently came out with a less abrasive yarn called "Red Heart With Love" which I have used to make hats,scarves, and gloves.
Original Pattern can be downloaded Here.
One precautionary piece of advice: The border pattern does not follow the same repetition as the 20 row cable stitch repeat. I made this mistake the first time I made this blanket. The twists are achieved in multiples of 4 rows, the Cables made in multiples of 20 rows (so on the 5th row of the twist columns), and the border is made over a repetition of 6 rows. After I got the hang of the different repetitions, I stopped relying on the pattern and just looked at the blanket to figure out which stage of the border/cable pattern I was at.
CO 195 Stitches
Bottom Border (16 rows)
Rows 1-4: Knit
Row 5: Knit 4, Purl 187, Knit 4
Rows 6-10: Knit
Row 11: Knit 4 Purl 187, Knit 4
Row 12-16: Knit
Begin Cable Pattern
Row 18: Knit 10 (border), Purl 2, [Knit 3, cross 1st of these over next 2 and off Right Needle, Purl 3, Knit 3, cross 1st of these over next 2 and off Right Needle, Purl 4, Knit 10, Purl 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Purl 2, Knit 10 (border)
Row 19: Knit 12, [Purl, YO, Purl, Knit 3, Purl, YO, Purl, Knit 4, Purl 10, Knit 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Knit 12
Row 20: Knit 10, Purl 2, [Knit 3, Purl 3, Knit 3, Purl 4, Knit 10, Purl 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Purl 2, Knit 10.
Row 21: Knit 12, [Purl 2, Knit 3, Purl 3, Knit 4, Purl 10, Knit 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Knit 12
Row 22: Knit 10, Purl 2 [Knit 3, cross 1st of these over next 2 and off Right Needle, Purl 3, Knit 3, cross 1st of these over next 2 and off Right Needle, Purl 4, Slip 5 stitches onto Cable needle and hold in back, Knit 5, return Cable needle stitches, Knit 5, Purl 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Purl 2, Knit 10
Row 23:Knit 4, Purl 6, Knit 2, [Purl, YO, Purl, Knit 3, Purl, YO, Purl, Knit 4, Purl 10, Knit 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Knit 2, Purl 6, Knit 4
Row 24: Knit 10, Purl 2, [Knit 3, Purl 3, Knit 3, Purl 4, Knit 10, Purl 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Purl 2, Knit 10
Row 25: Knit 12, [Purl 2, Knit 3, Purl 3, Knit 4, Purl 10, Knit 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Knit 12
Row 26: Knit 10, Purl 2, [Knit 3, cross 1st of these over next 2 and off Right Needle, Purl 3, Knit 3, cross 1st of these over next 2 and off Right Needle, Purl 4, Knit 10, Purl 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Purl 2, Knit 10 (border)
Row 27: Knit 12, [Purl, YO, Purl, Knit 3, Purl, YO, Purl, Knit 4, Purl 10, Knit 4] Repeat until 12 stitches remain, Knit 12
For Rows 28-45: repeat Rows 24-27 4 more times DISREGARDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BORDER
For Rows 46-49: Repeat Rows 22-25 DISREGARDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BORDER
For Border: 5 Rows Garder Stitch,
1 Row Knit 4, Purl 6 (on wrong side)
Repeat Pattern until desired length, ending before a twist row, but not on a cabled row (to avoid bunching by the border)
Top Border (15 rows)
Rows 1-4: Knit
Row 5: Knit 4, Purl 187, Knit 4
Rows 6-10: Knit
Row 11: Knit 4 Purl 187, Knit 4
Row 12-15: Knit
Cast Off Loosely in Knit
Do you have any beloved afghan patterns that look more difficult than they are?