Last week I mentionned crocheted CABLES as being the most common use of the Front/Back post double crochet. Crocheted cables ? What ? How do you do that ?
How about we take a closer look…
For this episode we’ll use both dc in both loops and Front post/Back post dc.
Our goal: take advantage of the relied and added texture of the front/back post dc to create an elevated vertical stripe in the center of the swatch.
Then we’ll simply cross the Front post dc every 4th row to create the cable. Just as knitters do !
Ready ? Let’s start with a very basic CABLE over 2 STITCHES. Just so we understand the moves and technique.
I’ll keep the same yarn and hook as for the other episodes of this DC project: Rowan “all seasons cotton”, and my usual 5 mm Susan Bates hook.
Let’s start with a foundation chain of 22 chains (= 22 ch).
Insert hook in 4th chain after hook, and work your first dc. Continuer and work 1 dc in each next chain. Turn. You have 20 sts, counting the first ch3 as first st.
Next, work as follows:
Row 1 (Right Side) – ch3, 8 dc in both loops, 2 front post dc, 9 dc in both loops.
Row 2 (Wrong Side) – ch3, 8 dc in both loops, 2 back post dc, 9 dc in both loops.
When looking at RS of work, you can see the center vertical stripe which pops.. and will become a cable in the coming rows.
Now, let’s cross the front/back post dc to create the cabled effect.
Row 3 (RS) -ch3, 8 dc in both loops, skip 1 stitch, 1 Front post dc in next st, come back to skipped st and work 1 Front post dc in skipped st, end with 9 dc in both loops.
which you could break up into photographs below:
Skip 1 st, insert hook around post of next st..
You can already see the first crossed stitch of the cable – Then insert hook for the 2nd crossed st…
And now here are the 2 center crossed sts. It doesn’t quite look like a cable yet, but it will pop more as soon as we work more “plain” rows…
Now let’s continue with 3 rows without crossing sts:
Row 4 (WS) – ch3, 8 dc in both loops, 2 back post dc, 9 dc in both loops.
Row 5 (RS) – ch3, 8 dc in both loops, 2 front post dc, 9 dc in both loops.
Row 6 (WS) – ch3, 8 dc in both loops, 2 back post dc, 9 dc in both loops.
And Bam ! Suddenly we can clearly see our narrow cable in the center of the swatch (still looking on RS).
Now you only need to repeat this 4-rows sequence to make a longer cable.
However… as can clearly be seen on this swatch, the front/back post dc AND crossed stitches tend to crush the work vertically along the cable area. Not so nice.
So how about we try a SECOND CABLE, but this time worked over 4 STITCHES. This time our cable will include a mix of front/back post DOUBLE and TREBLE CROCHETS, so that we maintain an even height between cable and rest of swatch.
We’re still using the same 20 sts swatch.
Row 1 (RS): ch3, 7 dc in both loops, 4 front post TREBLE crochets, 8 dc in both loops. Turn.
Row 2 (WS): ch3, 7 dc in both loops, 4 back post DOUBLE crochets, 8 dc in both loops. Turn.
Row 3 (Endroit): Crossing sts – ch3, 7 dc in both loops, skip 2 sts, 1 front post TREBLE crochet in each of the next 2 sts, then come back to the skipped sts, and work 1 front post TREBLE crochet in first skipped st, and 1 in next skipped st, end with 8 dc in both loops. Turn.
Row 4 (WS): repeat row 2.
And repeat this 4-rows as long as desired to crochet your cable…
Separate both sections of cable with a line in surface crochet. Sit back and imagine all the possibilities… Cables on the side of a hat, on a pair of mittens…
When looking sideways, you can clearly see the center cable stitches pop. But on the wrong side ? Not so pretty…
And now, how about playing with cables and experiment: add more stitches, try different heights of stitches (I’ll certainly try cables in a swatch crocheted in dc in the front loop !)
Share your photos and experiments so I can add them on the Facebook album !
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How about YOU ? Anything I forgot or didn’t see in those swatches ? Please share in the comments !
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DC project Episode 1
DC project Episode 2
DC project Episode 3
DC project Episode 4
DC project Episode 5