Cable stitch on a purl row?

Oh this butter tank is now giving me a head ache. I know what c6f means. slipp the first 3 stitches purl wise, knit the next 3, return the 1st 3 to needle and knit, what if I am cabling on a purl row? Do I then do the opposite, slip stitches knit wise, purl the next 3 then slip stitches back and purl those?

On a knit row, slip 3 to the front, the cable leans left. On a purl row, do the same thing, slip 3 to the front purlwise, purl 3, purl 3 from cable needle and the cable seen from the knit side will lean left…

You only cable on a knit row. On the purl side, you will generally knit the knits and purl the purls. It helps if you can tell which are which. Knit stitches look like little V’s and purl stitches look like the turtle neck on a turtle neck sweater. Cabling isn’t that hard. You’re only doing it every fourth or sixth row or whatever, depending on your cable directions specified amount. The rest of the rows are all straight knitting, so you do need to know what the stitches look like. It beats having to count or be chained to the pattern if you can just eyeball it.

Now I am confused as the two replies are contradictory. My fourth row is a purl row: knit one, purl four, knit one. Do I purl the cable or knit it?

Actually, I think we’re just talking about different aspects of the wonderful world of cables. Usually cables cross on the knit row which is the right side (RS) row.
If you’re fourth row isn’t a cable cross and the directions are just “…knit one, purl four, knit one…”, then go ahead and do just that. Is the purl four the wrong side (or back) of the cable? If you could provide a link to the pattern or the pattern name, that would help too.

To answer your question, yes the purl row (the fourth row) is a cable row.
The pattern is from Cascade yarns, Cascade 128 Superwash Weskit vets designed by Betty Balcomb.
Actually I do not understand the part after you knit three inches ending with a wrong side row (does that mean the last side you knit is on the wrong side?) ( I have been knitting these three inches on a circular needle suing two balls of yarn and so two separate pieces.)
Now I join them to knit in the round. But how is that open flap in the back closed? At the end it says there is no finishing or hand sewing required…although it could be just sewn to gather by hand since I can’t figure any other way.
Thanks for your help.

Is this your pattern? http://www.cascadeyarns.com/patternsFree/128_SWWEskit%20Vest.pdf

I can tell you that the last row you work will be a wrong side row (ending with a wrong side row) but must let someone more skilled and experienced look at the rest. HTH

My only experience with cables is this rule of thumb: cables are crossed when the RS of the work is facing you, and the cables are usually knit stitches. On the WS of the row…you will not cross the cables. You will “knit the knits, purl the purls” as they present themselves.

So if a 3x3 cable (C6F) reads like this…P2, C6F, P2…then on the WS you will work those 10 like this:
K2, P6, K2.

That’s been my experience. And if GrumpyGrammas link to that Weskit is correct, FOR SURE that is how you’d work those 10 stitches.

Oh, BTW…any cable like C6F is usually flanked by 2 purls. It helps set off the cable.

Yes, essentially all cables cross on the right side row (the row facing outward as you wear the garment). For the first set of cables, the side cables, the pattern is p1k4p1:
"Repeat rows 1 and 2 working a C4B on the middle 4 stitches on 3rd row (not counting seed st) and then every 4th row. These 4‐stitch cables will form the side seams."
So the cable cross in on row 3 and then row 7, 11, 15 etc., all RS rows (or knit rows in the main body of the vest).
And yes, that means the last side you knit is on the wrong side or purl row in the main body of the vest.
There’s an open flap in the center back and one in the center front after you join to knit in the round. Don’t close it up if you want the look of the pattern picture. If you don’t like that open vent, then just seam the vent closed. It’s very neat the way the two pieces are joined at front and back with the cable cross (although, for me I think there’s a typo that confuses right and left needle in line 10:
“On the last row, stop while there are still 4 sts on
the left needle. Join pieces into the round on the next row as follows. Slip the 4 sts remaining
on the [U]right [/U]needle onto a cable needle and hold in back…”)
Long story but nicely done pattern. Enjoy it!

I am having trouble at this very same point. In reply to “Salmon…”: I have also thought there has to be a typo at that point. But then how should it read?
Ending with those four stitches on the wrong side, the purl side, how then do I cable on the right side?! It says…“On the next row slip the four stitches remaining on the right needle…” Does that mean to turn the whole thing around so I have the knit side and then cable. When I try that, the second set of four stitches are in the wrong place.

Ah, well nothing like going back and looking at the pattern with a different mind set. Yes, you should be turned so that you’re next sts go on the knit side. You’re now going to join at the center back and center front to knit in the round.
“On the last row [U](I take this to be the current knit row), [/U]
stop while there are still 4 sts on the left needle [U](4 sts from the first side piece). [/U]
Slip the 4 sts remaining on the [U]left[/U] needle onto a cable needle and hold in back, K4 from left needle [U](These are the first 4sts of the second side piece.)
[/U]K4 from cable needle (this is a C8B and sits in the middle of the back),”

This joining row is done on the knit side, first to form the cable up the back and then again to form the cable up the front. You can see the way the cable crosses at the join in the photo.

Thank you Salmonmac…What you said is correct:
"On the last row (I take this to be the knit row)… "
Yes that was the problem with the directions which say:
"Continue until both pieces measure 3* ending with a wrong side row."
For anyone doing this pattern change that word “wrong” side to “RIGHT” side.

To answer something entirely different, but in reply to “Why would you cable on a purl row?” when I was making a dress in the round, all of the stitches were purls, until you would hit a cable. And with 14 cables (like columns) and increases in between them (for the flare of the dress) it was rounds and rounds of majority purl stitches and it wasn’t fast for me. So I did the whole pattern in “reverse” and in my “round” I did mainly knit stitches and then did Purl “cables”. This meant when I turned the work inside out, all my cables on the “wrong side” looked like knit stitches, as they were meant to, and all my knit converted to purl, as they were meant to look. A note, when doing it this way, you still twist the cable as called for in the directions. If it’s a hold forward or hold back, you don’t have to change that direction. If it’s a left leaning in a knit pattern, it will show up as left leaning on the “wrong side” of your work when you purl it.

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