Help Understanding Top-Down Cabled Hat Pattern!

#1

Hi, everyone. I’m a brand new knitter and for some reason can’t quite wrap my head around what must be a very simple concept! :stuck_out_tongue:

I am working a cabled hat knit top-down in the round. I get hopelessly confused when the pattern repeats begin, as they also involve increases, and I’m told to “repeat from *”, but does this mean that I do as many sequences as can be completed before the row marker, or do them all the way to the row marker and then stop there, even if a sequence isn’t complete?

A section of the pattern:

Round 1: this and all odd rounds up to round 19 knit
Round 2: Inc 1 in every stitch (20 sts)
Round 4: *k2, m1 repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 6: *k3, m1 repeat from * (40 sts)
Round 8: *k4, m1 repeat from * (50 sts)
Round 10: *k5, m1 repeat from * (60 sts)
(…etc)
Round 18: Inc 1, m1p, k12, * m1p, p1, k12 repeat from * to last 11 sts, k11, rm, k1, place new marker. (98 sts)
Round 19: *p2, k12 repeat from *

Start cables:

  • from this point on, repeat information in parenthesis.
    Round 1: (p2, C6F, C6B)
    Round 2 - 6: (p2, k12)

Increase cables:
Round 1: (p2, C6F, C6B, p1, m1p, p1, C6F, C6B)
Rounds 2 - 4: (p2, k12, p3, k12)
Round 5: (p1, m1p, p1, k12, p3, k12)
Round 6: (p3, k12)

So by Round 6, I should have 100 stitches, right? But what do I do if the (repeats) do not fit evenly into 100 stitches? [B]Or am I just counting completely wrong?[/B]
When should I be placing markers and/or moving them? The pattern only mentions this twice but I’m assuming I should be using lots! lol

Thank you so much for any help, and I hope my questions make sense!

#2

It looks like the increases are in the purl sts between the cables, so just do more purls. You’re going to have more than 100 sts, but that’s fine.

#3

You start off with stockinette stitch and then set up the cables. What you have is a cable pattern over 12 stitches and before you begin increases in the cable section you have 2 purl stitches between each of the 12 stitch cable panels. You still have 98 stitches at this time so 7 twelve st cable panels with 2 purls between each.

The cable panels will stay 12 stitches throughout and the increases are done in the purls between the cables. The first increase (in the cable section) you increase in every other purl section beginning with the second one. So you will be adding 3 stitches over the round. So you’ll have 101 stitches. In rnd 5 you inc all the P2s that you didn’t increase the last time, so that will be adding 4 more stitches. So now you have 105. (1 inc now between each cable panel) You also have 3 purls between each of the 12 st cable panels. This may be all you increase, I don’t know, but all the increases will fall in the purl sections. You don’t need a lot of markers you just slip the ones you have.

You are not actually repeating from the asterisk in this section:

Start cables:

  • from this point on, repeat information in parenthesis.
    Round 1: (p2, C6F, C6B)
    Round 2 - 6: (p2, k12)

They want you to repeat the stuff in the ( ). It amounts to 14 stitches. The 12 for the cable and the 2 purls between.

Does this help any?

#4

Yes, thank you, it does help. To be clear, I did understand that I don’t repeat the asterisk in the cables sections, but rather the parenthetical parts for each respective row. The stockinette hasn’t been giving me any trouble, so I will give it a go again now that I have a better mental picture of the purl increases between the cables!

#5

I didn’t think the St st part was giving you trouble. I’m glad the increase part is a bit clearer. I think you’ll get it now.