BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Knitting Cable help

Hi everyone, I consider myself an intermediate skilled knitter. I make lots of baby sweaters and some intricate lacy patterns and all that. Right now I am having an issue with a cardigan that has a "trailing" cable that goes up along the front. What I mean is there are two 'cable ropes' that go off in opposite directions and come back in to cross one another and head back out again all the way up the sweater. My problem is the one that heads off to the left is all choppy looking and the one that heads off to the right is just fine. I don't know if I am left handed and that has something to do with it, or what. In the past, being left handed made the cables twist in opposite directions from the picture. Marge, do you have any lesson directions for this? Am I twisting the cable needle and shouldn't be, or am I not twisting the needle and I should be? Help! To make the cable bend to the left, I hold the stitches in front, yes?
I know you might ask what it says to do in the pattern and I am irritated to find that I didn't bring it with me! grrrrr! I cannot send you that until tomorrow.

Here is the pattern panel. It works up on 13 stitches

MB= (k1, p1, k1, p1, k1) all into next st, turn and p5, turn and k5, turn and p2 tog, p1, p2 tog, turn and s1, k2 tog, psso.

Row 1
p1, MB, p2, sl next 3 sts to back on CN, k2, then p1,k2 from CN, p2, MB, p1
Row 2
K4, p2, k1, p2, k4
Row 3
p3, sl next st to back on CN, k2 then p1 from CN, p1, sl next 2 sts to front on CN, p1 then k2 from CN, p3
Row 4
(k3,p2) twice, k3
Row 5
p2, sl next st to back on CN, k2 then p1 from CN, p3, sl next 2 sts to front on CN, p1 then k2 from CN, p2
Row 6
k2, p2, k5, p2, k2
Row 7
p1, sl next st to back on CN, k2 then p1 from CN, p5, sl next 2 sts to front on CN, p1 then k2 from CN, p1
Row 8
k1, p2, k7, p2, k1
Row 9
p1, k2, p7, k2, p1
Row 10
same as Row 8
Row 11
p1, sl next 2 sts to front on CN, p1 then k2 from CN, p5, sl next st to back on CN, k2 then p1 from CN, p1
Row 12
same as Row 6
Row 13
p2, sl next 2 sts to front on CN, p1 then k2 from CN, p3, sl next st to back on CN, k2 then p1 from CN, p2
Row 14
same as Row 4
Row 15
p3, sl next 2 sts to front on CN, p1 then k2 from CN, p1, sl next st to back on CN, k2 then p1 from CN,, p3
Row 16
k4, p2, k1, p2, k4


Whew! Let me know if anyone out there comes up with the same problem that I have (see begining of this topic)

Hi,
When you put the stitches on the cable needle are you making sure that you are slipping them as if to purl? You probably are, but I thought I'd ask. Then when you pick up the needle make sure NOT to twist it and make sure the finished stitch isn't twisted. A lot of the choppy-ness may come out with light blocking or stretching it out a bit, but I can understand your worry about what if it doesn't...

I wonder if you are possibly holding the yarn to tight or too loose? It is hard to diagnose without actually seeing it, but I do not think it has anything at all to do with being left handed.

Can you post a picture (you will need to switch to Full Reply Screen to do that)?

Hi again,
Here is a link to Mason Dixon Knitting which shows a sweater with cables going in all different directions (especially the last picture near end of post), but why I included it here is to see if yours look like hers, the right and left leaning cables do look different.

Thanks and keep me posted.

The sweater that I WAS making is a Sirdar pattern #3832. The link to that website is below:

www.sirdar.co.uk/

I frogged the project because it was coming out so poorly. I don't think I was slipping the stitches as if to purl. Actually I didn't know that made a difference. Probably was my problem!

Impatient as I am, I already started another project. I am kind of in production mode and on baby sweater #6 out of 8 to make.

I will get back to making this sweater. It really is cute! that is the second one to aggravate me. I have so many patterns to pick from, I just go on to the next one.

I will post some pictures of stuff as soon as I figure out how to get them in this post.

The link didn't work, and I'm not sure why, except that it seems to be pointed to your computer not a url)

Can you give me directions to post pictures? They are just on my computer, not a website. Is there a way to copy and paste?

Upload your picture to a free service like flicker or photobucket, then that service will give you a url and that is what you copy here using the fourth button from the left in the full reply screen. I hope this helps, I'm checking with the other editors to see if this is the best way.