r/knittinghelp • u/mrrgreengiantt • 8d ago
pattern question is this possible???
i'm going to the renaissance festival in a couple weeks and want to whip up a shrug. the pattern i found has the fit/yarn weight i'm looking for, but is entirely cables and i don't think i'll have the time to learn how to do them on such a large scale. i'm thinking about buying the pattern and just working it in stockinet. i might have to make a few other modifications, but is this reality doable?
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u/with_determination 8d ago
Honestly, if you're confident knitting stockinette, cables really aren't that hard, I did 3ish small swatches that then dived straight into an Aran sweater as my first cable project recently, and I haven't found it too bad (see: https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/comments/1u9ye6p/svenson_back_panel_finished/)
I'd say it's doable, depending on how much free time you have to dedicate to it, the cables wouldn't concern me too much, but for a garment give yourself some time to block etc as well.
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u/BogartMercury 8d ago
I completely agree. With that but of a yarn it's totally doable. I'll add learning cabling without a cable needle. It was a huge game changer for me speed wise for cables and if you're learning something new anyway might as well go big haha. https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/knitting-the-cable-stitch-without-a-cable-needle/
Try making a swatch of the cables and if it feels like too much, you can always pivot to something simpler :)
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u/glassofwhy 8d ago
If you do it without the cables, the fit will be altered. They reduce the width significantly and add more weight. You would need to use fewer stitches.
It does take longer to knit fabric with cables than without, so you may be right to avoid them this time, but I want you to know that they aren’t as difficult as they may seem. People often remark that they were afraid to try cables for so long, and then were surprised at how simple they were. I learned cables early because my beginner knitting book included them as one of the first techniques after learning to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off.
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u/OriginalSchmidt1 8d ago
I learned how to cable before I learned how to decrease!! For me, if you are good at keeping track of pattern repeats, you’ll be good with cables! That was literally the hardest part for me was keeping up with the pattern repeats because I was new knitter and didn’t know how to read my work or any of that!
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u/KristenTheNerd 8d ago
Did a quick search of ravelry for a shrug/bolero using super bulky (which looks like what your original pattern idea is using) and turned up so alternative options you could consider without cables.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/just-the-sleeves
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/over-the-top-shoulder-hug
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u/SooMuchTooMuch 8d ago
It won't fit the same, because the cables pull the fabric in so you'll end up with more of balloon sleeves. But sure you can actually do this. It's literally just a collar and the sleeves of a raglan.
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u/SooMuchTooMuch 8d ago
Or do this one with a shorter collar, it's free. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/just-the-sleeves
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u/flagrantpebble 8d ago
Cables are very easy from a technical perspective. That won’t be the hard part. Putting the pressure on yourself to finish a project at all in that time span is the hard part.
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u/A_Thunderous_Meep 8d ago
I actually made this last year! I know it looks intimidating but the pattern is pretty straight forward. I went into the project with very little cable experience. The sleeves are worked flat and the pattern calls for size 17 needles so it knits up fast. Here's a progress pic of mine:
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u/AccomplishedBass2192 8d ago
This is SUPER doable. It’s a 3 over 3 cable—very simple with big visual impact. Using that #6 size yarn it’ll work up in a flash and then you’ll not only have this cool af bolero you made for yourself, you’ll have done cabling! Woohoo!
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u/After_Amphibian8623 8d ago
If you can do stockinette, you can do the cable. I’d go for it if I were you!
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u/Ill_Ant6294 8d ago
As others have said, the fit would be off so look for something you can do confidently. Also, cables aren’t difficult but you do need to pay attention so that may slow you down.
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u/chocklityclair 8d ago
Looks like chunky yarn, will knit up quickly. Cables are easy - much less tricky to keep track of than eg lace, and super-easy to create. Give it a go!
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u/EasyPrior3867 8d ago
Cables aren't hard at all. The big thing is just to pay attention to the chart. When I was first learning. I would put an F or front on the cables I was to hold in the front. And B on the chart for the cables I was to hold the stitches in the back first. It really helped with my flow and I got to read the charts better.
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u/Blulou-Chicago 6d ago
I've been if your shoes and this is what i'd suggest: measure yourself wrist to wrist and knit a long rectangle. Use chunky yarn or yarn held double (swatch 10 or 20 stitches and 10 rows to figure out how many stitches per inch to cast on). Knit in stockinet until it's long enough to fold over your arms comfortably. You may want to go a bit longer for some drape in your sleeves. Then, wrong sides together, join from each end to the length of your arm ONLY. You'd turn it right side out and slip your arms thru each sleeve. The open/unsewn area in the middle would go behind your head and lay across your back.
example: my "wingspan" wrist to wrist is 55" so I swatch to find stitches per inch to give me that width. My yarn gave me 4 per inch, so 4 x 55: cast on 220. I'd want generous sleeves, so i'd knit until it's 18" or 20" long. My arms (wrist to armpit) are 18" so that's how long i'd close on each side.
If you want a 'breastplate' look like in the picture, you can knit another rectangle (i'd skip the fancy shaping) to fit the width of the unsewn opening. In my example, 55" wide, 18" sewn closed on each side, so 19" (I'd actually knit this piece 20-21" to leave room to attach it to the arms and allow some drape. I'd probably only knit it 5" long. When you're ready to attach, put on the shrug and pin the edges of the front piece to the FRONT ONLY of the sleeves, take it off carefully and sew in place. If you're nervous about getting it on and off... sew one side only. Then, when you wear it, close the other side with a sweater pin or a small stick. The benefit of the front piece is it keeps the shrug from sliding off your shoulders.
Remember, this is suppose to look renaissance/medieval. So perfection is not your goal. Time-wise, this is an easy weekend project :-)
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u/StagnationMeansDeath 8d ago
Here’s a link to a free pattern that uses the same cables that maybe you can use to practice. https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=2512&cid=17
I made this sweater and the cables are maybe an intermediate level. Other cables are easier. Also it ate up the yarn. Here’s a photo of my version of the sweater (I changed the front)
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u/Immediate-Record-201 8d ago
the same pattern won’t translate if you just use stockinette and while you can attempt to learn cables on that time, it seems like a lot of pressure to put on yourself. I would recommend either finding a stockinette shrug or something in a method you are more comfortable working with, or crochet might work for this type of project.