Counting Cable Rows

Cable knitting is a fun technique that can be used on just about any knitting project, including knitted scarves and baby blankets. In this video, Michele Lee Bernstein shares how to easily count rows on a cable stitch pattern. With this simple knitting tip, you’ll never lose your place in a cable knitting project again!

A row counter can be used to keep track of a cable pattern; however, sometimes a row counter is not available, or it wasn’t turned or clicked the proper number of times. Michele demonstrates how to count rows on a cable pattern in a swatch using simple 6-stitch cables where the cable rows happen on Rows 7 and 15.

Michele looks at her swatch, where she has worked 14 rows of the cable pattern. She isolates the small hole that is created by crossing cable stitches. She looks at the ladders (or strands of yarn) above the hole and counts them. The first strand is from the cable row, or Row 7 in this case. She counts each strand, working up towards the knitting needle. This confirms that she has worked 14 rows and is ready to begin Row 15 of the cable pattern.

Michele begins working the cable pattern across the row, cabling the stitches without a cable needle. Once the row is complete, she looks at the gap just created by the cable. She points out the strand of yarn above the hole, indicating that Row 15 was just worked.