Cables look like the hard part of knitting. They aren’t. A cable is just a few stitches knit out of order: you slip them onto a spare needle, knit the next few, then knit the ones you parked. If you can knit and purl, you can cable.
The trick is choosing a first project that’s kind to you: chunky yarn, one simple cable, and not too many stitches. Here are ten free patterns that start exactly there and build up to a cardigan. Each card tells you the skill, the yarn, the needles and the one thing to watch before you start.
How these cards work. Every figure on a card comes from the designer’s own pattern page. Where a designer doesn’t say something, the card says so rather than guessing. We don’t copy designers’ photos, so click through to see each finished piece on the designer’s own page, which is also where the instructions are.
Quick picks: start where you are
- Your very first cable: the Friendship headband, written as a first cable project.
- You only have an afternoon: the cabled mug cozy.
- You have one skein: the easy cable knit hat or the Golden Waves toque.
- You don’t own circular needles: the Golden Waves toque is knit flat and seamed.
- You’re knitting a gift: the Slow Down infinity scarf.
- You’ve done a few and want more: the cable cardigan or the baby beanie.
Before you start: what you need to know
You need to be comfortable with the knit and purl stitches. If you’re not there yet, start with what to knit once you can knit and purl, or go back one more step to patterns that use the knit stitch only. You’ll also want a cable needle, although a few of the patterns below say a spare knitting needle or a double-pointed needle will do.
Most of the first-cable patterns here use super bulky yarn. That’s deliberate: big stitches are easier to see, easier to move, and a mistake is easier to spot.
Your very first cable
1. Friendship Cable Headband
A chunky headband knit flat and sewn into a band. The designer calls it your first cable headband: knit and purl rows with a simple cable crossing, in super bulky yarn so it's finished quickly. There's an adult size and a baby size, and a video for the cable and the seam.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner: knit, purl, one cable cross and a sewn seam |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | Adult: 40 to 50 yards; baby: 15 to 25 yards (the sample is Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick) |
| Size | Adult about 4 by 9 inches after seaming; baby about 2.5 by 6 inches |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) straight needles, plus a cable needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
your tension. The designer says gauge doesn't need to be exact here, but if you knit tightly the cables turn stiff, and if you knit loosely the fabric looks holey. Aim for a comfortable, medium tension.
2. Spring Cabled Crown Headband
The simplest cable on this list: one wide cable running down a narrow band, with a single garter stitch at each edge. You knit and purl, cross the cable once every ten rows, and sew the ends together.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer; the designer calls it a really easy project |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky (the sample is Lion Brand Hometown USA) |
| Yarn | Not stated by the designer |
| Size | About 22 inches long, or long enough to fit around the head |
| Needles | US 15 needles; for the cable the designer uses a spare knitting needle instead of a cable needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the length. The designer knits to about 22 inches or to fit the head, so measure the person you're knitting for before you bind off, then whip stitch or seam the ends together.
3. Honeycomb Cable Ear Warmer
One page, three small projects: an ear warmer, a headband trim and a bracelet, all in a honeycomb cable. The designer calls them easy-level and says the eight-row repeat is simple to memorise. There's a video tutorial on the page.
| Designer | Kristen, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page, with video |
| Skill | Easy, per the designer: knit, purl and two simple cables |
| Yarn weight | Any; the ear warmer sample is super bulky (Malabrigo Rasta) |
| Yarn | Not stated by the designer; the designer calls it a great stash-buster |
| Size | Ear warmer 4.25 inches tall, knit to fit your head; headband trim 1 inch tall |
| Needles | Ear warmer: US 15 straight needles; headband trim: US 7; plus a cable needle or a double-pointed needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the honeycomb uses two different crosses, one to the back and one to the front, in the same repeat. Keep the abbreviations next to you until the eight rows feel automatic.
4. Cabled Mug Cozy
A small cozy that wraps around your mug and fastens with a button, with a horseshoe cable down the middle. The designer wrote it for beginners who want to learn new stitches, and shows every step.
| Designer | Norman, Nimble Needles |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page |
| Skill | Beginner, but not a first-ever project: the designer points complete beginners to an easier coaster or scarf first |
| Yarn weight | DK or light worsted |
| Yarn | 25 g; the designer advises against pure acrylic because it can melt or burn |
| Size | Made to fit your mug: the designer's mug is 23 cm around and the cozy was knit to 21 cm |
| Needles | 4 mm (US 6), plus a cable needle; you'll also need a button |
| Time | One afternoon, per the designer |
the button strap. Several readers in the comments got stuck on it. The designer gives an easy finish for beginners and a harder rounded clasp, so choose the easy one for your first try.
Hats, a scarf and a dishcloth
5. Easy Cable Knit Hat
A chunky beanie with a cable brim. You knit a few cable rounds at the bottom, then it's plain knitting to the top. It's worked in the round, and there's an optional slouchy version.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner: knit and purl, cables, decreases, knitting in the round |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 80 to 90 yards (the sample is Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick) |
| Size | One size, for a 20 to 22 inch head |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm) circular needles on a 16 inch cable, plus DPNs or a 24 inch or longer cable for the crown; a cable needle and stitch markers |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the crown. When the stitches get too tight on the short circular, the designer switches to DPNs or a long cable for magic loop, so have one of those ready before you start the decreases.
6. Golden Waves Toque
A chunky hat with a big inverted cable on the front and smaller cables on each side. It's knit flat on straight needles, then the top is cinched closed and the side is sewn up.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional) |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer; the designer says if you can knit and purl, you can make it |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 1 skein of Lion Brand Thick & Quick |
| Size | Women's, about 9 inches wide by 10 inches tall |
| Needles | US 15 (circular or straight); a cable needle is optional, anything that holds the stitches will do |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the fit. The designer likes hats snug because they stretch, and the page explains how to make it wider. Check that against the head you're knitting for before you cast on.
7. Slow Down Cable Infinity Scarf
One cable, repeated every ten rows, on a band of texture, knit flat on two straight needles and sewn into a loop. It comes in three widths with two, three or four cables across.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner |
| Yarn weight | Bulky |
| Yarn | Small 256 to 384 yards (2 to 3 skeins), medium 384 to 512 yards (3 to 4 skeins), large 512 to 640 yards (4 to 5 skeins); the sample is Cascade 128 Superwash |
| Size | 7, 10 or 13 inches wide; the medium is 10 by 28 inches after seaming |
| Needles | US 10.5 (6.5 mm) straight needles, plus a cable needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
how much yarn to buy. The designer's medium sample weighed 3.55 skeins, so for the medium, buy four, not three. The ends are sewn together at the end; the designer suggests Kitchener stitch.
8. Jovial Twisted Cable Washcloth
A cotton washcloth with a column of twisted cables, knit flat. It's a small, low-risk way to practise cable rows, and the designer lists it as a fast project and a good use for leftover yarn.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Advanced beginner |
| Yarn weight | Bulky cotton |
| Yarn | 55 to 65 yards (the sample is Knit Picks Billow) |
| Size | 9 by 9.5 inches |
| Needles | US 9 (5.5 mm) straight needles; the page also lists a cable needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the twist row. The page lists a cable needle, but the written twist row has you drop a slipped stitch off the needle and pick it back up instead. Watch the designer's video before your first twist row.
Ready for the next step
9. Coziest Cable Cardigan
An oversized, loose cardigan made from rectangles: a back panel, two front panels with a cable running up each one, and sleeves, all knit flat and sewn together. The designer says that because it's knit flat, it's easy enough for new knitters.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free on the designer's page (an ad-free printable is optional) |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer; the designer says to practise a basic cable first if you've never tried one |
| Yarn weight | Bulky (#5) |
| Yarn | 4 (4, 5, 6) skeins of 200 g; about 650 (758, 876, 1,000) g in total |
| Size | S to XL; bust about 43 to 55 inches |
| Needles | US 15 (10 mm) 36 inch circular needles, worked flat; a cable needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the sample yarn has been discontinued. The designer says any chunky #5 yarn will do, so buy by the grams for your size, and knit a swatch to check the gauge given on the page.
10. Cable Knit Baby Beanie
A two-colour baby hat with a folded ribbed brim, a cable pattern and a pom-pom, knit in the round from the bottom up. The designer says it knits up quickly.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Intermediate: knit and purl, increases and decreases, cables, knitting in the round |
| Yarn weight | Worsted or Aran |
| Yarn | 1 skein each of two colours (the sample is Kartopu Melange Wool, 100 g, 185 yards) |
| Size | 6 to 12 months, for an 18 to 20 inch head |
| Needles | 4 mm (US 6) and 5 mm (US 8) 16 inch circulars, 5 mm DPNs for the crown, and a 5 mm cable needle |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
this is the one to knit after a couple of the easier projects. It asks for cables in the round plus shaping. The sample yarn may no longer be easy to find; the designer suggests any soft, washable worsted that gets the gauge.
What you’ll need
Three of these patterns use the same super bulky yarn, so one shopping trip covers a headband and two hats:
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, the yarn behind the Friendship headband, the cable hat and the Golden Waves toque
- A set of cable needles in a few sizes
- US 11 (8 mm) 16-inch circular needles for the easy cable hat
- Bulky cotton yarn for the twisted cable washcloth
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Where to go next
- Not cabling yet? Start with what to knit once you can knit and purl.
- Love the chunky look? See what to knit with chunky yarn.
- Only one ball? Here is what to knit with one skein of yarn.
- More for little ones: what to knit for a baby.
- Something for the house: what to knit for your home.
- Browse every project sorted by skill.
- Crochet as well as knit? Our sister site has a whole shelf of knitting patterns at Daily Crochet.
