Slip stitch ribbing cables
Juliette Bezold published a beautiful tutorial for crochet brioche cables in Interweave. Her tutorial uses back bar single crochet; I tried following the method with BLO slip stitches (slip stitch ribbing) to get a more plain-knit look.
Here's how it came out:
Yikes. It doesn't translate to slip stitch ribbing very well.
I tinkered with it a little, and achieved a much better result:
You should read Juliette Bezold's article first because she did an excellent job demonstrating her technique. I am simply going to explain my modifications, which will make more sense if you already understand her method.
The cable sections of my first swatch can be represented somewhat like this:
Every section is 6x6 stitches, so there is no natural curve to the fabric inclining it to lay flat. You can see why the inner "curve" has extra fabric and wants to stick out.
This is a representation of my second swatch:
In this version, I added curves by increasing & decreasing. You can also see the difference here:
One of these naturally wants to curve; the other will be fighting against any curve you try to push it into.
Method
n = thickness (in stitches) of a single cable strand.
In both my swatches, n=6. In the example below, n=2.
R = 1 row up and 1 row down together make 1 R. Counted separately for different cable sections.
You will need a stitch count of n times an odd number.
First Cable Section
SLST BLO n, chain 2n + 1, skip n stitches and SLST BLO n, chain 2n + 1, skip n stitches... repeat until reaching the top of your work.
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| R=0 |
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO all the way back down.
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| R=1 |
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO n - 1 into n stitches (this involves decreasing 1), SLST BLO n, SLST BLO increase, SLST BLO n, repeat.
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| R=1 |
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO all the way back down.
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| R=2 |
Keep going until R=n. Upward rows will continue decreasing at the inner curves and increasing at the outer curves:
SLST BLO n - R into n - (R - 1) stitches, SLST BLO n, SLST BLO (R + 1) into R stitches, SLST BLO n, repeat.
Downward rows will always be plain SLST BLO.
Second Cable Section
You can make right-leaning or left-leaning cables depending on which way you cross the second cable over the first. Here, I am making a right-leaning cable.
SLST BLO 1, chain n, SLST BLO n, chain n, repeat.
The SLST BLO 1 should always be into the inner curve of the previous cable section as pictured, 2n + 1 stitches from the previous SLST BLO 1 (if you need to check).
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| R=0 |
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO all the way down.
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| R=1 Not laying flat at this step, but it will once done. |
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO increase, SLST BLO n, SLST BLO n-1 into n stitches (this involves decreasing 1), SLST BLO n, repeat.
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| R=1 |
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO all the way back down.
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| R=2 |
Continue until R=n. Upward rows will continue decreasing at the inner curves and increasing at the outer curves:
SLST BLO (R + 1) into R stitches, SLST BLO n, SLST BLO n - R into n - (R - 1) stitches, SLST BLO n, repeat.
Downward rows will always be plain SLST BLO.
Finishing
You should be SLST BLO'ing to the body in the stitches at the outer curve. Here is an example with n=6:
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| This shows the stitches in the curve section of the cables. You would SLST BLO 6 into the 6 stitches at the edge of each cable curve. |
You want to ignore the straight sections, just SLST BLO n into the outer edge of each curve. Then SLST BLO n into the outer edge of the next curve.
Chain 1, turn. SLST BLO back down.
As you continue on, the fabric will even out more.
How to Calculate Additional Yardage Needed
You can calculate the additional stitches used in any given section of cabling with the following formula: (n + 1)/(2n). This will give you a percentage you can multiply by the number of stitches the section would use without cabling.
In my example, I'm making a pair of socks. Here is the chart I'm working from (each column represents 1 R):
I have made the areas where I will place my n=2 cables red.
(n + 1)/(2n) = (2 + 1)/(2*2) = 3/4 = 0.75.
I can then multiply each red section by 0.75 and get the number of additional stitches the cables will use:
I have zoomed in and highlighted the first cable section. This is 4 wide and 50 tall, so 200 stitches would normally be used for this area if I was doing it plain. 200 * 0.75 = 150 extra stitches since I'm doing cables.
I can repeat this process for each cable section in order to come to a total number of extra stitches, which is helpful for making sure I have enough yarn since I know that my stitches per gram with this yarn at this gauge. This way I can select the entire chart to get the total number of stitches in a plain sock, add the additional stitches I've calculated, and check that against the number of stitches I can use per sock given the amount of yarn I have.
You can also do something similar if you know how many stitches per yard you have, or however you want to measure.
Mathematical Explanation
Each cable, over a section of n width and 2n height, has a curve, a straight section that is n*n, another curve, and another straight section that is n*n. The curves are n + (n - 1) + (n - 2) + (n - 3) and so on until (n - ?) = 1. Alternatively, the curves are 1 + 2 + 3 and so on until the number is n. The expression for this is n(n + 1)/2. E.g., 3 + 2 + 1 = 3(3 + 1)/2.
The straight sections, n * n and n *n, are equal in stitch count to what the section would be if done plain. So the only consideration when counting additional stitches for cabling is the curves.
The curve stitch count expression is n(n+1)/2. We have two curves over a section of n width and 2n height, so (n(n+1)/2) * 2 = (2*n(n+1)/2) = n(n+1).
This is per section of n width and 2n height. So n(n+1)/n2n = n/n * (n + 1)/2n.
n/n = 1, so n/n * (n + 1)/2n = (n + 1)/2n. This give a ratio of additional stitches needed per number of stitches needed for a plain section.
Maybe my notes can illustrate better:
As you might notice, this is not actually exact when applied to a whole cable section: this ratio is accurate for sections that can be divided evenly by n, with two curves and two straight sections. However, in order to make the cables, we use a section height that is n multiplied by an odd number.
Two curves and two straight sections divided by 2 = 1 curve and 1 straight section per n height. But this isn't reality; at the ends we have single curves. This results in a slight overestimation of additional stitches used.
Personally, I can't be assed to math out the precise count here. I just do the method above, accept the slight overestimation, and using that gives me more room to have minor miscalculations and gauge fluctuations without running out of yarn. But if YOU want absolute precision, here's what you can do:
Highlight the cable section EXCEPT n rows at the top. So rather than 4 wide and 50 tall, I have 4 wide and 48 tall.
Do the earlier method on this section:
4*48 = 192
0.75*192 = 144 additional stitches.
Then for the section at the top, that will be two curves. Curves actually have fewer stitches in them than a plain section, so this will not be calculating the number of additional stitches but rather the number of actual stitches.
(n(n+1)/2) * 2 curves = (2*n(n+1)/2) = n(n+1)
In this case n=2, so 2(2+1) = 2*3 = 6.
I will have 6 actual stitches between my two curves at the top.
If I was making that section plain, it would be 4 wide x 2 high = 8 stitches.
8 - 6 = 2.
So I actually have -2 additional stitches.
My 144 from earlier -2 = 142 additional stitches for this cable section.
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