PurlbedCables and lace › Cables and twists
1×1 twists / mini cables in 2×2 rib
Ordinary 2×2 rib where alternate knit columns show tight braided twists (2-row spacing) or small open cables (4-row spacing), often in alternating lean directions; garment-scale. On selected 2-stitch columns swap the two stitches (1 over 1) with transfer tools; repeat every k rows.
- Two beds
Machine types that can knit it
Demo swatch
Drawn for: Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)Approximate preview worked out from the bed chart, not a photo.Crossings are marked as transfers in the chart; the preview cannot show the twist.
Steps
- Set 2×2.
- Knit k rows.
- Cross chosen pairs.
- Repeat.
The full card
- What it looks like
- Ordinary 2×2 rib where alternate knit columns show tight braided twists (2-row spacing) or small open cables (4-row spacing), often in alternating lean directions; garment-scale.
- How it behaves
- fine vertical relief; rib elasticity preserved.
- How it works
- On selected 2-stitch columns swap the two stitches (1 over 1) with transfer tools; repeat every k rows.
- Machines
- Double bed in pitch (V-bed: avoid interlocking needles). Detail placed on the bed that faces outward on the garment (domestic: main/back bed).
- Parameters
- k = 2 (twist) or 4 (cable); columns = every other pair or all; direction alternate/same; aligned or staggered.
- Steps
- 1) Set 2×2. 2) Knit k rows. 3) Cross chosen pairs. 4) Repeat.
- Charting
- Step diagrams bottom-up: "set up 2×2", "cable row: X over pair", "knit separation rows".
- Limits and common problems
- Wrong bed → detail on inside of garment.
- Combines with
- rib-lace-2x2, vertical-rib.
- Pieces and assembly
- Cuffs, hems, neckbands; knit band then join to body.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.