Those of you who have been reading along know that I missed a cable cross in my Heritage Hat. And then I kept knitting, never noticing it, for another 13 rows.
It looked even sadder up close.
I REALLY did not want to have to rip it all out. And I thought I could fix it. I had a vague recollection that the Yarn Harlot had puzzled it out. One of my friends, who saw me post about my problem on Ravelry and who will remain nameless, encouraged me.
All the way back in 2006 I found the Yarn Harlot’s succinct advice on dropping down rows to fix a cable problem without the need to rip out all of the rows themselves. I won’t try to characterize her advice because she delivers it in such a clear, succinct fashion that it’s perfect. If you need her help, here it is: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2006/06/20/all_is_not_lost.html
Here’s how it worked out for me. I ripped down to the missed cable. You can see it more easily in black and white.
Then I began the process of knitting back up on double pointed needless, carefully knitting in turn with each loose strand and even more carefully inserting first the cable cross I missed and then the three others that had to be put back into place.
Here we are, almost back to the top. The tension is a little bit wonky but not nearly as bad as I feared.
Surgery was a success. And, too my surprise, it only took about 20 minutes. It was a tense 20 minutes, but at the end of it I felt like I could take on just about any challenge.
Look at that! It’s virtually as good as new. I couldn’t be any happier!
ok this is so awesome!!
It’s weird how things work out in life…just when you need help, all of a sudden- poof! There it is!
I am having the same exact problem- missed a cable in the middle of my work, and it’s glaring at me…I put the WIP away for a bit, because it was too overwhelming… but, synchronicity has brought me to your blog!
I’ve watched the video 3x and am hopeful that I can try this! I admit, I am a little sweaty thinking that I might ‘over think’ things and really end up in a bind… but, will attempt it when I am confident and thinking clearly!
The most difficult part for me was manipulating the strand of yarn used for knitting by the time I reached the last stitch on each row. What worked for me was having lots of double pointed needles on hand to help nudge yarn into position. Even with that, it was not difficult. In fact, with a worsted weight yarn that holds its shape, it wouldn’t be difficult at all. The slipperiness of my yarn was what gave me some difficulty, but all in all I was surprised by how quickly it came together. I did not have the gauge issue Stephanie suggested might be a problem, and my reknit Cable is indistinguishable from the other two. So don’t be afraid, jump right on in!
I’ve done that myself! It is so satisfying, isn’t it?