Cable Braids
Cables are often used to make braid patterns. Usually, the cables themselves are with a knit stitch while the background is done in purl. As the number of cables increases, the number of crossing patterns increases, as described by the braid group. Various visual effects are also possible by shifting the center lines of the undulating cables, or by changing the space between the cables, making them denser or more open.
A one-cable serpentine is simply a cable that moves sinusoidally left and right as it progresses. Higher-order braids are often made with such serpentines crossing over and under each other.
A two-cable braid can look like a rope, if the cables always cross in the same way (e.g., left over right). Alternatively, it can look like two serpentines, one on top of the other.
A three-cable braid is usually a simple plait (as often seen styled in long hair), but can also be made to look like the links in a chain, or as three independent serpentines.
A four-cable braid allows for several crossing patterns.
The five-cable braid is sometimes called the Celtic princess braid, and is visually interesting because one side is cresting while the other side is in a trough. Thus, it has a shimmering quality, similar to a kris dagger.
The six-cable braid is called a Saxon braid, and looks square and solid. This is a large motif, often used as a centerpiece of an aran sweater or along the neckline and hemlines.
The seven-cable braid is rarely used, possibly because it is very wide.
It may be helpful to think of a cable pattern as a set of serpentine or wave-like cables, each one meandering around its own center line. A vast variety of cable patterns can be invented by changing the number of cables, the separations of their center lines, the amplitudes of their waves (i.e., how far they wander from their center line), the shape of the waves (e.g., sinusoidal versus triangular), and the relative position of the crests and troughs of each wave (e.g., is one wave cresting as another is crossing its center line?).
New cable patterns can also be inspired by pictures, scenes from nature, Celtic knotwork, and even the double helix of DNA.
Read more about this topic: Cable Knitting
Famous quotes containing the word cable:
“To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.”
—Douglass Cross (b. 1920)