Working Cable Decreases

I am thrilled to be teaching Full-Fashioned Shoulder Shaping at TKGA's NLKC (Next Level Knitting Conference). It's virtual so you can attend from anywhere! You can learn more about this amazing conference here. 

This post is to remind students how to work the cable decreases. Remember if you attend the NLKC you can watch this class as many times as you like (or just portions of the class) for six months! So go there to  see the decreases being made in relationship to the shoulder configuration. 

The class is all about how to shape shoulders going beyond just sloping. I think you're really going to enjoy this. 

Part of creating full-fashioned shoulders is the use of cabled decreases. Cabled decreases are a unique and very decorative way to decrease stitches. The implications also extend beyond their use for shoulder shaping. But more on that at the end. 

When made at the selvedges, decreases cause the piece to slope. It's especially noticeable when you decrease sequentially. The slope moves toward the decreases ( it moves away from increases -- that just makes sense).

You approach the use of decreases two ways. You can make the decreases slant in the same direction as the slope you are creating. These are called blended decreases. Or, you can slant the decreases in opposition to the slope you are creating. These are called full-fashioned decreases. 

Cable decreases are made full-fashioned. That is they slant toward the selvedges. They are meant to be decorative. The decreases are made using a cable needle with the stitches. The cable needle is either held to the front or back of the work. The stitches on the cable needle are decreased by working some or all of them together with the next stitche(s) on the left needle.  

Two caveats to help remember how to work cable decreases at the selvedges: 

At the beginning of the row, the cable needle is held to the back.

At the end of the row, the cable needle is held to the front. 

You can decrease one, two, and three stitches in one decrease. Here is how to work these decreases:

DECREASING 1 STITCH USING CABLE DECREASES

Right leaning, or CDR (Cable Decrease Right)

Place 1 stitch onto a cable needle and hold to back, knit 1 stitch from the left needle, then knit the stitch on the cable needle with the next st on the left needle. 

Left leaning, or CDL (Cable Decrease Left)

Place 1 stitch onto a cable needle and hold to front, knit 1 stitch from the cable needle together with 1 stitch from the left needle , then knit the remaining stitch on the cable needle. 

DECREASING 2 STITCHES USING CABLE DECREASES

Right leaning, or CDR2 (Cable Decrease Right 2 sts)

Place 2 sts on a cable needle and hold to the back, knit the next stitch on the left needle together with the first stitch on the cable needle, then knit the next stitch on the left needle together with the remaining stitch on the cable needle. 

Left leaning, or CDL2 (Cable Decrease Left 2 sts)

Place 2 sts on a cable needle and hold to the front, knit the first stitch on the cable needle together with the first stitch on the left needle, then knit the remaining stitch on the cable needle together with the next stitch on the left needle. 

Here is how the decreases look: 

Another use for cable decreases is decreasing cables while maintaining the cable pattern such as on the top of a hat, or a cabled yoke, or for any shaping within a cable fabric. Here you can select a cable decrease to match the cables on your project. Then you can decrease and still maintain pattern.