Welcome to the twelfth and final entry in our ongoing series Learn a Stitch, Make a Cowl! Each month in 2015 we have been teaching you a new crochet or knit stitch. You can then use the stitch when you make the featured cowl. This month our stitch is crocheted cables, and the cowl is the Diamond Cables Cowl in Sparkle Soft. Use the hashtag #learnstitches to talk about the series. Download the Diamond Cables Cowl! Background Information The pattern is in Sparkle Soft, but we are using Soft for the swatch. The cowl is 24 stitches wide, but the swatch is only 12 stitches wide; the extra stitches on each side are regular double crochet stitches.The cable section is made using front post and back post treble crochet stitches. Treble crochet is similar to double crochet, but taller: instead of doing one yarn over before you insert your hook into the fabric, as you do with double crochet, you will do two yarn overs. After you insert your hook into the fabric and pull up a loop, you yarn over and pull through two loops on your hook. Keep doing a yarn over and pulling through two loops on your hook until you are left with one loop. With everyday stitches, you work the stitch into the little hole along the top of the crochet fabric. With post stitches, you work the stitch around the post of the stitch in a previous row. Post stitches create the textured cables in this cowl. You will work Front post treble crochets (Fptr) on the right side rows and Back post treble crochets (Bptr) on the wrong-side rows. By alternating the front and back post trebles, you will keep the textured stitches on the same side of the fabric. Post stitches are worked lower than regular stitches are, so a post stitch ends up shorter than a regular stitch of the same type. By using treble crochets for the post stitches and double crochets for the regular stitches, all of the stitches end up even. Tip Start the cowl by chaining 26.Foundation Row: Double crochet in the 4th chain from the hook; the 3 skipped chains count as the first double crochet. These skipped chains always count as the first double crochet when you come across them in this pattern. Continue to double crochet in the next 8 chains. Next, treble crochet in the next 4 stitches, then double crochet in the final 10 stitches. You will have 24 total stitches: 10 double crochet, 4 trebles, then 10 double crochet. (Remember, the swatch will be missing 6 double crochet stitches on either side.) Row 1: Chain 3 and turn, then work double crochet in the next 9 stitches. Now we'll do our first cable stitch, the 2 over 2 Front Cross (2/2 Front Cross). This cable stitch is the most complicated one in this pattern, so once you've done it the other stitches will be easy! Start by skipping the next 2 stitches. In this photo, the hook is pointing to the stitch we'll be working on. The hook has the two yarn overs already, to start the treble crochet. Work a front post treble crochet (Fptr) around this stitch. To work the Fptr, yarn over twice, as we've already done in the above picture. Next, insert the hook from the front side of the fabric to the back and then back to the front around the post of the indicated stitch. Below the hook is around the post. Yarn over and pull up a loop so you have four loops on your hook. To complete the Fptr, [yarn over and draw through two loops] 3 times. Work a second Fptr on the next stitch. Now go back to the first stitch you skipped and work a Fptr in it, and then work a fourth Fptr in the second stitch you skipped. The Fptr stitches will cross over each other. Complete the row by working double crochets in the final 10 stitches. Row 2: Chain 3 and turn, then double crochet in the next 9 stitches. Work Back post treble crochets (Bptr) around the next 4 stitches, then finish the row by double crocheting in the last 10 stitches. To work the Bptr, yarn over twice as with the other treble crochet stitches. This time, you will insert the hook from the back side of the work to the front and then to the back again around the post of the indicated stitch. The below photo shows the hook in the fabric to make a Bptr. Completing the Bptr is just like completing the Fptr: yarn over and pull up a loop so you have 4 loops on your hook, then [yarn over and draw through 2 loops] three times until you have one loop on your hook. Here's the wrong side of the fabric after you have completed row 2. Row 3: Chain 3 and turn, then double crochet in the next 7 stitches. We've been working in the center 4 stitches, but now we'll start working in other stitches to make the diamond pattern. Start with a 2 over 2 Right Cross (2/2 Right Cross). This is similar to the 2/2 Front Cross, but it has 2 Fptr and 2 double crochets instead of 4 Fptr. To work the 2/2 Right Cross, skip the next 2 stitches and Fptr around each of the next 2 stitches, just like the start of the 2/2 Front Cross. After the 2 Fptr, working behind the stitches just made, double crochet in each of the 2 skipped stitches. You've finished the 2/2 Right Cross! Next you'll start the 2 over 2 Left Cross (2/2 Left Cross). Skip the next 2 stitches, and double crochet in the next 2 stitches. Next, working in front of the 2 stitches you just made, Fptr around each of the 2 skipped stitches. You've done the 2/2 Left Cross! Complete the row by double crocheting in the last 8 stitches. You can see how the cables have crossed at the bottom and are now going out to the right and to the left. Row 4: Chain 3 and turn, and double crochet in the next 7 stitches. Work Bptr around each of the next 2 stitches, then double crochet in the next 4 stitches, then Bptr in the next 2 stitches, and end with double crocheting in the last 8 stitches. By working this combination of stitches you have double crocheted on top of the double crochet stitches in the previous row, and worked Bptr around the Fptr on the previous row. As mentioned above, the Bptr on the wrong side (even) rows keeps the textured pattern going. Here is the fabric after Row 4, turned so you can see the right side. You've learned all of the stitches used in this project. You'll continue to follow the pattern or the chart to work Rows 5-10. To complete the cowl, repeat Rows 1-10 until the cowl measures about 48"" (or any length you want; if you want it longer it will take more yarn) and end on Row 9. Fasten off, then sew the short ends together and weave in the ends.
