Machine Knit a Cabled Neckwarmer on an LK150

Machine Knit a Cabled Neckwarmer or Cowl on an LK150

This is a beginner-friendly and practical project. The cable makes it look classic and interesting. It is actually easier to make than it looks.

A neck warmer or cowl can be the same cast on stitches as a hat. If you like it looser, just add a few more stitches. About 1-2 inches longer than the hat cast on stitches will be a good start. I use worsted weight yarn, mock ribbing, and 3 x 3 cable stitches. There is one dropped stitches on each side of the cable to make it stand out more. It is always a good idea to make a swatch first to calculate your stitch and row count.

Watch the video tutorial for the Neck Warmer with Cable stitches

Basic Pattern for the Cabled Neck Warmer on an LK150

Use any worsted weight yarn.

Tension: T6 on the carriage, T5 on the Mast. (for LK150)

Cast on every other needle (EON) from Left 50 to Right 49.

E-wrap (hang weight) and knit 23 rows (adjust row count depending on how high you like the mock ribbing to be).

Pick up the cast on row stitches and hang on to the empty needles. Now the mock ribbing is done and there is a stitch on every needle.

Pull out all needles to D/ holding position and knit 1 row with a looser tension. Change the tension back.

The main part with Cable Stitches

Decide on where the 3 by 3 cables will be located. It should form a continuous pattern after sewing up side seams. I have a cable crossing every 20 stitches. You can add more cable stitches if you like.

After deciding the cable stitches, drop down the 2 stitches outside the 6 cable stitches and transfer these stitch to the next needle.

Decide how many rows to knit and the placement of the cable crossing.

I start with 5 plain rows, 1 cable crossing, and then 1 cable crossing every 9 rows. I will end with 5 plain rows to match the beginning. Then do the mock ribbing to match the beginning mock ribbing. So it will be 5 rows X 9 rows X 9 rows X 9 rows X 9 rows X 5 rows. The X is the cable crossing. Of course, you can adjust it and make it shorter.

Then just knit accordingly. 5 rows of plain knitting, then cross the cable with (2) 3 prong tools.

I keep the crossing direction the same for every cable.

To cross a 3 by 3 cable, place the left 3 stitches on a 3 prong transferring tool, and the right 3 stitches on another 3 prong tool, then switch the location of the tool. I like to transfer the right 3 stitches to the left 3 needles first, and then transfer the left 3 stitches to the right 3 needles. You can do it the opposite way, just keep it consistent.

You can pull out all the needles to the holding position for easier knitting of the next row.

* Knit another 9 rows and then the cable crossing. Keep repeating * 4 times (or 3 times if you prefer a shorter cowl).

We end with 5 plain rows.

Mock Ribbing

To prepare for the mock ribbing, transfer stitches to every other needle first.

Then knit the same row number as the beginning of the mock ribbing (23 rows).

Pick up the row before transferring to every other needle and hang back to the empty needles.

Bind off

I use the “sewn bind-off” here. It is stretchy enough to go over the neck.

To do a sewn bind-off on the machine, cut the yarn leaving a long tail and thread with a tapestry needle.

*Sew 2 stitches forward from the back to the front,

then 1 stitch backward from the front to the back.

Take off the first stitch. *

Repeat * until the end of the row.

Take off the machine and sew up the side seam.

I like to seam with the flat seaming as shown in part 2 of woman’s sock knitting. Link HERE.

Give it a light steaming and vertical stretch to even out the stitches.

This neck warmer is something I will wear every day in the winter.

Maybe next time, I will make the cable columns denser, or add some smaller cables (2 x 2) with dropped stitches in between the big cable columns.

Anyway, have fun and happy knitting!

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