cables

[zats_clear]

 Ok, my lovelies, I have decided to try out dpns and make myself up a pair of fingerless gloves.  After MUCH searching, I found a pattern that fits the bill for my very first pair (oh Ravelry, how many hours I spend with thee), Hope's Fingerless Gloves (lookie, I put in a link for the non-Ravelry crowd, you odd people!) and set to work.

Using the dpns was like driving a clown car full of puppies but I did get the hang of it and the stitches settled down after the first few rows and then...I began to cable.  I like to learn at least two new tricks per project or I am an martyr.  The second row, I noticed that my cabled stitches were abominably tight so I have questions.

Should I be knitting fairly loosely when I cable?  Is it really supposed to hurt this much?

I will fess up that I am using number 6 needles for a project calling for 8's but when I pulled it off the needles, the cuff fit nicely with some excellent stretch and I have small hands.  And for those who like to know these things,  I am using Mirasol Akapana for my yarn.

thanks in advance!

Comments

[twistedchick]

If it's hurting you, you're certainly stretching the yarn too tight. It should not hurt. The cables should lie across one another without excessive pulling. If it's that tight now, what will it be when they're on your hands?

[zats_clear]

I should, perhaps, have been more clear! It was hurting my brain, really. But the cabled stitches were hard to knit from when I was on the next round, which leads me to believe that I should be knitting cables loosely. I am not an overly tight knitter, thank goodness. The big thing is that, when reading any instruction on cables I have found, I am not seeing anything indicating I should knit them a bit looser. Then again, I have also discovered there are things in the knitworld that are "just understood."

thank goodness for you guys!

[tephra]

When I first started knitting cables without a cable needle they ended up very tight. I think it was mostly because I was subconsciously tense about dropping stitches and as a result was knitting my cables tighter than my regular knitting. Once I realized that and consciously made myself knit the cables loosely (therefore making them match my normal tension) it cleared up. Now I don't have the problem.

That said, I'm still a tight-ish knitter and I don't know how anyone can do more than maybe 4 stitches over 4 stitches without having an ungodly tight cable.