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

[indywind]

I'm a relatively new knitter and I haven't cabled (though I have done stranded colorwork which seems to have similar tension issues), so take anything I say with however much salt makes it taste sensible.
I keep hearing that consistent gauge is the mother of all knitting success, and that the knitter should either tighten/loosen her tension, or go up/down sizes of needles to get the desired gauge for a pattern so it'll work right.

So my guess is if you think your cables are too tight, knit them looser, or go up a needle size or 2, just for that part (less of a pain with dpns, once you get used to them sticking out all over). Not so much because there's some secret rule that Cables Should be Knit Loosely, but because apparently they come out tight for you. Somebody else's cables might come out loose and need to be knit tighter.