J-28

You don't have to look for very long on the Figheadh site to know how much I love cables. The problem is, that's like saying "I love candy." What kind of candy? So many kinds! It's the same with cables. So many kinds!

One kind of cables I'm obsessed with is cables emerging from 2/2 rib. There are so many ways to make cables from 2/2 rib that it would honestly keep me busy for years. The Chattahoochee Scarf is made using this technique, as are the Red Rover Socks and the Cable Crest Set, for instance(s).

When I set about to design my daughter Jessica's birthday hat this year, of course I wanted to do it in 2/2 cables. I wanted the cables to have a long repeat row-wise and result in "bubbles," and I wanted two sets of them that would alternate. Simple enough. What wasn't simple was figuring out the crown decrease. This was the first crown I came up with.

Also simple. The problem was that I got all caught up in thinking it was too simple, that I had to make it one of those wham-pow things. Not all things should be wham-pow. Some things should be left alone.

One variation I tried was to let the cables decrease on up into smaller cables around the crown. You can see a little peek of that in this sample I made for Jess in Quince & Co Osprey in Clay...

...and in this other sample I made for Jess with Lamb's Pride Worsted in Sable.

The little cables in the crown just made it too fussy and too deep. I decided to give these to Jess, even though they are not how the pattern eventually got written. I knew these two colors would look great on Jessica. Besides, now she has a truly original design, as far as I know. There's no pattern written for it, so she has the only two made!

Here's a picture of my lovely Natalie (youngest daughter) and I modeling J-28's with the simpler crown. Nat's is in Malabrigo Twist in Tuareg and mine is in Quince & Co Lark in Glacier, but I recommend Osprey for the J-28. The pattern calls for Aran weight, or heavy worsted.

If you like the simplicity of the J-28 Cable Cap, give it a try. It's easy enough--even if you've never knit cables before. The pattern explains all the techniques.

I leave you with this beautiful image of Emily in her E-30, Jess in one of the J-28's and Malcolm in a (not baby size, obviously) version of the Orville, which I'll tell you about time after next.

Yes, Malcolm's manly enough to wear pink.

(Man, I love these people!)