Wheat Ear Cable

The wheat ear cable makes a slender, feathery panel by working small cables that lean in toward a central spine, so each little crossing sits like a grain on an ear of wheat. Two columns of knit stitches travel diagonally toward the middle and cross in short cables at regular intervals up either side of a central stitch, and the repeated angled crossings give the delicate, chevroned, grain-like look. It is lighter and finer than a rope or braid cable, which makes it a pretty narrow accent, a border, or an all-over texture in pairs, and it works up faster because the cables are small. It sits at an intermediate level because you keep two travelling lines crossing symmetrically toward the centre, so a chart helps, but each individual cable is tiny and quick. It pulls the fabric in less than a heavy cable, though still enough to allow for in a swatch. It looks especially crisp in a smooth, round yarn that shows the small crossings.