Cabled Pumpkins

Two years ago, my sister asked me to knit her some orange fingerless mittens, so she could look fancy at her son’s school’s Halloween festivities. I knit up Lisa M. Beamer’s fun pattern for Fast & Easy Fingerless Mitts and put a row of cabled pumpkins at the top of the mitt to “Halloweenize” them a bit. I’ve had a few people ask how I did the pumpkin cables at the top. I figure now would be a good time to get the ball rolling on my blog with my pumpkin cabling secrets. Just in time for you to whip some up for this Halloween.

First thing's first:
Once I had knitted the gusset and knit 10 rounds, I began the pumpkin cables. At this point in the pattern, I had 38 stitches.

(Note: This is the stitch count I had when I knit the mitts in the round based on Lisa’s pattern written for the flat knitted version. In Jan 2010, Lisa released Fast & Easy Fingerless Mitts v.2 - Circular which features her version of the pattern knit in the round.)

Okay, here goes:

Cabled Pumpkins
Round 1: *(K2tog, knit 4, p1, k5, p1, k5, p1) repeat from * to end of round. (36 sts)
Round 2: *(C1b, k1, c1f, p1) repeat from* to end of round.
Round 3: *(K5, p1) repeat from* to end of round.
Round 4: *(K5, p1) repeat from* to end of round.
Round 5: *(K5, p1) repeat from* to end of round.
Round 6: *(K5, p1) repeat from* to end of round.
Round 7: *(K5, p1) repeat from* to end of round.
Round 8: *(C1f, k1, c1b, p1) repeat from * to end of round.
Round 9: *(K5, p1) repeat from * to end of round.

Bind off loosely.
Embroider two vertical stitches with black yarn in center of each cabled pumpkin for eyes. Backstitch 3 stitches in a wide u shape underneath eyes for mouth. Embroider a stem in green or brown with one stitch on top of each pumpkin.

Cable Key:
C1b: Slip 1 stitch onto cable needle and hold in back of work. Knit 1 stitch and then knit the 1 stitch from cable needle.

C1f: Slip 1 stitch onto cable needle and hold in front of work. Knit 1 stitch and then knit the 1 stitch from cable needle.

Now go and get yourself in the Halloween spirit. It's never too early for that. :)
Kathleen

Edited 10/24/11 to correct errors in the pattern. The pattern as written above is now correct. Each cable is a 2-stitch cable, not a 4-stitch cable. I apologize for the errors.