Crochet Cable Stitch Tutorial

By
Debbie Wolfe
Debbie Wolfe
Debbie Wolfe

Debbie Wolfe is a needlecraft expert and writer who has over 20 years of experience with knitting, crocheting, crafting, and home remodeling projects. She is the author of "Do-It-Yourself Garden Projects and Crafts" and her work has appeared on HGTV.

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Updated on 10/29/20
A purple crochet cable stitch swatch on a table.

 The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

Knitters aren't the only needlecrafters who get to create lovely cables. Cables infuse rich textures into the fabric and give them fun, visual interest. You can use this stitch to make blankets, hats, scarves, and more. Crocheted cables are made by skipping a set of stitches, then crossing front and back post stitches to create the twisted quality of a cable. The crochet cable stitch may seem complex, but it’s not as hard as you think. There are many ways to do the crochet cable stitch, but in this project, you will learn to make a six-stitch cable crochet stitch that’s easy for beginners.

Tip

This stitch can be accomplished with any size hook and/or yarn choice. Just make sure the yarn complements the hook size. 

In order to do crochet cable stitches, you will need to know how to do both front and back post treble crochet. They are not hard, but you do need to pay attention to where you place your hook.

  • Front Post Treble Crochet (FPTC): Yarn over two times. Insert your hook front-to-back through your work, so that the post you want to crochet around is in front of your hook. Yarn over. Pull up a loop, (yarn over, pull through two loops on your hook) three times.
  • Back Post Treble Crochet (BPTC): Yarn over two times. Insert your hook back-to-front through your work, so that the post you want to crochet around is behind your hook. Yarn over. Pull up a loop (yarn over, pull through two loops on your hook) three times.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Crochet hook

Materials

  • Yarn

Instructions

  1. Foundation and Right Side

    Chain 12 chains plus three extra chains. Turn. The foundation is two rows of double crochet. Double crochet in the third chain from your hook. Double crochet in every stitch. Turn, chain three (counts as first double crochet), skip the first stitch, and double crochet in every stitch to the end. Turn.

    A swatch of double crochet fabric.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

  2. First Twist Half

    Now it’s time to make the first half of the cable twist. Chain three, double crochet in next six stitches. Skip the next three stitches. FPTC into the next three stitches.

    A swatch of double crochet fabric.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

  3. Right Slant

    There should be three front-post treble crochet stitches that are slanting to the right. Now, it’s time to complete the first half of the cable twist.

    Front post treble crochet worked in a swatch of fabric.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

  4. Second Twist Half

    Go back to the first of the three skipped stitches and FPTC into that stitch. FPTC into the second and third stitch. This will cause the stitches to slant to the left. Try not to pull the stitches too tight. That will make it hard for you to insert the hook through the post. Keep a semi-loose tension on the yarn. This completes the first half of the cable. 

    Front post treble crochet worked into a swatch of fabric.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

  5. Finish Off Row

     Double crochet in remaining stitches to end of the row. Turn.

    A swatch of crochet cable stitch.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

  6. Wrong Side

    Chain three, double crochet in next six stitches. BPTC into the next six stitches.

    Back of crochet cable swatch.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe

  7. Finishing

    Double crochet to the end. This completes the crochet cable stitch. Repeat as many times as needed. To finish, do two rows of double crochet. Block the fabric to make the cable stitch really pop. 

    Back of crochet cable swatch.
     The Spruce / Debbie Wolfe